Made Possible By...is an engrossing history of public broadcasting, from its initial idealist attempt to reshape the vast wasteland of television, to its current lamentable state - safe, consistently mediocre, and as dependent on corporate financing as its commercial counterparts.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
In Made Possible By..., Village Voice columnist James Ledbetter considers the current state of public broadcasting and finds it decidedly lacking. During its early heyday, NET (National Educational Television, a forerunner of PBS) regularly aired innovative and provocative public-affairs shows; soon, however, public-television managers began toning down controversial content in a desperate--and doomed--attempt to secure government funding. When even these efforts failed, public television increasingly turned to corporate sponsors to fill the gap, resulting in a movement away from adventurous programming in favor of politically inoffensive, "safe" shows such as Sesame Street, Masterpiece Theatre, even Ken Burns's The Civil War. Today, Ledbetter writes, corporate influence rules in public broadcasting, much as it does in commercial television. A savage indictment of corporate underwriting and bureaucratic inefficiency, Made Possible By... is also an eloquent defense of public television's possibilities; Ledbetter envisions public broadcasting as a truly democratic arena--and perhaps the only area of American public life not determined by market forces.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Review
A sharp and persuasive analysis of public broadcasting's decline and fall. -- Newsday, David Futrelle
A sharp, persuasive analysis of public broadcasting's decline and fall. -- David Futrelle, Newsday
A smart read. -- Publisher's Weekly
A timely book that sends an important warning. [Ledbetter's] tone is measured, never shrill, but he is pointed and direct when need be. -- Carl Sessions Step, American Journalism Review
Crammed with newsy incidents and amazing quotes, it also comes equipped with a large, helpful bibliography. It will surely serve as a valuable source book for years to come. -- Richard Buell, Boston Globe
Ledbetter's refusal to hide behind Big Bird is refreshing; his recommendations are cogent. -- Martha Bayles, New York Times
What a story! A thorough and alarming book. -- Molly Ivins
A sharp, persuasive analysis of public broadcasting's decline and fall. -- David Futrelle, Newsday
A smart read. -- Publisher's Weekly
A timely book that sends an important warning. [Ledbetter's] tone is measured, never shrill, but he is pointed and direct when need be. -- Carl Sessions Step, American Journalism Review
Crammed with newsy incidents and amazing quotes, it also comes equipped with a large, helpful bibliography. It will surely serve as a valuable source book for years to come. -- Richard Buell, Boston Globe
Ledbetter's refusal to hide behind Big Bird is refreshing; his recommendations are cogent. -- Martha Bayles, New York Times
What a story! A thorough and alarming book. -- Molly Ivins
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, important PBS critique from a left perspective.,
By
This review is from: Made Possible By...: The Death of Public Broadcasting in the United States (Hardcover)
James Ledbetter's concerns are those of a man of the left, and his book reveals a sense of betrayal. He shows how PBS and its insiders used an original left constituency in pursuit of political power and financial gain. Dropped once PBS became an established institution were the unions, performers and artists, educators and other nonconformists to whom the promise of a refuge for individualism and dissidence had been made by what turned out to be -- not surprisingly to libertarian critics -- another self-serving government bureaucracy motivated by the aggrandizement of power and wealth. I.F. Stone said "all governments are liars" and Ledbetter seems to include PBS in that judgement. He reveals why some of those who once believed in PBS no longer are able to offer it unconditional support. While non-leftists may not share his vision of a subsidized agitprop network to replace the present system, many of his criticisms of existing problems within PBS are on the mark.
0 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
terrible writer,, terrible book,
By A Customer
This review is from: Made Possible by: The Death of Public Broadcasting in the United States (Paperback)
I hope this guy has a day job.
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