PBS viewers have spoken. Thousands of them.
It was on February 17 that a story by the The New York Times‘ Charles McGrath asked Is PBS Still Necessary?. “There are not only countless more channels to chose from now,” McGrath wrote, “but many offer the kind of stuff that in the past you could see only on public TV, and in at least some instances they do it better.”
Public response was fierce, with readers posting hundreds of comments online at the Times.
PBS’ Jim Lehrer mentioned the article on The NewsHour, inviting viewers to share their thoughts. A NewsHour spokesperson tells TVNewser that the program has received, to date, almost 5,000 comments via phone, email, and online postings.
The spokesperson also says there will be a brief follow-up on the topic during The NewsHour tomorrow.