Don't Switch Off Public Radio; PBS Provides Diverse Programs

Thank you for the article ``We Need Public TV, and Public TV Needs Government Support,'' Jan. 13. Let us not forget public radio, as well.

I have just had the pleasure of listening to a complete broadcast of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremonies from Atlanta. It was brought to me from National Public Radio's ``Performance Today'' program and KRWG, the public radio station that serves my rural area.

I doubt that any commercially supported network would see fit to broadcast this important commemoration.

Newt Gingrich's assertion that public broadcasting teaches people ``how to think'' is ludicrous. Public broadcasting provides a diverse array of information. People who support and partake of public broadcasting are people who think for themselves. I contend that this is what Mr. Gingrich and his fellow demagogues fear. Jan Hurley, Silver City, N.M.

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