KBYU-TV AND KUED-TV ENGAGE IN "PERPETUAL" FUND DRIVES OVER PUBLIC AIR WAVES

Can you believe that KBYU-TV owned and operated by Brigham Young University is conducting yet another fund drive?  I count four this year, possibly five:  one in March, one in June, one in August, and one now currently running in this month of December.  It is possible I overlooked one or two at the beginning of 2011.

We see the same desire to rake in viewers' dollars and pledges with the other "public" TV station in Utah: KUED-TV, owned and operated by the University of Utah.

It used to be that "public" stations would conduct two drives, one in the spring, one in the fall.  But over the last few years, both KUED and KBYU have not been content with merely two.  So they engage in what could be considered perpetual fund drives.

I say, stop this ridiculous waste of air time by asking for donations.  There must be a better way.  I suggest we do away with all local "public" stations and have only one national station, something akin to BBC or France 24.  We could concentrate on quality programs such as world news and high quality artistic presentations, and get away from the habit of management of local TV and radio stations always looking to bring in the dollars.