Rick Steves’ Travel Blog

Earlier this week, I posted my thoughts on the proposed cuts in government funding for public broadcasting. USA Today liked my article and wanted to run it as an exclusive op-ed in Thursday’s edition, so I temporarily removed it from my blog. In order to fit the confines of their printed pages, it was edited down to what you see on their website. Below is my original, full-length version.

Congress is dealing with this issue imminently. If you are concerned, please contact your member of Congress today with a phone call or email.

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Our government spends $430 million a year on public broadcasting…less than the $500 million that (according to the Washington Post) it spends each year for marching bands in our military. With our current frenzy to cut the fat out of government, nothing is sacred ‘ except, apparently, non-essential expenses for the military. This puts marching bands on solid financial footing, while public broadcasting is facing the budget ax.

I’m certainly not anti-band. I actually transferred universities in order to play in a top-notch marching band. (In fact, every thirty years or so, I get out the old sousaphone to channel John Phillip Sousa.) But I believe non-commercial media that respects the electorate’s intelligence, assumes an attention span, and can produce content with no regard to advertiser interests is important to the fabric of our society and to the strength of our democracy.

Of course, I am part of public broadcasting. I produce radio and television shows that air across the nation on public broadcasting stations. While I could charge stations to air the shows I produce, I’d rather offer my TV and radio programs to the system for free (though, of course, my business benefits from the exposure I get). Therefore, I fund my own shows, then try to get underwriting from corporations (such as American Airlines, to whom I am grateful). My underwriters support my work, but do not dictate content. This allows me to introduce my viewers and listeners to the world I actually experience, rather than a version of the world shaped by the need to sell something. On TV, I can take viewers inside Iran to talk with everyday people, or to the Swiss Alps to celebrate Christmas, without wondering, “Will this offend advertisers?” On the radio, I can talk to the drug czar of Portugal about innovative drug policies, or to a gay activist in Lebanon, without sheltering our audience from thoughts that might get them out of their comfort zone.

But the value of public broadcasting in our society is much more important than being able to enjoy travel shows that aren’t shills for the mainstream tourism industry. Public broadcasting subsidizes news that is less exciting, but more insightful ‘ produced by journalists rather than entertainers…pursuing the truth, rather than advertising. Public television makes possible non-commercial children’s programming that is not shaped by people who sell our kids toys. And public broadcasting keeps culture alive even when it is not a commercial hit. Rather than lowering our society’s intellectual bar, it challenges us to be engaged. Public broadcasting inspires America to be smart. Of course, some will say, “Leave it to the marketplace.” But that’s just the point: Government-subsidized broadcasting makes possible media outside the marketplace and our society needs that for its own good.

Our society spends one-2,000th of a trillion dollars on providing the seed funds to make non-commercial broadcasting possible in our otherwise very commercial world. Public broadcasting requires much more money than that, which it gets from its audience through contributions and from corporate citizens through underwriting. Government funding is only about a tenth of what it takes to run public broadcasting in our country, but it enables this slice of our culture to exist. Does the American public ‘ which generates $13 trillion of wealth each year ‘ understand the cost to our society of sacrificing public broadcasting (to save less than $2 per citizen) in the name of fiscal restraint? (To learn more, visit www.170millionamericans.org. To make a difference, contact your member of Congress.)

I believe cutting government funding for public broadcasting would result in huge costs to our society ‘ even to people who find PBS or NPR threatening and annoying. You can make a very good case that, considering the complex and unprecedented challenges facing our nation today, programming like Sesame Street, All Things Considered, and public broadcasting’s trademark brand of quality independent journalism are actually important to our national security interests. Yes, marching bands can stir our troops to valor. But shouldn’t we find the resources, even in challenging economic times, to stir our minds to action as well?

By Rick Steves, host and producer of Rick Steves’ Europe on public television and Travel with Rick Steves on public radio.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

We just finished our annual all-staff meeting ‘ eight hours, 80 people ‘ and it was all together inspirational, exhilarating, and exhausting.

We talked about how to expand our market (in guidebooks and tours); we don’t need to hit new destinations but we do need to hit new market segments. In other words, sure, we could write a guidebook or organize a tour of Malta, Finland, or Romania. But if we want to help more travelers (and make more money), we’d be better off addressing the needs of American travelers heading for Rome or Paris or the Alps who, for various reasons, don’t already look to us for advice.

For that reason, we are developing “Rick Steves’ Pocket Guides” (shorter books with more color photos) to some great cities (Paris, London, and Rome) which will be out later this spring ‘ and a guide to Mediterranean cruise ports (due to sail in June).

To appeal to travelers whose needs we may not be meeting now, we are developing two new kinds of tours: slower, more relaxed tours and cheaper, scaled-down tours (that include less, cost less, and provide an economic and efficient shell for do-it-yourself travelers).

We also have a new initiative called “Rick Steves’ Europe for Teachers,” which will redesign some of our material for teaching needs. “Europe 101” (our art book), “Travel as a Political Act,” and our library of TV shows on DVD are already being used by high school and college teachers throughout the country with no support or tailoring from us. I’m going to the NAFSA: Association of International Educators convention in Vancouver, B.C., this May to learn more and meet with educators about this initiative.

We’re also (like everyone else with something fun to market) hot on social networking. I’ve even tweeted three times now. With over 6,000 traveling tweeters out there awaiting my tweet, what’s not to like about sharing 140 enticing characters at a time?

I finished the all-day meeting thankful to be working with a great gang of people. The travel teacher in me, who is so keen on amplifying my ideas, knows I’d be just some vagabond with a big mouth on the street corner without this talented and hard-working team. I often say that it’s the people you meet on the road that make travel so fun and rewarding. And, like connecting with good people abroad makes a trip sparkle, enjoying the people you collaborate with in the workplace is also important. In fact, for me, it’s a fundamental part of living well.

I imagine every little entrepreneurial venture strives to maintain the conviviality it had with its original merry gang of eight or 10 workmates. To maintain that esprit de corps with a workforce of 80 is a bigger challenge. And I think we’ve managed to accomplish just that. Thanks to my wonderful staff for helping this travel teacher share his ideas and for making ETBD what it is.

We just hosted our annual tour guide summit here in Seattle. After a long day of tour itinerary workshops, we took our European guides out for Mexican food and music. Mexican cuisine is far more interesting to a European than to an American eater. To get 50 or so professional guides from a dozen different countries wearing sombreros and dancing to “La Bamba” with no tour members in sight made for a very enjoyable evening.

Can’t see the video below? Watch it on YouTube.