To the editor:

I am writing in response to Phil Koonce’s “letter of tragedy” that was published on March 19.

In his letter, Koonce bemoans the potential withdrawal of state funding for the Maine Public Broadcasting Network (MPBN). His letter prompted me do a little research on how this would affect Maine taxpayers.

Other states have also considered pulling or reducing funding for PBS radio and television stations. According to the PBS website, there are 368 PBS television stations and 934 radio stations throughout the U.S.

Also according to PBS, 26.4 million Americans listen to PBS each week. Media Life Magazine recently published that 84.8 percent of the U.S. population listens to radio, which includes both PBS and traditional commercial stations.

The U.S. population currently stands at approximately 312 million. Therefore, that means that 264.6 million people listen to all radio and only 26.4 million listen specifically to PBS. This represents 9.9 percent of all radio listeners are tuned into PBS.

Why should 90 percent of Maine taxpayers have to pay for less than 10 percent of the radio listeners?

Although PBS has some fine entertaining and thought-provoking programs (Yes, I occasionally have listened to MPBN), I fail to understand why Maine taxpayers are forced to fund MPBN. It’s nothing but a free ticket for MPBN listeners.

MPBN can get their funding from advertising commercials just like traditional radio and TV stations in Maine do, without impacting on the quality of their programs. Let’s spend the taxpayers’ money on more important issues for the state of Maine, such as increasing more business and job opportunities for Maine citizens.

James Mathis,
Bowdoin

letters@timesrecord.com