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Public Broadcasting Service

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is the U.S. public broadcasting television network and content distributor. PBS is known worldwide for shows such as Sesame Street, The Advocates, Washington Week in Review, The Great American Dream Machine, Frontline, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, The PBS NewsHour, Nova, and Cosmos, among others. This entry provides a framework for understanding the nature of PBS as a broadcaster and then explains the history, structure, mission, and financing of the company.

Overview

Mass communication audiovisual systems are classified into three reference models: public, private, and mixed. The mixed model is predominant although it reflects variations depending on the country. Since its origins, but especially since the end of World War II, the private model has been represented by the U.S. system, the public model ...

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