SC ETV- the state's public broadcasting system- has been on a major image-boosting campaign since Governor Sanford vetoed most of the legislature's appropriation for it.
It's like a fund drive, only all the time.
On the TV, they tell viewers things like that they are the secretariat for some international consortium of public broadcasters. Sounds nice, but they don't tell you how you, as a viewer/listener, benefit from it.
Another pitch says when you see a South Carolina public figure on CNN, Fox and other channels, they are likely being interviewed in ETV's Columbia studios.
That's nice to know, too. But it doesn't mean boo to viewers. It just means ETV has a revenue source outside fund drives, legacy gifts, and the sale of used cars. When Mark Sanford was making a fool of himself over rejecting stimulus funds, ETV made a sackful because Himself was on the box nearly every night for weeks.
But that has nothing to do with ETV's crappy programming, or its inexplicable tendency to go silent for extended periods. It just means they've got studio capacity.
The other big ETV meme is that they are an internationally respected source of programming.
We pondered that this afternoon while watching a hagiographic documentary on Senator Strom Thurmond.
It was produced 28 years ago, in 1982. Imagine Orrin Hatch with dark hair.
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