PBS Weighs Separation Of Church & Stations

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Washington Post

PBS stations are amid debating the limits of one of public television's basic commandments: Thou shalt not broadcast religious programming. The discussion, some station managers fear, could lead to a ban on broadcasts of local church services and other faith-oriented programs that have appeared on public stations for decades despite the prohibition.

The Public Broadcasting Service's board is to vote next month on a committee's recommendation to strip the affiliation of any station that carries "sectarian" content. Losing its PBS relationship would mean that a station could no longer broadcast programs that the service distributes, from "Sesame Street" to "Frontline."

The proposal is already having local ramifications. In anticipation of the vote next month, WHUT, the public station operated by Howard University in the District, has notified the Archdiocese of Washington that it will cancel "Mass for Shut-Ins," a Diocese-produced weekly program, if the PBS board adopts a strict interpretation. "Mass for Shut-Ins" has been carried on WHUT since 1996, and continuously on a Washington TV station for nearly 60 years.

"It's kind of a shock to us," said Susan Gibbs, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese. "They've been great partners of ours for a long time. . . . The Mass is a very local programming that provides a community service. You'd think public television would be about engaging the community."



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/15/AR2009051503430.html?hpid=moreheadlines

[jeff30997]

1. "You'd think public television would be about engaging the community."

Me think every religions or cults should pay taxes.

[SkyDaddy7]

26. Exactly!!!!

No taxes no public broadcast!!

[Proletariatprincess]

2. Ther is no place for religious services on PBS.

Let the Catholic church pay for its own broadcasting to shut-ins. This is not in the public interest. Public interest is the mission of Public Broadcasting...not the narrow interests of religions. There is too much Jesus stuff on the commercial airways anyway. I am really offended by this. It is long past time to consider that we who are not religious ARE offended by religious programming no less than some are offended by crude or vulgar progams. Enough. Keep your damn religion to yourself.

[frog92969]

5. Amen!

I find organized religion very crude and vulgar, it should be a hate crime against humanity.

And even though my PBS station (wmpt) doesn't go there I'm glad to hear this news.

[WCGreen]

6. You know you are a real Catholic when you turn of Mass for Shut ins

right after communion.

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. LOL!

My mom used to get so mad at my dad for leaving right after communion. He always sat in the back row so he could sneak out while that wafer was still melting in his mouth.

[Frank Booth]

37. Ha!

That sounds like most Sundays for the first 15 years of my life. Except it was trying to sneak out the back entrance without the sanctimonious folks in the front rows noticing.

[harmonicon]

7. no, not on PBS the network

but I don't really care what some member channels might show. I don't think having a few local stations carry a local mass is going to hurt me - any tax money that goes to support the PBS network doesn't go to the member stations.

[No Elephants]

10. Why only a Catholic mass? Don't other denominations have shut ins? You could broadcast

services 24/7 365 if you want to catch every religion and sect.

[harmonicon]

14. yeah - I could really care less - go for it

of course if a station did that 24/7 they wouldn't have time to show a single PBS program, and it would be a moot point.

[JDPriestly]

3. I see it more as a question of how you give equal access, i.e.,

equal opportunity to people of all religions to enjoy their religious programming. If public television, let's say, shows only the Unitarian service or only the Baptist service or only the Unitarian and Baptist services, then sounds like the Catholics would not have an equal use of the program time. Better to either rotate or show no religious programming.

[defendandprotect]

17. There is no "equal access" for religion . . . you don't seem to understand that . . .

There would be and should be NO religious programming shown.

Except on a channel dedicated to religion -- and I often note that's what

Pat Robertson/Disney channel does -- and the Catholics also have a channel.

Many Evangelicals on TV -- on their own stations.

PBS and other networks should have nothing to do with religion.

[SkyDaddy7]

27. I agree...

Not only that they do not pay taxes therefore they have no business on the public TV.

PBS is suppose to provide educational programming...This is why I donate!

[defendandprotect]

35. You're still donating to PBS????

Wow . . .

they've been calling it "Petroleum Broadcasting for more than 10 years now" ---

and the GOP subdued PBS long, long ago -- especially after the put the private

corporation - Corporation for Public Broadcasting -- in place to control PBS!!!

We need to do what they do in Europe -- support public TV with a license -- and

no other interference.

[Critters2]

36. Other networks?

This is only an issue because PBS receives government funding. Private networks should be free to show religious programming, as long as they allow access to all faiths.

[AndyTiedye]

4. Good for PBS!!

Keep religion outathere!

Methinks it's time to make a donation to PBS.

[Bluenorthwest]

8. Problem is that the Catholic Chruch is mostly political

And they spend much time and millions of dollars targeting specific minority groups for discrimination, as well as individuals who do not conform to their atavistic dogma. It is an anti-gay, anti-choice political organization, and as such their rallies should not be televised.

[Robbien]

9. If PBS carried religious services for every religion then

they might be serving the community. But they don't.

They cater to christians. How is that a public service?

[No Elephants]

11. Seems as though they are not even catering to all Christians, only Catholics.

[Arugula Latte]

28. It would be impossible to carry them for every religion -- there are multitudes,

with all sorts of sects and divisions within most of them, not to mention those of us who don't believe in mythology as truth.

They shouldn't cater to any religions, period.

[annm4peace]

12. I firmly believe in separation of church and state but this time.....

I was surprised. many elderly, and poor don't have cable or dish. so their only access is their networks. and if the only channel that is carrying a church show is their PBS it would be heart breaking to take that away from them. There are many elderly who live alone in their homes who that might be their main comfort or in a way social contact.


I don't know,, we had a "catholic" channel in fresno, ca.. and it is the only channel that carries Amy Goodman. but anyhow.. it was the only station my grandma liked to watch and it would have broken her heart to have it taken away. If PBS is only show one show that might be the only religious show the very religious elderly have to watch.

this is a dilemma.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

15. Doesn't seem like much of a dilemma to me

Religious programming shouldn't be on a public television station plain and simple. If Catholics want to broadcast their mass on television do it on a private channel like all other programming not on PBS. There are hundreds of channels to choose from, why do they have to be on the public channels?

[defendandprotect]

18. PBS should not be involved in carrying religous programming ---

[No Elephants]

13. Removing shows is not the problem. The problem is that PBS allowed violations of

its organizing and governing documents in the first place.

'Under bylaws enacted in 1985, PBS stations are required to present programs that are noncommercial, nonpartisan and nonsectarian. The rules were put in place to ensure balance and fairness among PBS-affiliated stations, which rely on government funding, private-sector grants and sponsorships, and contributions from viewers.

But the definition of "nonsectarian" programming has always been loosely interpreted, and the rule has never been strictly enforced, according to PBS officials. The issue came up for debate late last year as PBS stations began overhauling their membership rules for the transition to digital television."

And, in the text below is, I suspect, you will discern the real reasons for the overhaul.

Lawson said her station has never had a complaint about its Mass broadcasts, either. But the program has sparked interest from other religious groups that would like the station to broadcast their church or mosque services, she said. "We just have to tell them that <'Mass for Shut-Ins'> is a legacy program, and that we don't have the wherewithal or inclination to do any more," she said.

Like WLAE, some public TV stations are licensed to religious organizations that tailor locally produced shows to their beliefs.

KBYU in Provo, Utah, for example, is operated by Brigham Young University, which in turn is affiliated with the Mormon Church. The station airs much of the usual PBS fare -- "Arthur," "Barney," "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" -- but also broadcasts two hours a day of "BYU Devotional," which includes lectures from leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. KMBH, based in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and licensed to an affiliate of the Diocese of Brownsville, carries Sunday Mass broadcasts, Bible study in Spanish, and a family issues program hosted by a priest. In 2007, the station drew national attention when it declined to air "Hand of God," a critically praised "Frontline" documentary about clergy sexual abuse.

[defendandprotect]

16. "they've been great partners of our for a long time" . . . !!!

Don't know what prompted this reversal -- but it was a bad idea to begin with

and the elimination of these programs should be carried thru.

There are already stations which provide religious broadcasting --

We should also rid our public/town hall areas of all of the religous foo foo

that pops up over Winter Solstice. It's about the change of seasons --

not religous nonsense.

[mwb970]

20. There's already waaay too much religion in America.

Let's not have it on the public stations, please. There are other ways to get the "word" out.

[Chulanowa]

21. No surprises here

Except that there's a station with the call letters of "WHUT"

[RandomThoughts]

22. Wouldn't the constitution be more in favor

Of not banning content from any source, instead of banning all religious sources?

So PBS could show a catholic mass, or a protestant sermon, or if there was a significant public desire for it, an equivalent event from other religions.

The idea is not making a state religion. I don't think it means removing all religion from the state. Religion by coercion is silly, but censorship of religion does not seem to be the best idea either.

It should be noted, many people consider absence of all religion as a religion. So might that be in support of the religion of atheism, or support for the religious idea that the spiritual world does not exist?

[stopbush]

25. PBS doesn't have the capacity to accommodate every religion, so they

shouldn't carry any.

Just looking at one religion, there are over 30,000 Xian sects in the world. If PBS accommodates one, they must accommodate all. And that's just the Xian sects. What about the thousands of other religions in the world? PBS wouldn't have time to show anything but religious programming.

No, the clear FACT is that PBS shows a distinct and overwhelming bias to showing Catholic services. Why? Is it because the RCC can afford to buy the airtime?

I'm tired of this wink and a nod attitude to people breaking rules (and laws) because the old boys' club called Xianity has been allowed to get away with whatever shit they want for decades.

Screw that and the messiah they rode in on.

[Igel]

30. All or nothing seems to be a cop out.

The problem is manifold. Some here don't distinguish between a local station (WHUT) and PBS. Or one example from one market (Mass for Shut-ins in DC) with what stations across the US do. They don't distinguish from attempting to serve underserved members of a community (Catholics, in this case) from religious programming that serves other members and which is available on other channels (Billy Graham, if he's still on the air). It doesn't distinguish between trying to serve as many people as possible from serving even the smallest minority.

It's placing the bar as high as possible in order to stop a practice we disfavor--not out of principle but because of our predilections masquerading as high virtue.

Take language services for example: My local PBS station has programming in Spanish. There's a large Vietnamese community here, fair sized Pakistani and Indian and Chinese communities, not trivial communities that speak various Central American languages as their L1, Russian, various African languages and SE Asian languages, not to mention things like Armenian and Turkish and Arabic. The Pakistanis and Indians don't all speak Hindi-Urdu. Yet the PBS station has decided that it (not PBS-central) can serve an underserved community (Spanish-speakers, who lack radio news) because it's the largest of the communities. This is good. But it's precisely what WHUT is doing and has been doign since before these rules went into service. I could say that PBS has a distinct and overwhelming bias towards Latino programming, and I'd be trivially correct. The bias is trying to serve as many people with limited resources, and that's an ok kind of bias, in my book. I don't expect them to have HD 8.4 for Arabic, 8.5 for Urdu, 8.6 for Hindi, 8.7 for Russian, 8.8 for Tamil, 8.9 for Malayalam, 8.10 for Vietnamese, 8.11 for Cantonese, 8.12 for Mandarin, 8.13 for Cambodian, 8.14 for ...

Personally, I think the rules should be changed to have limits. Keep the rules for PBS central (I find some of *that* programming to be tacitly partisan, btw), but relax them for local stations during non-PBS broadcasting time. Relax the brand, in other words.

[RandomThoughts]

34. The choice of different programs

could be based on the preference, and diversity of the audience. PBS can accommodate all based on the diversity of the audience.

As far as showing more Catholic then you think is representative, then that is a topic of discussion. But their is a religion that specifically states its doctrine that there is no spiritual world. So no shows might favor that show.

But everyone gets to have their own choice of belief, and choice of opinions on things.

I actually would like to see an expansion of PBS programing and funding, including giving them a dedicated advertisement budget, so they could let people know what shows were coming up. Just like private sector does. Same thing for CNN.

Although it is possible private sector TV may be afraid of the competition their quality programming would create.

[customerserviceguy]

23. I like the religious history shows on PBS

They do not have a particular sect's axe to grind, and they certainly reveal some startling facts that people who only have a child's Sunday School knowledge of religion need to know.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

24. Religious services?

As many of you know, I'm a practicing liberal Episcopalian, but I'm opposed to carrying religious services on PBS.

That's what public access cable is for.

[jmowreader]

29. Aren't commercial stations required to do some broadcasting in the "public interest"?

If so, it seems to me like "Mass for Shut-Ins" would qualify as a public interest show. Only accept ads from companies that have crosses and/or Jesus fish in their logos, if they need to find a way to pay for it.

[onager]

31. The Cadillac Church already has a whole damn network.

From Wikipedia: The Eternal Word Television Network, or EWTN, is a United States-based broadcasting network that carries Roman Catholic-themed programming.

I occasionally turn it on for a laugh, as a break from more serious theological-philosophical fare such as Benny Hinn or Pat Robertson. I'm a Fundamentalist Atheist myself, so I only tune in to get my fix of Recreational Xianity.

It's a lot of fun during the Xmas season, when you can catch 900-year-old nuns selling life-size Baby Jesi for the creche. ($89.99, all credit cards accepted, less than life-size models available for cheapskate heathens who hate the Baby Jesus).

Oh, HERE'S a big surprise about the Cadillac Network! So what happens when "Mass For Shut-Ins" tells its viewers not to vote for pro-choice candidates...as only one possible example:

Secular content was gradually dropped from 1986 to 1988...

In the early 1990s, EWTN began producing more of its own shows and broadcasting the Mass daily. There was a distinctive conservative shift in the network's overall orientation, with programs featuring topics on social reform and justice gradually being phased out and replaced with general doctrinal teaching and discussion programs...

EWTN has been the target of criticism for its socially, politically and theologically conservative stances and positions, and has engaged in controversy with persons, organizations and ideas on the other side of the spectrum.

Of course, they're always pushing the product:

EWTN has programs discussing non-Catholic beliefs from its Catholic perspective, such as The Journey Home in which converts to Catholicism, usually from other Christian denominations, indicate their former beliefs, state their reasons for converting and discuss the spiritual journey that they traveled to reach the Catholic Church (hence the program's title). Guests are usually former Protestant pastors and ministers and occasionally include laypeople who are converts to the Catholic faith, as well as "cradle Catholics" who fell away from their early faith and later returned.


Bad idea. Catholic Church, quit trying to molest PBS.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

32. About time separation of church and state gets taken seriously nt

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[Frank Booth]

38. As a proud athiest, I have absolutely no problem

with PBS broadcasting Mass for Shut-Ins.

[Wednesdays]

39. K&R

:kick: