Today is the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Public Broadcasting Act
Fitting that it comes the day after federal funding was, in all likelihood, saved for at least the foreseeable future.
… Following is some of what President Johnson said in his remarks before signing the Act …
"The message Samuel Morse sent to a friend after he invented the telegraph was, "What hath God wrought?"... Everyone of us should feel that same sense and awe and wonderment here today... For today miracles in communication are a daily routine...Today our problem is not making miracles but managing miracles. We might ponder a different question: what hath man wrought and how will man use his inventions. The law that I will sign shortly offers one answer to that question. It announces to the world that our Nation wants more than just material wealth; our nation wants more than a "chicken in every pot". We in America have an appetite for excellence, too. While we work every day to produce new goods and create new wealth, we want also to enrich man's spirit. That is the purpose of this act.... "What hath man wrought? And how will man use his miracles? The answer just begins with public broadcasting. So today we rededicate a part of the airwaves-which belong to all of the people- and we dedicate them for enlightenment of all of the people..." November 7, 1967
