Inside PBS Blog

In the February 17, 2008 New York Times, Charles McGrath asked, "Is PBS Still Necessary?" 836 readers responded. (Comments on the Times Web site are now closed.)

The newspaper's Web site isn't the only place online where the discussion continues.

Following is a roundup of some of the forums where the debate over PBS's value is playing out:

• The Online NewsHour has received over 5,700 comments. NewsHour spokesperson Anne Bell told Broadcasting & Cable's John Eggerton that an especially active NewsHour forum might receive 400 to 500 comments.
• Blogger Matt King accuses the NewsHour of being in league with the Poetry Foundation.
• President Susan Howarth of CET, Greater Cincinnati's public television station posted PBS President Paula Kerger's response letter to the Times on the CET Connect group blog.
• Gary Susman on PopWatch blog asks readers; "Think PBS has outlived its usefulness? Or is there a PBS show you're not ready to part with?"
• Remote Access gives historical perspective.
• Leonard Witt of Public Jounalism Network thinks the answer is more news programming on public broadcasting.
• North Texas station KERA blogger Jerome Weeks points to documentary series PBS P.O.V. and FRONTLINE.
• Digg, a social bookmarking service where users' favorite web pages are voted up or down, has an active comment thread on the Times article.
• Tampabay.com's "The Feed" blog compares PBS funding lobbying to Arnold Schwarzenegger's Kabuki.
• Social bookmarking service Reddit's users discuss President Bush's proposed halving of the 2009 budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the private non-profit corporation that provides some public broadcasting funding.
• One Reddit user reposted this 1969 video of Mr. Fred Rogers at a Senate hearing on the proposed halving of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting budget (Tuesday was the fortieth anniversary of the first national broadcast of children's program "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood"):
• Bob Sassone's TV Squad post on the Times article includes an Oscar the Grouch poll.
• In the TV Squad comments, reader Joanne Rogers, "the wife of 'Mr. Rogers'" weighs in.

Comments on this blog post have been turned off. To weigh in on the debate, please continue the discussions on the sites mentioned above.