If anything, the need for public television and federal support of it is stronger now than in 1967, when the Public Broadcasting Act was passed. Federal money makes up about 17 percent of total public TV revenues. For the third of us who do not have or cannot afford cable, including many with the greatest need for educational programs, broadcast television is even less distinguished than it was then. For viewers with access to many channels, television may not be a wasteland, but it is a thick jungle of largely undistinguished programs. To be heard in a noisy jungle, one needs to have a distinctive voice.
Public television has that voice.
We raise most of our money from noncommercial sources, but an important part of our financing comes from corporate underwriting. And at least some of a corporation's desire to identify itself on public television comes from what anyone would consider a commercial motivation. I think the answer to this question, and the key to the purpose of public broadcasting, relates to the difference between a country and a market. The geographic United States and its population are a market. So is every other place and people.