Cable, for one, tends to be limited to areas with at least moderate population density, since it's not cost-effective to run the lines to individual homes miles apart from one another. He can, however, pick up public radio either from Fayetteville or over the Internet. NPR is my only electronic media that gives me national news. I have NPR as the default home page on my computer. The fact is, says Hope Green, former president of Vermont Public TV and now a pubcasting consultant, many who live in rural areas are poor.
Public broadcasting is free and usually even more accessible than a newspaper.
Truly alternative programming and viewpoints. Although some radio g.m.'s said a small part of their audience can tune in little else except their station, a more common experience is recounted by Kathleen Pavelko, president of Prairie Public Broadcasting in North Dakota. Offering programs no one else does is just as important on the TV side. To my knowledge they don't exist anymore. Coverage of local and state events.