25. The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967
In 1965 the private Carnegie Foundation funded a study by a national commission on the impact of public television. Its 1967 report, Public Television: A Program for Action, led to the introduction of legislation which created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a non-profit corporation. By the end of the decade, both the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR) were established by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Programming was established as commercial free, and subject to review to ensure it was not influenced by the commercial demands of the donors who produced it. It remains supported by donations from corporations and individuals.
PBS gave the United States alternative programming, both dramatic and educational, which included Sesame Street (1969); Masterpiece Theater, (1971, and later known simply as Masterpiece); the first national broadcast of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood (it had originated in Canada on CBC); gavel to gavel coverage of the Senate Watergate hearings by Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer, and numerous British productions, including the popular Downton Abbey. By the 21st century, polls conducted by Roper Opinion Research consistently indicated Americans considered PBS the most trusted institution in the United States.
Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“Colonial Education”. Article, Stratford Hall: Home of the Lees of Virginia. Stratfordhall.org.
“Foundations: The 1892 Committee of Ten”. Hazel W. Hertzberg, Social Education. February, 1988
“Origins of the TVA: The Muscle Shoals Controversy, 1920-1932”. Preston J. Hubbard. 1961
“TVA: Democracy on the March”. David E. Lilienthal. 1953
“Roosevelt, the Great Depression, and the Economics of Recovery”. Elliot A. Rosen. 2005
“When Movements Matter: The Townsend Plan and the Rise of Social Security”. Edwin Amenta, 2006
“Health security for all: dreams of universal health care in America”. Alan Derickson. 2005
“When Dreams Came True: The G. I. Bill and the Making of Modern America”. Michael J. Bennett. 1996
“Over Here: How the G.I. Bill Transformed the American Dream”. Edward Humes. 2006
“Interstate: Express Highway Politics 1939-1989”. Mark H. Rose. 1990
“The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South 1932-1968”. Kari Frederickson. 2001
“Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society”. John A. Andrew. 1998
“Medicare, Fair Pay, and the AMA”. Michael L. Millenson, healthaffairs.org. September 10, 2015
“Public Radio and Television in the United States: A Political History”. Ralph Engelman. 1996