It MUST be cut! quite obviously, *this* is the funding that has created such a large shortfall in the budget, and it should be cut immediately! there couldn’t *possibly* be any other areas in the budget where money could be moved from. it’s just not possible.
Clearly you don’t understand the complexity of this issue. On an almost monthly basis I am faced with just such a choice in my household. Do I pay my mortgage or buy a box of Little Debbie Nutty Bars? As much as I love chocolate covered peanut butter creme filled wafer snacks, and I do, I choose to make the needed sacrifice so that my family may have a home to live in. Let’s give this difficult decision the respect it deserves, shall we?
The other 80% isn’t all pledge drives. Another few days isn’t going to cut it.
Each station has their own niche. I wouldn’t want to use taxes to fund a top 40 or opinion talk channel.
But MPBN has the niche for high quality educational programming and more news coverage than I feel any private organization would ever be compelled to produce in Maine. The public benefits of those products outweigh the few pennies it costs each in taxes. I don’t believe the private broadcasting companies could do them as well.
Cutting funding might very well be the death of MPBN, it’s that simple, which is, I suspect, just what Governor LePage wants. Had he advocated this during the campaign, it would be Governor Cutler (or if he had campaigned on it early enough it might possibly have been Governor Mitchell, because Cutler might have never established the center at all if LePage had looked unelectable to other than liberals).
It would be terrible to lose MPBN, especially for those of us who are now living “away.” How else can I keep up to date on what is going on in Maine, other than through MPBN podcasts? The online versions of the Maine newspapers are obviously not going to cut it.
It MUST be cut! quite obviously, *this* is the funding that has created such a large shortfall in the budget, and it should be cut immediately! there couldn’t *possibly* be any other areas in the budget where money could be moved from. it’s just not possible.
;)
Clearly you don’t understand the complexity of this issue. On an almost monthly basis I am faced with just such a choice in my household. Do I pay my mortgage or buy a box of Little Debbie Nutty Bars? As much as I love chocolate covered peanut butter creme filled wafer snacks, and I do, I choose to make the needed sacrifice so that my family may have a home to live in. Let’s give this difficult decision the respect it deserves, shall we?
If the state funds only 20% of the total bill, I don’t understand why they don’t just add another day or two in their pledge week.
Come on, guys. Why would the state be funding a network which has money? Why not fund WVOM or 103.1?
And why should those guys who own WVOM and 103.1 be forced to fund their own competition?
The other 80% isn’t all pledge drives. Another few days isn’t going to cut it.
Each station has their own niche. I wouldn’t want to use taxes to fund a top 40 or opinion talk channel.
But MPBN has the niche for high quality educational programming and more news coverage than I feel any private organization would ever be compelled to produce in Maine. The public benefits of those products outweigh the few pennies it costs each in taxes. I don’t believe the private broadcasting companies could do them as well.
Cutting funding might very well be the death of MPBN, it’s that simple, which is, I suspect, just what Governor LePage wants. Had he advocated this during the campaign, it would be Governor Cutler (or if he had campaigned on it early enough it might possibly have been Governor Mitchell, because Cutler might have never established the center at all if LePage had looked unelectable to other than liberals).
It would be terrible to lose MPBN, especially for those of us who are now living “away.” How else can I keep up to date on what is going on in Maine, other than through MPBN podcasts? The online versions of the Maine newspapers are obviously not going to cut it.