lesson: Public Service TV
Purpose:
- to help students understand the differences between a public service television station and a commercial television station.
Activities:
- Have students read the following articles:
- Public Service TV
- Public Broadcasting in Europe
- Public vs. Commercial Television
- Public Broadcasting in the US
- In groups, contact a local public television station and a local commercial television station. Compare and contrast:
- How much of the station's income comes from advertising?
- How much comes from the government?
- How much comes from corporate underwriting?
- How much does it cost to "buy" a program (such as Sesame Street or syndicated episodes of Sienfeld)
- Present the data to the rest of the class using graphs or other visuals.
Questions? Comments? Post them to the Teacher's BBS.