Comcast’s plan to buy Time Warner Cable may...

Comcast’s plan to buy Time Warner Cable may provide a way to “start the endowment” for public broadcasting, depending on how the deal proceeds, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., told members of the Association of Public Television Stations. “A crazy idea? Perhaps. But we need to be aware of opportunities like that.” Blumenauer founded the Public Broadcasting Caucus in 1999 and co-chairs it. He mentioned a “lot of concerns” about the proposed cable acquisition. “How are we going to establish a permanent endowment for public broadcasting?” Blumenauer asked, slamming the annual “circus” that surrounds funding it. He praised association members for “a magnificent outpouring of support,” which has helped buy them “breathing room,” he said Tuesday at the Library of Congress. But “the point for me is ‘can we build on this moment?'” he asked. “I hope we can.” He urged public broadcasters to take a look at the congressional recess calendar and encourage members of Congress to visit their stations when back in their home districts. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said funding for public broadcasting “has just kept pace with inflation” and “we can use a lot more.” There’s also a need for more than just money -- there’s a need to fight the “broader assault on our public institutions” and ideological attacks on public broadcasting, Harkin said. It’s “complete nonsense” to say public broadcasting advocates are “elitist” or “snobby,” Harkin insisted. He recalled former FCC Chairman Newton Minnow’s quote about TV being “a vast wasteland” and then Harkin derided Jersey Shore and Honey Boo Boo, which he said he hadn’t watched but his staff told him about. “That can’t be true,” Harkin had told his staff about the latter program, he said. “Duck Dynasty? Is that really a show?” He said there should be space for at least one public network. “I may be retiring from the Senate, but I'm not retiring from the fight,” said Harkin.