A Very 'Public' Breakup

摘要

Kcet proved the victim of its own outside fund-raising prowess, says KCET Board Chairman Gordon Bava—the more it raises, the higher its PBS dues—and has since Jan. 1 been going it alone, without a PBS affiliation or the $7 million in dues it paid in 2010 for the privilege, he says. With the public broadcasting system under fire in Washington, including from just-introduced bills that would dismantle its government funding mechanism, Bava, whose day job is as a Los Angeles lawyer, talked to B&Cs John Eggerton about the impact of Washington's threats to de-fund the system and what's next for noncommercial TV, including his belief that the system is in need of a remake.