McIntyre: It's no longer necessary to fund public broadcasting

Public broadcasting resembles the "live-in brother-in-law," writes The Heritage Foundation's Ken McIntyre in a column appearing in several newspapers. "For 40 years, taxpayers have paid the rent." McIntyre says it's time to cut pubradio and TV loose from government funding and let them "go it alone in the marketplace." If PBS and NPR had no government funding, he adds, they would be less self-indulgent. Also, viewers and listeners would be more likely to give them money. Echoing Charles McGrath's New York Times column "Is PBS Still Necessary," McIntyre writes, "The original mission - to provide quality educational, cultural and public affairs programs - is now the province of dozens of specialty networks."