alternative hippopotamus

progressive cyberdadaism from our nation’s capital

August 25, 2006

WETA

by AltHippo @ 9:02 pm. Filed under Uncategorized

Often, when I’m at the occasional gathering here in DC, I’ll get into a conversation about WETA, our local public broadcasting affiliate. I have pretty decent memories of what PBS was in its origins. To put a word to it: inspiring. Inspiring to those of us who believe that the public air really belongs to the public. Even when I was in college, PBS was the meter stick of what television should be.

At this point I have sharp words for what PBS, or at least WETA has become. I don’t want to tar the very best shows (like NOW and Frontline) with the same brush that I reserve for shows like Inside Washington. For those of you who don’t live in the district, Inside Washington is also broadcast on our local ABC affiliate, channel 7. I’m not really sure why shows that appear on public television also appear on commercial tv, but that’s the state of affairs.

Tonight I watched as Nina Totenberg told Howard Dean to shut up, or as close as I can remember said: “Democrats that I talk to would prefer Howard Dean should stop talking” and Charles Krauthammer said that the Katrina disaster is an event that was short lived, and we’ve moved on from it.

These are views that reflect in no way public opinion here in the district. How can they call themselves public television, and not know the views of their neighbors?

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2 Responses to “WETA”

  1. The Absurdist Says:
    August 26th, 2006 at 7:49 am

    For people living in Washington, D.C., as opposed to across the Potomac, the local public broadcasting affiliates are WAMU on the radio and WHUT on the TV, both of which broadcast from within the District.

  2. AltHippo Says:
    August 26th, 2006 at 5:53 pm

    There’s a good deal to back up that argument. When I have written to WETA pointing out that they have a viewpoint that is not representative of DC, they’ve responded saying that they see their viewing area as VA, MD, DC, and parts of West Virginia.

    And, of course many of these shows are syndicated across the country.

    Yet, the pundits that are on these shows do live here. And, the way that they talk leaves me wondering if this isn’t just evidence of the Washington bubble, or, as Eric Boehlert puts it, the modern equivalent of the court at Versailles.

    There’s also some history. WETA in the 70’s and 80’s was a forum for ideas. I remember watching Tinker Tailor with Alec Guiness, or Seize the Day with Robin Williams, or the McNeill-Lehrer News Hour, and thinking that this is great television.

    We were probably spoiled at the time. This was also when commercial television ran the Mary Tyler Show, Bob Newhart, MASH, All in the Family, Fernwood Tonight, etc.

    Don’t get me wrong. There’s some tv today that I think is very well done. Unfortunately, it’s being done by the BBC, and we should be able to equal that programming.

    (Note that the above commentary does not apply to the Daily Show or the Colbert Report, which are national treasures.)

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