Why Commercial Media and Its Fans Should Support Public Broadcasting

[Commentary] Imagine if Sesame Street had never pioneered its research methods that are adopted or adapted as the educational underpinning of virtually every preschool program today. Imagine if Barney had never proved that -- in preschool especially -- it's possible to do well by doing good. What if Fred Rogers had never stood up to Senator John Pastore and convinced him that TV need not be a vast wasteland?

Virtually everyone creating media for small children, in particular, has benefited from the leadership, risk and innovation of PBS, CPB and the local public service media outlets. Now-iconic TV series, games, websites, and the growing plethora of mobile apps for kids all bear traces in their DNA of a service created in the 1960s to be deeply educational, highly engaging, socially equitable, and cost-effective (public radio and TV, today, are still delivered for less than the cost of a cup of coffee per American per year). For over 20 years, I have traveled the world looking for best practices in children's media. I've reached two conclusions. First, a country that doesn't get children's media right seldom uses media wisely for anyone; and second, the countries that get it right for kids are almost always those with the strongest and best-resourced public service media (e.g., the UK, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Japan).