----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Luke writes: "Yes, right now TV is responsible for our children's education. As for the 2nd question, WE CAN'T trust them. If Newt Gingrich has his way, I forsee a "vast wasteland" such as that which Newton Minnow spoke of 35 years ago. I really don't think education will be on their agenda unless it would bring in the max profit--which it doesn't. Hard Copy and Geraldo does." Well--there are sops thrown here and there, but many of them rip off or spin off ideas generated by CTW and other PBS enterprises. The opponents of public tv often point to the variety of "narrowcast" channels on cable, but that overlooks 3 elements: 1. Many of those narrowcast channels (A&E, Discovery ,et al.) recycle materials from PBS, or as above, are at least insprired by previous PBS efforts. 2. What channels are available depends on the community and the whim of the cable operators--we have no access to BRAVO, the Learning Channel, or even the SF Channel, just to name a few. 3. Getting those channels in the first place means paying a cable fee, which broadcast public tv doesn't require. And even if you pay a fee, you can get public tv usually at the lowest "tier" rates, but often have to pay extra for higher tier "speciality" channels. (And that doesn't include such premium, additional-fee channels as Disney, Cinemax, Showtime, etc.). --Don Larsson, Mankato State U., MN