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From: jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA (John Purbrick)
Newsgroups: net.tv.drwho,net.flame
Subject: Re: Re: Government funded TV.
Message-ID: <2276@mit-hermes.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 8-Jan-85 15:16:52 EST
Article-I.D.: mit-herm.2276
Posted: Tue Jan  8 15:16:52 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 11-Jan-85 07:19:42 EST
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Organization: The MIT AI Lab, Cambridge, MA
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Xref: watmath net.tv.drwho:738 net.flame:7544

> [Original message commented that BBC is government-run]
> 
> Can you imagine Reagan's government supporting Dr. Who?  Or NOVA, for
> that matter?  

But it doesn't, and that's the point. (British Gov't run the BBC, that is.) The
BBC is Govt *supported*, via license fees, but it is a matter of great pride
that it is independent in direction. Whether the American government would have
the forbearance and wisdom to refrain from blackmailing PBS if it didn't like 
its tone is debatable.

Look at France--they have a government-run TV setup, and people complain that
it carries propaganda. The current (socialist, sort-of) government complained
loudly when they were in opposition, but hasn't done much to change things, 
and the other parties are only complaining for ritual's sake, as they expect
to be back in the driver's seat soon.

Incidentally, am I the only person on the net who saw the original Dr Who
premiere on the BBC in 1963(?), in glorious black&white? It was so popular
that they repeated it the next week before starting episode 2.