The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum / Trump's New FCC Boss Going After PBS & NPR

**Posted by RadioActive** January 30, 2025 6:24 pm

It shouldn't come as any surprise that the new guy on Pennsylvania Ave. doesn't much like public broadcasting. Now his new hand picked chair of the FCC says he's going to investigate both NPR and PBS for what he thinks may be illegal ads on their airwaves, even though both don't technically air them.

PBS produces some great programming and is funded mostly by grants and viewer contributions. But they occasionally do air very short spots from generous backers who contribute money to the network. And that source of funding may be what Chair Brendon Carr has his set his sights on.

“In particular, it is possible that NPR and PBS member stations are broadcasting underwriting announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements,” Carr wrote in the letter, which was sent to NPR chief executive Katherine Maher and PBS president and chief executive Paula Kerger."

FCC is investigating NPR and PBS stations over sponsorships

**Posted by Chrisphen** January 30, 2025 8:03 pm

As noted in an earlier thread, it's a purge. This is part of it.

Time will tell where it ends up, but it is going to be a rough lesson for very many, and we as a neighbouring state will feel its impacts.

**Posted by cash** January 30, 2025 8:09 pm

Trump and America in general can go f%$k themselves.

**Posted by Forward Power** January 30, 2025 10:08 pm

About 25 years ago, when I was at Peterborough's Trent Radio, the organization's guidelines etc. for sponsorships were made very clear. At the end of a program, its sponsor was acknowledged with a sixty-second "cold read" by the late John K. Muir himself, simply describing the sponsor, its location and what it does, with no sales pitch, no call-to-action etc.

I can understand why the FCC would target the stations if the underwriting announcements do have a sales pitch/CTA, but if it's a simple blurb like "funding for this program has been provided by Sam's Shoe Store in Schenectady", no big deal. It's simply acknowledging a donor, not much different from the crawls we used to see on telethons ("Don Davis of Dundas, $50...Erica Easton of Essex, $25...")

**Posted by newsguy1** January 30, 2025 11:20 pm

What is happening in the US right now and for the foreseeable future is not normal.
The current American media are not normal.
I hope we in Canada will not become too influenced by what is happening in broadcasting in the US.
I don't think it will because by and large our citizens are not woefully uneducated and dedicated to bizarre Christian religious beliefs.
Our media at least are still willing to argue and debate all points of views.
Unlike the US where important media figures like Jim Acosta of CNN are forced to flee.

**Posted by LOSat** January 31, 2025 10:06 am

cash wrote:
Trump and America in general can go f%$k themselves.

Exactly

**Posted by Scarboroughbluffsradiof99** January 31, 2025 10:14 am

CTV news is more balanced than, lets say, CNN or MSNBC.
The clossest thing we had to far-right was Sun news.
Some far-right in Canada like to call CTV news far-left, CTV news is the ferthest thing from Far-left.
If they want to talk about far-left, they should have listened to CKLN or any campus radio station in a large city.

Last edited by Scarboroughbluffsradiof99 (January 31, 2025 10:17 am)

**Posted by Scarboroughbluffsradiof99** January 31, 2025 10:19 am

LOSat wrote:
cash wrote:
Trump and America in general can go f%$k themselves.
Exactly

Trump can go to russia or afghanistan whare he belongs.
But, he won't go to afghanistan.
He should know, he's making his country and their media more like it.

**Posted by Buzzy Krumhunger** January 31, 2025 10:47 am

newsguy1 wrote:
=12px“…by and large our citizens are not woefully uneducated and dedicated to bizarre Christian religious beliefs.”
Well put.
Now do bizarre Islamic religious beliefs.

**Posted by Capricasix** January 31, 2025 1:22 pm

Buzzy Krumhunger wrote:
newsguy1 wrote:
=12px“…by and large our citizens are not woefully uneducated and dedicated to bizarre Christian religious beliefs.”
Well put.
Now do bizarre Islamic religious beliefs.

Do tell, what “bizarre Islamic religious beliefs” have as large an impact on American society as similar Christian beliefs?

**Posted by 67GreenRambler** January 31, 2025 3:23 pm

Quran 5:32 5:33 5:34

Kinda changed air travel in America.

And good luck finding a pride flag in Hamtramck, Michigan.

**Posted by Chrisphen** January 31, 2025 4:02 pm

2002 called. They want their pigshit bigotry back.

**Posted by RadioActive** January 31, 2025 4:31 pm

Sadly, I'm going to have to call a halt to this thread, too, the second one this week. I'm not sure why this anti-Islam and in other cases anti-Israel stuff keeps coming up in a board about Ontario and Buffalo radio and TV, or in a thead about PBS and NPR, but it just seems some here can't help themselves. I've already deleted a few messages on this thread that really crossed the line into outright hate speech.

Again to repeat: you're free to feel anyway you want. You're just not free to express that hatred here.

Thanks.

Hope you all have a good weekend no matter what your religion...