This new (anonymous) voice in the ether is offering up some radical, and, it seems, well motivated ideas about how to change up the public television system. Certainly worth wrestling with or embracing depending on your point of view…
Efficiency Idea 1
In our quest to identify ways that PBS can cut costs, we will offer regular “Efficiency Idea” posts. Today’s deals with distribution.The Pony Express was a private endeavor founded just over 150 years ago to allow expedited communication with the West. At its height, the Pony Express had over 100 stations (by some counts as many as 157), 80 riders, and between 400-500 horses. The completion of the Pacific Telegraph line on October 24, 1861 rendered the Pony Express obsolete, and it closed after a little more than 19 months of operation. Though the Pony Express served a vital need, its three founders closed the business without ever achieving financial success. Upon closing the business, the partners filed for bankruptcy.
http://www.ponyexpress.org/index.php?page=HistoryImagine the US government decided to take over the Pony Express after the completion of the Pacific Telegraph line. We need the Pony Express, they would argue, to make sure the West can receive high quality information (handwritten letters) that telegraph communication just can’t offer. They would spend money keeping up the stations, paying the riders, and caring for the horses. Wouldn’t that be a waste of money? ctd…
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