Harry Reid: “I am a great fan of public broadcasting. I listen almost every day to public radio. I am tremendously impressed with…”

“I am a great fan of public broadcasting. I listen almost every day to public radio. I am tremendously impressed with programs such as ``Prairie Home Companion'' and all the news stories in the morning that are extremely in depth. With public television, we all recognize the contributions made by the series on the Civil War, which is a classic and will continue to be in American television. The ``MacNeil, Lehrer News Hour,'' which is now the ``Lehrer News Hour,'' is the most in-depth news coverage that we have any place in America. There are many other programs on radio and on public television which I haven't mentioned that are quite good as well. I am struck by the amount of commercials I endure and we all have to endure when we listen to public radio and watch public television. In my estimation, it is out of hand. These commercials are technically called ``enhanced underwriting.'' You can call them whatever you want, but they are commercials. An article appeared a short time ago in the Washington Post entitled ``Now a Word About Our Sponsor.'' Critics say public radio's on-air credits come too close to being commercials, and, as indicated in that article, they are absolutely right. People are getting more disturbed every day with commercialism of public broadcasting.”