I en tid där public-servicetanken inom etermedierna är ifrågasatta visar det sig att amerikaner ser sitt PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) som viktigt.

• 50 percent of respondents trust PBS “a great deal.” Courts of law are second with 28 percent.
• PBS is the most valuable service tax payers receive, second only to military defense. 20 percent stated PBS was an “excellent” use of their tax dollars. Military defense alone outranked PBS, with 36 percent giving it the highest rating.
• Americans are most satisfied with programming on PBS compared to cable and commercial broadcast. 34 percent of respondents are “very satisfied” with current PBS programs, compared to 24 percent for cable and 16 percent for commercial broadcast.
• The majority of Americans (59 percent) believe having PBS is “very important.” Commercial broadcasting and cable networks were considered very important by only 40 percent and 36 percent of respondents, respectively.
• PBS has the most trusted news and public affairs programs. Forty percent trust PBS programs “a great deal.” CNN was second at 33 percent.
• Most Americans (79 percent) believe that funding given to PBS from governments, corporations and individuals is “money well spent.”
• The majority of the public (51 percent) believe the federal funding PBS receives is “too little.”

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