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The poll continues.... Please give us feedback: Should the Online NewsHour begin accepting advertising?
Before Thanksgiving we began an experiment in "community consultation". We asked you to help us assess whether the Online NewsHour should begin accepting traditional advertising as a source of revenue for our site. The feedback has been useful and we have benefited from a wide range of opinion. While we're mulling over the issues raised in your letters -- and we'd still like more -- we'd thought we'd share a sampling of your comments. Your input is an important part of the decision-making process, and again, thank you for taking the time to share your views with us.
Support
John E. Mollwitz, Milwaukee, WI:
The mission of the PBS broadcast product is different from the mission of the Online product. In the former, you are striving to serve the entire society; in the latter you are striving to serve those who find they need further information. The latter is a value-added product, and as such deserves some kind of compensation.
Dan Gorman, Chicago, IL:
Feel free to accept advertising. I trust that the editorial integrity of the NewsHour will prevent any undue influence by advertisers on your content. Whereas television and radio advertising can be highly intrusive, my experience with advertising on the Net is more like ads in a magazine-- a few may grab my attention, but I am perfectly free to ignore them.
Gene Tey, Glastonbury, CT:
It is obvious that traditional sources of funding will continue to be susceptible to (governmental) support, so PBS should be more proactive not only in developing revenue sources, but in helping define what are acceptable forms of sponsorship/advertising on the Web.
Opposed
John Clarke, Waco, TX:
The addition of advertising should be analyzed from the recipient's point of view. All who log on to your site will have to incur extra costs for the additional transmission time needed to load the advertising graphics. The upshot is that WE pay for the use of the bandwidth, and then we are forced to "pay" for material which we do not, by and large, utilize. If I'm shopping for something over the Internet, I'm going to use a search engine to find the site rather than waiting for it to arrive on some page which is unrelated to my purchase attention.
Mark Smith, Richland, WA:
I am concerned about the possible precedent set by the use of advertising for Public Broadcasting. ..Will this validate the argument from some people that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting should no longer receive government funding? I hope not. Also, however unobtrusive ads may be, the inevitable ad/edit conflict will sully your reputation. Even the appearance of collusion is enough to send me to another source. The Web is open enough for me to find plenty of openly commercial sources.
Arthur Lue, Cambridge, MA:
Whenever I have been able to, I have contributed to PBS. My primary reason for doing so has been the NewsHour and its uniquely professional approach to journalism. Although it is still rather new, I have come to view the online version of the NewsHour as an integral part of the program. I suspect that over time, as technology steadily advances, the online and television versions of the NewsHour will become more and more integrated. I would be as uncomfortable supporting advertising on this Web site as I would on the television program proper. Ultimately, I see this issue as being one concerning the commercialization of public television. The fact that the Web is now considered a distinct medium will soon be moot. I would strongly encourage the producers of the NewsHour to continue maintaining the Online NewsHour in the tradition of public television.
Our forum asks: Should the Online NewsHour begin accepting banner ads? Would this advertising on the top of some pages impact your opinion of this Web site?
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