ewp (11/02/82)
"Public" television is not free, and only a small minority of the people who watch it actually send in any money. I hope that "distressed" was distressed because he sent in money to keep it commercial free. Unfortunately, they didn't get enough to make it without some commercials. Our only consolation is the small number and high quality of the commercials they do allow. without malice aforethought, Ed Pawlak BTL - IW
ignatz (11/02/82)
WTTW does not, to my eye, particularly screen the commercials. They have, so far, bunched them between shows only, and usually followed by an apology. Basically, not enough people volunteered to subscribe, and the choice was between the quality of presentation, or supplemental income. Of course we're bothered; but, if the choice had to be made, I think this was the right one. Dave Ihnat ihuxx!ignatz
dwv (11/02/82)
As long as the commercials are between shows they dont bother me in the least. Better to have them between high quality shows then in the middle of low quality shows. I did send my $30 to WTTW in Chicago. Not afraid to sound commercial Dave Vollman Naperville, IL.
paul (11/02/82)
From reading the newspapers, I understand that commercials on PBS are being "test-marketed" in several cities. That's why some have seen them, and others haven't. Anyway, for those of you who are in a market that is showing commercials, you can do the rest of us a favor. Get into bitch mode and complain locally. Flame those program directors! Otherwise, commercials will spread nation wide!!!!! We're counting on you. PS Do they show Ronco commercials, or the more tasteful Ginsu steak knives and Popeil pocket fisherman ones?
douglis (11/02/82)
I agree fully that it is better to have commercials in-between shows than during them. One long series of commercials gives the viewer a chance to run off and grab a snack without fear of missing something, whereas lots of 5-minute breaks just ruin the continuity of anything we watch short of "Roger loves Rover." Most (all?) European television has commercials before and after the news, but not during entertainment. Now, if only \private/ television would follow the example, we could really enjoy television! Fred Douglis decvax!yale-comix!douglis douglis@YALE
tjr (11/03/82)
re: Commercials on PBS, and TV in general. There have been several articles declaiming the trend of American TV, citing its pandering to a 4-year old audience, etc. And also several suggestions to throw the TV out the window (shades of SCTV), because there are MANY better things to do than sit mesmerized in front of a screen (but what are you doing this minute?!). I disagree. There are many interesting and intelligent programs on TV. In fact, one could easily argue that TV is THE MAJOR ART FORM of this decade. Much of this is due, of course, to its ability to show movies, but a significant fraction of the good (by your definition, whatever it is) programs are TV originals. The trick, of course, is to know the difference, as there is also a great deal of junk on TV. There is another aspect of TV which is so obvious that the other articles have largely neglected it. TV is virtually the only way to view the great (and the not-so-great) movies of the past. This alone, to me, is worth the costs of TV (yes, and even the pain of an occasional glimpse of Alice, or Archie Bunker, or ...). A note: The purchase of a Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) has significantly improved my life-style. I can now watch good movies at my convenience, when they are shown at the station's convenience (3am). The number of good, interesting movies and programs now greatly exceeds my ability to watch them. Although the small-screen and poor audio are detriments, the sense and scope of the artists' intentions come through in force; it's MUCH preferable to not seeing them at all. Tom Roberts ..ihps3!ihnet!tjr
bj (11/04/82)
From reading the newspapers, I understand that commercials on PBS are being "test-marketed" in several cities. . . . What? You don't get all your news from the net??? Not afraid to commercialize my name, B.J. decvax!yale-comix!herbison-bj Herbison-BJ@Yale
tom@sri-unix (11/04/82)
Rather than just complaining, give $$ & complain.