Puppets Protest Romney Threat to Broadcasting

Several hundred supporters of US public broadcasting marched on the US Congress Saturday in a "Million Puppet March" in favor of ongoing federal funding for non-commercial programming.

Published

7 months ago

Categories

US

Topics

United States, US Politics

People

Barack Obama, Mitt Romney

Places

United States of America, Washington, D.C.

Transcript

SHOTLIST: WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 3, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV - VAR of puppets "dancing" with Capitol in the background -Joanne and her giant Big Bird in front of the Capitol Reflecting Pool SOUNDBITE 1 Ajani Johnson (man), protestor [with a Martin Luther King puppet] (English, 17 sec): "I'm here to support PBS, public funding, Sesame Street and all the other programs that are free to the public. And we deserve a right to have free education for those who cannot afford it so ...[pointing to his puppet] 25 years later, I took him out of the box and I came out here today to support." - woman holding a sign about Elmo - VAR of Hermit the Frog in a man's bagpack - Protesters outside Capitol SOUNDBITE 2 Christina Fetzko (woman), protestor (English, 8 sec): "It's so important for education, it's so important for the kids and even the cconcept of that being a priority to cut -- it's absolutely ridiculous!" - VAR of man talking to protester dressed as Cookie monster SOUNDBITE 3 Joanne Heckman (woman), protestor [with a giant Big Bird] (English, 6 sec): "I just happened to have a life-sive Big Bird and I thought this would be a perfect occasion to bring him out!" - VAR of child dressed as Kermit the frod at the rally ------------------- AFP TEXT STORY US-vote-entertainment-media-protest Puppets protest Romney threat to US public broadcasting WASHINGTON, Nov 3, 2012 (AFP) - Several hundred supporters of US public broadcasting marched on the US Congress Saturday in a "Million Puppet March" in favor of ongoing federal funding for non-commercial programming. The good-humored protest was prompted by Republican challenger Mitt Romney's threat, in a televised debate with President Barack Obama a month ago, to halt government funding to public media if he wins the White House on Tuesday. Marching alongside "Sesame Street" characters such as Big Bird and Kermit the Frog, were a protester in a latex Romney mask and a Halloween-themed ensemble that billed itself as "the finest skeletons from the national closet." "It's not just 'Sesame Street'," co-organizer Michael Bellavia told AFP prior to the march, citing the long-running PBS educational television show tailored to young children. "We're saying we want to support the whole ecosystem of public media -- everything from the TV side, to radio, to all the Internet media that gets produced," he said. Fifteen percent of the overall public broadcasting budget in the United States comes from Washington. Contributions from foundations and individuals makes up the rest. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, established by Congress in the 1960s to channel federal funds to PBS, National Public Radio and other non-commercial broadcasters, was not involved in Saturday's protest. But in a brief statement to AFP, it noted: "We appreciate the recent outpouring of support and affirmation for value of public broadcasting.