Today was a lazy day; we pretty much just sat and watched TV most of the day. And what did we watch? PBS, of course. We don’t have cable, in fact, the more we see of cable when we travel and stay in hotels that have it, the less we want it.
The last time we went away for a weekend, the cable at the hotel had about 80 channels. About half of it was infomercials, and most of the rest was more stuff we had no desire to watch. I just can’t justify the expense to get the few cable channels that we DO want to watch.
I’d rather send some of that money towards supporting WGBH, our local PBS station, than throwing it at the evil Comcast. For a fraction of what it costs to pay for cable in a year, I was able to send a donation to renew our membership, and get some nifty *thank you* gifts, as well.
Today there was a pledge drive show featuring Lidia Bastianich, who has been a mainstay of the PBS cooking shows for years now. I’ve always loved her shows. I decided t renew our membership during the show, and now I’ll be getting two of her cookbooks that I don’t have yet…”Lidia’s Family Table” and “Lidia’s Italy”.
Yeah, I know I could have gotten these books for a lot less from Amazon, but that’s not the point. The point is that now that we have six different PBS channels (thanks to the digital TV converter boxes), we’re getting so much more out of PBS, that it’s worth it to send them some money to keep things going. The amount we sent, as I said, is a fraction of what we would have paid in a year for cable if we had it. It’s also a drop in the bucket compared to our other expenses, such as Mike’s student loans, our car payments, and our auto insurance bills.
Comcast likes to tell people that the easiest way to prepare for the DTV transition is to sign up for cable, which involves a monthly bill. If you fall upon hard times and can’t pay that bill, Comcast shuts off your cable service. After February 17, 2009, that would mean NO TV at all.
But with the converter boxes, and perhaps a new antenna installed correctly, you will get free TV with many more channels than before, including more PBS. And nobody can ever shut it off. PBS does not require people to become members and donate money in order to watch. It is free for all to watch, but they do need donations in order to stay afloat. They used to get more money from the government, but not anymore…and that is good in a way. When they take money from the government, then they have a say as to what PBS can and can’t do. Better to get money from individuals and corporations who like what PBS is doing.
With the economy being what it is, no doubt that donations have dropped. So they really need people who can still afford it to pick up the slack and help out. If you enjoy PBS, be it the kids’ shows, the cooking shows, the news programs, whatever, please consider going to the website of your local station and making a pledge today.
I sound just like one of those pledge drive people, don’t I? But I really believe in it.
So I made a pledge today, renewed my membership, and will be getting a couple of nice books. But, more importantly, I wanted to help support the station, and keep it going so that people who can’t afford to donate can still enjoy it. 
