I was raised on conservative talk radio, especially Rush Limbaugh. When I started my first job, WRVO was on the radio all day long. At first, I hated it because so much of what they said didn't line up with what I believed. Over time though, I started to notice the rhetorical differences. The news was just statement of facts, not opinions. The hosts weren't loud, emotional or bombastic. Guests were from across the political spectrum, and the hosts had respectful debates with them and insisted that they back up their statements. Over a period of years, I was able to dismantle some of the assumptions I had and came to believe in the importance of researching to develop my own opinions rather than letting pundits deliver analysis. I got curious about how to find primary sources and raw data, and started comparing different sources against each other. I started noticing biased and normative language. I took a big step back and wasn't politically affiliated for several years. I moved to a place within walking distance of the public library, and I noticed that the new books rack was full of titles that had been discussed on public radio, which led me to discover that I love nonfiction. Ultimately, all of this resulted in me deciding to become a librarian, and I have spent nearly 20 years happily teaching people how to be critical users of information. I doubt that any of this would have happened without the contrast between WRVO and the political programming I had been used to.

First off, I LOVE PBS!! My own children watched all the time when they were young. I felt that I could allow them to watch PBS without worrying whether it was "safe" shows! As an adult, I also watch PBS quite often with my favorite show currently being Call the Midwives. I believe PBS enriches my life with a lot of information that is clear, concise and engaging, and I believe my own children also got this enrichment. Furthermore, I am a librarian and I use PBS Learning to enhance the things that my students are learning. It has a lot of engaging and fun videos and activities as well that are very appropriate for the students I work with. I believe it enriches my students perspective of themselves and the world around them.