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Molly wrote:
 
>This dependence on corporate sponsorship has increased dramatically over
the
>last few years -- have you noticed all the 10- or 20-second commercials
>attached to some PBS shows?  Technically they're not commercials, they're
just
>"sponsored by" announcements that are longer than most, but they're a sign
of
>how accommodating PBS has become to corporate interests.  I don't think
it's
>true anymore to say that "public networks are not dominated by a
>corporate/profit ethic" or that "they have a dedication to their audience
>rather than advertisers."  And I bet they are "dominated by ratings" much
more
>now that corporate sponsors are so important -- AT&T wants the most bang
for
>their sponsorship buck just like regular advertisers.
 
I'm not sure how much of this corporate sponsorship is solicited *by* PBS
stations and how much of it is solicited by the (independent) filmmakers
themselves.  Approaching various companies who might be willing to
underwrite the costs of a production in exchange for allowing them to
attach their "corporate message" for fifteen seconds at the beginning
and end of the program is a common practice.
 
Melissa
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