The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational programs to public television stations in the United States, distributing shows such as Frontline, Nova, PBS NewsHour, Arthur, Sesame Street, and This Old House.

PBS is funded by a combination of member station dues, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, pledge drives, and donations from both private foundations and individual citizens. All proposed funding for programming is subject to a set of standards to ensure the program is free of influence from the funding source. PBS has over 350 member television stations, many owned by educational institutions, nonprofit groups both independent or affiliated with one particular local public school district or collegiate educational institution, or entities owned by or related to state government.

 PBS has nearly 350 member stations around the United States.

History

PBS was established on November 3, 1969, by Hartford N. Gunn Jr. (president of WGBH), John Macy (president of CPB), James Day (last president of National Educational Television), and Kenneth A. Christiansen (chairman of the department of broadcasting at the University of Florida).

It began operations on October 5, 1970, taking over many of the functions of its predecessor, National Educational Television (NET), which later merged with Newark, New Jersey station WNDT to form WNET. In 1973, it merged with Educational Television Stations. Around the same time, the groups started out the National Public Affairs Broadcast Center (later National Public Affairs Center for Television), which offered news and national affairs to the service. The group was later merged into member station WETA-TV in 1972.

Immediately after public disclosure of the Watergate scandal, on May 17, 1973, the United States Senate Watergate Committee commenced proceedings; PBS broadcast the proceedings nationwide, with Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer as commentators. Although all of the Big Three TV Networks ran coverage of the hearings, PBS re-broadcast them on prime time. For seven months, nightly "gavel-to-gavel" broadcasts drew great public interest, and raised the profile of the fledgling PBS network.

In 1991, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting resumed funding for most PBS shows that debuted prior to 1977, with the exceptions of Washington Week in Review and Wall Street Week (CPB resumed funding of Washington Week in 1997).

In 1994, The Chronicle of Philanthropy released the results of the largest study on the popularity and credibility of charitable and non-profit organizations. PBS ranked as the 11th "most popular charity/non-profit in America" from over 100 charities researched in the study conducted by the industry publication, with 38.2% of Americans over the age of 12 choosing "love" and "like a lot" for PBS.

Since the mid-2000s, Roper Opinion Research polls commissioned by PBS have consistently placed the service as the most-trusted national institution in the United States. A 20162017 study by Nielsen Media Research found 80% of all US television households view the network's programs over the course of a year. However, PBS is not responsible for all programming carried on public television stations, a large proportion of which may come from its member stations—including WGBH-TV, WETA-TV, WNET, WTTW, WQED, WHYY-TV, Twin Cities PBS—American Public Television, and independent producers. This distinction regarding the origin of different programs on the service presents a frequent source of viewer confusion.

In December 2009, PBS signed up for the Nielsen ratings audience measurement reports, and began to be included in its primetime and daily "Television Index" reports, alongside the major commercial broadcast networks.

In May 2011, PBS announced that it would incorporate breaks containing underwriter spots for corporate and foundation sponsors, program promotions and identification spots within four breaks placed within episodes of Nature and NOVA, airing episodes broken up into segments of up to 15 minutes, rather than airing them as straight 50- to 55-minute episodes. The strategy began that fall, with the intent to expand the in-program breaks to the remainder of the schedule if successful.

In 2011, PBS released apps for iOS and Android to allow viewing of full-length videos on mobile devices. Vern Seward of The Mac Observer calls the PBS iPad App, "...cool on so many levels." An update in 2015 added Chromecast support.

"PBS UK" was launched as a paid subscription channel in the United Kingdom on 1 November 2011, featuring American documentary programming sourced from PBS. Better identifying its subject matter, this channel was renamed "PBS America" on 4 July 2012. The channel has subsequently become available in other parts of Europe and Australia.

On February 28, 2012, PBS partnered with AOL to launch Makers: Women Who Make America, a digital documentary series focusing on high-achieving women in male-dominated industries such as war, comedy, space, business, Hollywood and politics.

PBS initially struggled to compete with online media such as YouTube for market share. In a 2012 speech to 850 top executives from PBS stations, Senior Vice President of Digital Jason Seiken warned that PBS was in danger of being disrupted by YouTube studios such as Maker Studios. In the speech, later described as a "seminal moment" for public television, he laid out his vision for a new style of PBS digital video production. Station leadership rallied around his vision and Seiken formed PBS Digital Studios, which began producing educational but edgy videos, something Seiken called "PBS-quality with a YouTube sensibility". The studio's first hit, an auto-tuned version of the theme from one of their most famous television programs, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, was one of YouTube's 10 most viral videos of 2012. By 2013, monthly video views on PBS.org had risen from 2 million to a quarter-billion, PBS.org traffic had surpassed that of the CBS, NBC, and ABC web sites, PBSKids.org had become the dominant US children's site for video, and PBS had won more 2013 Webby Awards than any other media company in the world.

On May 8, 2013, full-length episodes of PBS' prime time, news and children's programs were made available through the Roku streaming player; programming is available on Roku as separate streaming channels for "PBS" and "PBS KIDS" content. Some content is only available with a PBS Passport member benefit subscription.

On July 1, 2016, Amazon Prime Video and PBS Distribution entered into a multi-year agreement which saw several PBS Kids series on other streaming services move to Amazon Prime Video.

PBS Distribution partnered with MultiChoice to launch PBS KIDS on May 22, 2019, on DStv and GOtv subscription platforms across its Sub-Saharan Africa footprint. In mid-2021, the channel was added to Australia's Foxtel subscription platform.

At the summer 2019 Television Critics Association press tour day for PBS on July 29, 2019, it was announced that MVPD YouTube TV would begin to carry PBS programming and member stations in the fall of 2019. Member stations have the choice of having their traditional channel on the service with its full programming schedule received by Google over-the-air and uploaded to the service, a YouTube TV-only feed provided by the station with some programming substitutions due to lack of digital rights, or a PBS-provided feed with limited localization, though with no local programming or pledge drive programming.

In 2019, PBS announced plans to move its headquarters to another building in the Crystal Gateway complex, while remaining in Crystal City, Virginia, and did so in 2020, which included a top building sign visible off the Richmond Highway.

On August 4, 2020, the Amazon Prime Video platform added a "PBS Documentaries" package. As of that time it offered four separately-subscribible selections of PBS programming in the United States, "PBS Documentaries", "PBS Living" (also on Apple TV), "PBS Masterpiece" (also in Canada) and "PBS KIDS (also in Australia). In the UK, a "PBS America" documentaries package is available on Amazon Prime Video.

On September 3, 2020, PBS began to offer a livestream of their member stations for free via its website (as well as the websites from the member stations), on smart TVs, and on their mobile apps. However, only a small handful of stations currently do not have a livestream of their stations set up. Jefferson Graham of USA Today called it, "Arguably the best bargain in streaming".

July 1, 2021 saw a PBS Julia Child channel be added to Pluto TV in the United States.

Operations
Even with its status as a non-profit and educational television network, PBS engages in program distribution, providing television content and related services to its member stations, each of which together cooperatively owns the network. Unlike the affiliates for commercial TV networks, each non-profit PBS member station is charged with the responsibility of programming local content such as news, interviews, cultural, and public affairs programs for its individual market or state that supplements content provided by PBS and other public television distributors.

In a commercial broadcast television network structure, affiliates give up portions of their local advertising airtime in exchange for carrying network programming, and the network pays its affiliates a share of the revenue it earns from advertising. By contrast, PBS member stations pay fees for the shows acquired and distributed by the national organization. Under this relationship, PBS member stations have greater latitude in local scheduling than their commercial broadcasting counterparts. Scheduling of PBS-distributed series may vary greatly depending on the market. This can be a source of tension as stations seek to preserve their localism, and PBS strives to market a consistent national lineup. However, PBS has a policy of "common carriage", which requires most stations to clear the national prime time programs on a common programming schedule to market them nationally more effectively. Management at former Los Angeles member KCET cited unresolvable financial and programming disputes among its major reasons for leaving PBS after over 40 years in January 2011, although it would return to PBS in 2019.

Although PBS has a set schedule of programming, particularly in regard to its prime time schedule, member stations reserve the right to schedule PBS-distributed programming in other time slots or not clear it at all if they choose to do so; few of the service's members carry all its programming. Most PBS stations timeshift some distributed programs. Once PBS accepts a program offered for distribution, PBS, rather than the originating member station, retains exclusive rebroadcasting rights during an agreed period. Suppliers, however, retain the right to sell the program's intellectual property in non-broadcast media such as DVDs, books, and sometimes PBS-licensed merchandise.

Programming

The evening and primetime schedule on PBS features a diverse array of programming including fine arts (Great Performances); drama (Masterpiece, Downton Abbey, American Family: Journey of Dreams); science (Nova, Nature); history (American Experience, American Masters, History Detectives, Antiques Roadshow); music (Austin City Limits, Soundstage); public affairs (Frontline, PBS NewsHour, Washington Week, Nightly Business Report); independent films and documentaries (P.O.V., Independent Lens); home improvement (This Old House); and interviews (Amanpour & Company, Tavis Smiley, The Dick Cavett Show). In 2012, PBS began organizing much of its prime time programming around a genre-based schedule (for example, drama series encompass the Sunday schedule, while science-related programs are featured on Wednesdays).

PBS broadcasts children's programming under the PBS Kids branding as part of the service's (and including content supplied by other distributors not programmed by the service, its member stations') morning and afternoon schedule. As the children's programs it distributes are intended to educate as well as entertain its target audience, PBS and its stations have long been in compliance with educational programming guidelines set by the Federal Communications Commission in response to the enactment of the Children's Television Act of 1990. Many member stations have historically also broadcast distance education and other instructional television programs, typically during daytime slots; though with the advent of digital television, which has allowed stations to carry these programs on digital subchannels in lieu of the main PBS feed or exclusively over online, many member stations/networks have replaced distance education content with children's and other programming.

Unlike its radio counterpart, National Public Radio, PBS does not have a central program production arm or news division. All of the programming carried by PBS, whether news, documentary or entertainment, is created by (or in most cases produced under contract with) other parties, such as individual member stations. Boston member WGBH-TV is one of the largest producers of educational television programming, including shows like American Experience, Arthur (with Canada-based CINAR), Masterpiece Theatre, Nova, Antiques Roadshow and Frontline, as well as many other children's and lifestyle programs. News programs are produced by WETA-TV (PBS Newshour) in Washington, D.C., WNET in New York City and WPBT in Miami. Newark, New Jersey/New York City member WNET produces or distributes programs such as Secrets of the Dead, Nature, and Cyberchase. PBS also works with other networks for programming such as CNN International for Amanpour & Company which is a co-production of CNN International and WNET.

PBS member stations are known for rebroadcasting British television costume dramas, comedies and science fiction programs (acquired from the BBC and other sources) such as Downton Abbey; 'Allo 'Allo!; Are You Being Served?; The Benny Hill Show, Red Dwarf; The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin; Father Ted; Fawlty Towers; Harry Enfield and Chums; Keeping Up Appearances; Monty Python's Flying Circus; Mr. Bean, The Vicar of Dibley, the original run of Doctor Who, and Sherlock. However, a significant amount of sharing takes place. The BBC and British broadcasters such as Channel 4 often cooperate with PBS stations, producing material that is shown on both sides of the Atlantic. Less frequently, Canadian, Australian and other international programming appears on PBS stations (such as The Red Green Show, currently distributed by syndicator Executive Program Services); public broadcasting syndicators are more likely to offer this programming to U.S.-based public television stations.

PBS is not the only distributor of public television programming to the member stations. Other distributors have emerged from the roots of companies that maintained loosely held regional public television stations in the 1960s. Boston-based American Public Television (which, among other names, was formerly known as Eastern Educational Network and the American Program Service) is second only to PBS for distributing programs to U.S. non-commercial stations. Another distributor is NETA (formerly SECA), whose properties have included The Shapies and Jerry Yarnell School of Fine Art. In addition, the member stations themselves also produce a variety of local shows, some of which subsequently receive national distribution through PBS or other distributors.

Rerun programming, especially domestic programming not originally produced for public television, is generally uncommon on PBS or its member stations. The most prominent exception to this is The Lawrence Welk Show, which has aired continuously in reruns on PBS (through the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority) almost every weekend since 1986. Reruns of programs originally produced for public television are common, especially with former PBS shows whose hosts have retired or died (for example, The Joy of Painting and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood). Children's programming (such as Clifford the Big Red Dog and DragonflyTV, the latter of which is also syndicated on commercial television) is rerun extensively. Since 2020, PBS has served as the over-the-air home to select specials from the Peanuts library, under sublicense from Apple.

PBS Kids

Launched as PTV on July 11, 1994, PBS Kids is the brand for children's programs aired by PBS. The PBS Kids Channel, launched in 1999 and operated until 2005, was largely funded by satellite provider DirecTV. The channel ceased operations on September 26, 2005, in favor of PBS Kids Sprout, a commercial digital cable and satellite television channel originally operated as a joint venture with Comcast, Sesame Workshop and Apax Partners (NBCUniversal, which Comcast acquired in 2011, later acquired the other partners' interests in the channel in 2012). However, the original programming block still exists on PBS, filling daytime and in some cases, weekend morning schedules on its member stations; many members also carry 24-hour locally programmed children's networks featuring PBS Kids content on one of their digital subchannels. A revived version of the PBS Kids Channel was launched on January 16, 2017. As of 2019, PBS Kids is the only children's programming block on U.S. broadcast television.

As PBS is often known for doing, PBS Kids has broadcast imported series from other countries; these include British series originally broadcast by the BBC and ITV. Through American Public Television, many PBS stations also began airing the Australian series Raggs on June 4, 2007. Some of the programs broadcast as part of the service's children's lineup or through public broadcast syndication directly to its members have subsequently been syndicated to commercial television outlets (such as Ghostwriter and The Magic School Bus).

Sports

Many PBS member stations and networks—including Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MHSAA), Georgia Public Broadcasting (GHSA), Maine Public Broadcasting Network (MPA), Iowa PBS (IGHSAU), Nebraska Public Media (NSAA), and WKYU-TV (Western Kentucky Hilltoppers)—locally broadcast high school and college sports. From the 1980s onward, the national PBS network has not typically carried sporting events, mainly because the broadcast rights to most sporting events have become more cost-prohibitive in that timeframe, especially for nonprofits with limited revenue potential; in addition, starting with the respective launches of the MountainWest Sports Network (now defunct) and Big Ten Network in 2006 and 2007 and the later launches of the Pac-12 Network and ESPN's SEC Network and ACC Network, athletic conferences have acquired rights for all of their member university's sports programs for their cable channels, restricting their use from PBS member stations, even those associated with their own universities.

From 1976 to 1989, KQED produced a series of Bundesliga matches under the banner Soccer Made in Germany, with Toby Charles announcing. PBS also carried tennis events, as well as Ivy League football. Notable football commentators included Upton Bell, Marty Glickman, Bob Casciola, Brian Dowling, Sean McDonough and Jack Corrigan. Other sports programs included interview series such as The Way It Was and The Sporting Life.

Governance
The board of directors is responsible for governing and setting policy for PBS, consisting of 27 members: 14 professional directors (station managers), 12 general directors (outside directors), and the PBS president. All PBS Board members serve three-year terms, without pay. PBS member stations elect the 14 professional directors; the board elects the 12 general directors and appoints the PBS president and CEO; and the entire board elects its officers.

Member stations

, PBS maintains current memberships with 354 television stations encompassing 50 states, the District of Columbia and four U.S. possessions; as such, it is the only television broadcaster in the United States—commercial or non-commercial—which has station partners licensed in every U.S. state (by comparison, none of the five major commercial broadcast networks has affiliates in certain states where PBS has members, most notably New Jersey). The service has an estimated national reach of 93.74% of all households in the United States (or 292,926,047 Americans with at least one television set).

PBS stations are commonly operated by nonprofit organizations, state agencies, local authorities (such as municipal boards of education), or universities in their city of license; this is similar (albeit more centralized in states where a licensee owns multiple stations rebroadcasting the main PBS member) to the early model of commercial broadcasting in the U.S., in which network-affiliated stations were initially owned by companies that owned few to no other television stations elsewhere in the country. In some U.S. states, a group of PBS stations throughout the entire state may be organized into a single regional "subnetwork" (such as Alabama Public Television and Arkansas PBS); in this model, PBS programming and other content is distributed by the originating station in the subnetwork to other full-power stations that serve as satellites as well as any low-power translators in other areas of the state. Some states may be served by such a regional network and simultaneously have PBS member stations in a certain city (such as the case with secondary member KBDI-TV in Denver, which is not related to Colorado member network Rocky Mountain PBS and its flagship station and primary Denver PBS member, KRMA-TV) that operate autonomously from the regional member network.

As opposed to the present commercial broadcasting model in which network programs are often carried exclusively on one television station in a given market, PBS may maintain more than one member station in certain markets, which may be owned by the licensee of the market's primary PBS member station or owned by a separate licensee (as a prime example, KOCE-TV, KLCS and KVCR-DT—which are all individually owned—serve as PBS stations for the Los Angeles market; KCET served as the market's primary PBS member until it left the service in January 2011, at which time it was replaced by KOCE). KCET rejoined PBS in 2019, thus giving the Los Angeles area four different member stations.

For these cases, PBS utilizes the Program Differentiation Plan, which divides by percentage the number of programs distributed by the service that each member can carry on their schedule; often, this assigns a larger proportion of PBS-distributed programming to the primary member station, with the secondary members being allowed to carry a lesser number of program offerings from the service's schedule. Unlike public broadcasters in most other countries, PBS cannot own any of the stations that broadcasts its programming; therefore it is one of the few television programming bodies that does not have any owned-and-operated stations. This is partly due to the origins of the PBS stations themselves, and partly due to historical broadcast license issues.

Participating stations

Most PBS member stations have produced at least some nationally distributed programs. Current regularly scheduled programming on the PBS national feed is produced by a smaller group of stations, including:
 WGBH-TV (Arthur, NOVA, Masterpiece, Frontline, Martha Speaks, Peep and the Big Wide World, Curious George, Lidia's Kitchen, Design Squad, Jamie Oliver, etc.)
 WNET (Nature, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Cyberchase, Amanpour & Company, Wishbone etc.)
 Previously Connecticut Public Television and now WNET (Barney & Friends, Bob the Builder, Thomas & Friends, etc.)
 WETA-TV (PBS NewsHour, Washington Week, A Capitol Fourth (annually), America's Test Kitchen, This Old House, Pati's Mexican Table, BBC World News, etc.)
 WTTW (Nature Cat, WordWorld, Kidsongs)
 Maryland Public Television (MotorWeek, Space Racers, Wimzie's House, Zoboomafoo)
 KLRU (Austin City Limits)
 KCET (Sid the Science Kid, Lost L.A.)
 KQED (The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, Yan Can Cook: Spice Kingdom)
 Oregon Public Broadcasting (History Detectives, Rick Steves' Europe (season 10))
 PBS North Carolina (The Woodwright's Shop)
 South Carolina ETV (Studio See, The Magic School Bus, A Chef's Life)
 WXXI-TV (Biz Kid$)
 WQED (Mister Rogers' Neighborhood)
 Twin Cities PBS (KTCA-TV/KTCI-TV) (Newton's Apple, SciGirls, Hero Elementary)
 KCTS-TV (Rick Steves' Europe)
 Arkansas PBS (State of the Art)
 WYES-TV (Kevin Belton)

PBS networks

PBS has spun off a number of television networks, often in partnership with other media companies. PBS YOU, a distance education and how-to service operated until January 2006, and was largely succeeded by Create (a similarly formatted network owned by American Public Television); PBS Kids Channel was superseded by Sprout at the start of October 2005. The PBS Kids Channel relaunched January 16, 2017. World began operations in 2007 as a service operated by PBS but is now managed by American Public Television.

PBS has also restructured its satellite feed system, simplifying HD02 (PBS West) into a timeshift feed for the Pacific Time Zone, rather than a high-definition complement to its formerly primary SD feed. PBS Kids Go! was proposed as a replacement broadcast network for PBS Kids Channel; however, plans to launch the network were folded in 2006. Programming from the PBS Satellite Service has also been carried by certain member stations or regional member networks to fill their overnight schedules (particularly those that have transitioned to a 24-hour schedule since the late 1990s), in lieu of providing programming sourced from outside public television distributors or repeats of local programming (program promotions shown on the satellite feed advertise upcoming programs as being aired on PBS during the timeslot card normally used as a placeholder for member outlets to insert local airtime information).

Some or all of these services are available on a digital cable tier of many cable providers, on a free-to-air (FTA) satellite receiver receiving from PBS Satellite Service, as well as via subscription-based direct broadcast satellite providers. With the exception of Sprout, some of these services, including those from PBS member stations and networks, have not made contracts with Internet-distributed over-the-top MVPD services such as Sling TV and the now defunct PlayStation Vue. With the transition to over-the-air digital television broadcasts, many of the services are also often now available as standard-definition multicast channels on the digital signals of some member stations, while HD02 (PBS West) serves as a secondary HD feed. With the absence of advertising, network identification on these PBS networks was limited to utilization at the end of the program, which includes the standard series of bumpers from the "Be More" campaign.

Independent networks
While not operated or controlled by PBS proper, additional public broadcasting networks are available and carried by PBS member stations. The following three are also distributed by PBS via satellite.

From 2002 to 2011, Buffalo, New York member station WNED-TV operated ThinkBright TV, a service that was carried on several stations in upstate New York. Several state networks also offer a public affairs subchannel network offering full-time coverage of state government events and legislative/judicial proceedings in the same vein as C-SPAN's coverage of the federal government. Many PBS stations also carried MHz Worldview from the MHz Networks until 2020 when MHz Networks announced its discontinuation of the network on March 1, 2020. Since then, many stations has switched to World Channel as well as First Nations Experience.

A separate but related concept is the state network, where a group of stations across a state simulcast a single programming schedule from a central facility, which may include specialty subchannels unique to that broadcaster.

Visual identity

PBS introduced its first iconographic logo in 1971, a multi-colored wordmark of the network's initials with the P designed to resemble a silhouette of a human face. The logo was designed by Ernie Smith and Herb Lubalin of the Lubalin Smith Carnase design firm. Lubalin's human face "P", known internally at PBS as "Everyman", but more commonly known as the "P-Head", became the basis for all subsequent PBS logos.

In 1984, PBS introduced a new version of the logo, designed by Tom Geismar of Chermayeff & Geismar. Chermayeff & Geismar felt that the Lubalin-designed logo was too similar to those of the three dominant commercial networks of the time, and they sought "to develop a symbol that could stand for the more inclusive concept of 'public television. They inverted Lubalin's Everyman "P" to face to the right instead of the left, and repeated the outline as a series to represent a "multitude" of people. The symbol was subsequently renamed "Everyone". The repeated outline of the face has also been interpreted to suggest a degree of multiculturalism, as well as the public service aspect of the PBS mission.

The logo has been used in various forms since: from 1998 onward, the Geismar logo has been rendered in white on a circle.

On November 4, 2019, in honor of the network's 50th anniversary, PBS unveiled a revamped brand identity by Lippincott, intended to be better-suited for use on digital platforms. The Geismar logo was tweaked, a new custom sans-serif typeface was commissioned for the logo and other branding elements (which replaces the slab serif typeface used in the PBS logo since 1984), and electric blue and white were adopted as corporate colors. The network is allowing flexibility in implementation, but is no longer allowing the logo to be displayed independently of the PBS name. Upon the launch of the new logo, some members rebranded themselves to include PBS in their name for the first time, such as Wisconsin Public Television rebranding as PBS Wisconsin. PBS is paying out grants to at least 100 members to cover costs associated with the rebranding.

Reception

Critical response
PBS has been praised by critics for its variety of programming. Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter marked PBS' airing of Downton Abbey as a turning point for the network's reputation and program variety. He also wrote, "It's PBS's time to shine" and said that the network "is an endless bounty of riches...Ain't this great?." Stevenonymous of BuzzFeed wrote, "PBS isn't just TV anymore." David Zurawik of The Baltimore Sun wrote, "If you want a reason to believe in PBS...here it is." Mekeisha Madden Toby of TheWrap wrote, "There is a lot to love...on PBS." Kristen McQuinn of Book Riot wrote, "PBS is awesome in every way." Caroline Framke of Variety wrote, "There's still no beating PBS." Alyssa Rosenburg of The Washington Post wrote, "PBS is a unifying thread...through our cultural fabric." Margaret Renkl of The New York Times wrote, "By aiming to unite...PBS might save us yet." Margie Barron of Entertainment Today wrote, "PBS remains a beacon...that inspires." The Marketing & Research Resources survey, said that PBS is the "#1 most trusted media 19 years in a row." In 2021, the network had 14 News & Documentary Emmy Award nominations, more than any other organization. Matt Roush of TV Insider wrote, "PBS is and always has been a bright light."

On-air fundraising
Since 53% to 60% of public television's revenues come from private membership donations and grants, most stations solicit individual donations by methods including fundraising, pledge drives or telethons, which disrupt regularly scheduled programming. This has been perceived as potentially annoying since regularly scheduled programming is often replaced with specials aimed at a wider audience (such as music specials aimed at the Baby Boomer generation and financial, health and motivational programs) to solicit new members and donations; during fundraising events, these programs are often interrupted within the broadcast by long-form segments (of six to eight minutes in length) encouraging viewers to donate to their PBS member. Underwriting spots are aired at the end of each program, which differ from traditional commercials in several ways. Each spot must be approved to meet several guidelines. The main guidelines state that underwriting spots cannot be qualitative in any way, nor can they have any call to action.

Controversies

Accusations of political/ideological bias
A 1982 broadcast of the United States Information Agency program Let Poland be Poland about the martial law declared in Poland in 1981 was widely viewed in the U.S., but met with skepticism on the part of eastern European broadcasters (communist countries at the time) due to concerns that the program's "provocative and anticommunist" tone was intended as propaganda.

In 1999, at least three public television stations were caught selling or trading their mailing lists with the Democratic National Committee. Under IRS regulations, nonprofit organizations are prohibited from participating in political actions. Officials from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting condemned the practice and conducted an investigation into the matter. The stations involved were in New York, Boston, and Washington.

Individual programs aired by PBS have been the targets of organized campaigns by individuals and groups with opposing views, including by former United States Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings in 2005.

Nonetheless, in every year since 2004, surveys of Americans have shown PBS to have been consistently ranked as the most trusted institution in comparison to commercial broadcast and cable television, newspapers, and streaming services, and in January 2021, Americans valued tax dollars spent on PBS behind only military defense and oversight of food and drug safety.

Accusations during Tomlinson tenure
In September 2003, Kenneth Tomlinson was chosen as chairman of the CPB board. He criticized PBS and NPR for an allegedly "liberal bias". His efforts sparked complaints of political pressure.

To partially balance out the perceived left-leaning PBS shows, from June 2004 to July 2005, PBS aired Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, and from September 2004 to December 2005, PBS aired The Journal Editorial Report with Paul Gigot, a conservative editor of The Wall Street Journal editorial page. In December 2004, Bill Moyers resigned as a PBS regular, citing political pressure to alter the content of his program, and saying Tomlinson had mounted a "vendetta" against him.

In May 2005, two House Democrats requested the CPB inspector general investigate the complaints of political interference. The inspector general's report was issued in November 2005 and described possible political influence on personnel decisions, including e-mail correspondence between Tomlinson and the White House which indicated that Tomlinson "was strongly motivated by political considerations in filling the president/CEO position", a position filled in June 2005 by former Republican National Committee co-chair Patricia Harrison. Tomlinson resigned from the CPB board on November 3, 2005.

Accusations since the Tomlinson tenure
In January 2021, Michael Beller, the chief attorney for PBS resigned after being caught on tape suggesting that the children of Donald Trump supporters should be sent to re-education camps.

Lawsuit with Pacific Arts
In the 1990s, PBS became involved in a dispute over home video licensing rights with Pacific Arts Corporation, a multimedia company owned and operated by former Monkees guitarist Michael Nesmith.

In 1990, Pacific Arts secured a contract with PBS to distribute their back catalog of programming on VHS under the PBS Home Video banner. However, in the early 1990s, Pacific Arts and PBS went through a series of serious disagreements. Lawsuits were filed: by Nesmith and Pacific Arts against PBS for breach of contract, intentional misrepresentation, intentional concealment, negligent misrepresentation, and interference with contract; and by PBS against Nesmith and Pacific Arts for lost royalties. The lawsuits escalated in 1994 and 1995 into major litigation between the parties over these rights and payments. PBS and Nesmith and Pacific Arts vigorously prosecuted these multimillion-dollar counter-suits.

The six plaintiffs included PBS, WGBH-TV, WNET, the Ken Burns-owned American Documentaries and Radio Pioneers Film Project and the Children's Television Workshop. They sought approximately $5 million in disputed royalties, advances, guarantees and license fees for programs and the use of the PBS logo from the defendants Pacific Arts and Nesmith.

Due to the cost of the litigation, Pacific Arts was forced to cease distribution operations and suspended the use of the PBS logo on the Pacific Arts videos. Though Pacific Arts distribution system had ceased operating, the various plaintiffs were counting on capturing a personal financial guarantee Nesmith had made to PBS in the original PBS deal in 1990.

The cases went to jury trial in Federal Court in Los Angeles in February 1999. After three days of deliberation, the jury unanimously sided with Nesmith. The court awarded Pacific Arts $14,625,000 for loss of its rights library, plus $29,250,000 in punitive damages. The jury awarded $3 million to Nesmith personally, including $2 million in punitive damages for a total award to Nesmith and Pacific Arts of $48,875,000. The jury resolved the outstanding license fee issues by ordering Pacific Arts and Nesmith to pay approximately $1.2 million to American Documentaries for The Civil War, about $230,000 to WGBH-TV, and $150,000 to WNET.

Following the ruling, Nesmith expressed his personal disappointment with PBS and was quoted by BBC News as stating "It's like finding your grandmother stealing your stereo. You're happy to get your stereo back, but it's sad to find out your grandmother is a thief."

The decision never went to an appeals court and the final amount paid to Pacific Arts and Nesmith was an undisclosed sum agreed to in an out-of-court settlement.

Warning, Alert and Response Network (WARN)

PBS provides an alternative path for Wireless Emergency Alerts to wireless carriers through its Warning, Alert and Response Network (WARN). The alerts are transmitted through the PBS satellite network on the AMC-21 satellite to PBS stations, who then broadcast the messages over their transmitters for reception by wireless carriers at their cell sites.

The WARN network is funded by a grant through National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

See also

 American Public Media
 List of United States over-the-air television networks
 PBS America
 Public Radio International
 Public, educational, and government access (PEG)
 Television in the United States

Similar public broadcasting services
  TVOntario, Knowledge Network
  China Education Television
   Arte
  France 5
  Educational Broadcasting System

Footnotes

References

Further reading

External links

 PBS "Red Book" (presentation guidelines for PBS programming)
 Current, the newspaper about public TV and radio in the United States
 Designing Healthy Communities by PBS
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A cult following is a group of fans who are very devoted to a work of culture. It is often called a cult classic. A movie, book, musical artist, television series or video game, among other things, has a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fanbase. A common thing of cult followings is the emotional attachment the fans it. They often say they are part of a community.

Many cult fans express their devotion with a level of irony when describing entertainment that falls under this realm, in that something is so bad, it's good. Sometimes, these cult followings are actually camp followings. Fans may become involved in a subculture of fandom. They may do this either through conventions, online communities or through activities such as writing series-related fiction. They may also make costumes, replica prop and model building, or creating their own audio or video creations from the formats and characters.

References

Popular culture

Cult following


Drug-induced amnesia is amnesia caused by drugs.  Amnesia may be therapeutic for medical treatment or for medical procedures, or it may be a side-effect of a drug, such as alcohol, or certain medications for psychiatric disorders, such as benzodiazepines. It is seen also with slow acting parenteral general anaesthetics.

Medical usage

Amnesia is desirable during surgery, so general anaesthesia procedures are designed to induce it for the duration of the operation. Sedatives such as benzodiazepines, which are commonly used for anxiety disorders, can reduce the encoding of new memories, particularly in high doses (for example, prior to surgery in order for a person not to recall the surgery). Amnestic drugs can be used to induce a coma for a child breathing using mechanical ventilation, or to help reduce intracranial pressure after head trauma.

Researchers are currently experimenting with drugs which induce amnesia in order to improve understanding of human memory, and develop better drugs to treat psychiatric disorders and memory-related disorders. People with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia are likely to benefit. By understanding the ways in which amnesia-inducing drugs interact with the brain, researchers hope to better understand the ways in which neurotransmitters aid in the formation of memory. By stimulating rather than depressing these neurotransmitters, memory may improve.

Holmes et al. (2010) commented that the media misrepresented two recent studies as research on "erasing" traumatic memories, but showed the fear response associated with stressful memory could be greatly reduced whilst the factual memory of the trauma remained intact. Similarly, Brunet et al. (2008) found that the people with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder who were treated with propranolol for a single day had a reduced response to existing trauma while retaining memory of the trauma. In the process of remembering, the memory needs to be restored in the brain. By introducing an amnesia-inducing drug during this process, the memory can be disrupted. While the memory remains intact, the emotional reaction is damped, making the memory less overwhelming. Researchers believe this drug will help patients with post-traumatic stress disorder be able to better process the trauma without reliving the trauma emotionally. This has raised legal and ethical concerns should drugs be found to have altered the memory of traumatic events that occur in victims of crimes (e.g. murder attempt), and whether it is therapeutically desirable to do so.

Non-medical drug-induced amnesia

Amnesia can result from a side-effect of prescription or non-prescription drugs. Both substance use and alcohol can cause both long-term and short-term memory loss, resulting in blackouts.

The most commonly used group of prescription drugs which can produce amnesia are benzodiazepines, especially if combined with alcohol, however, in limited quantities, triazolam (Halcion) is not associated with amnesia or memory impairment.

In popular culture
In the 1970 science fiction TV series UFO, amnesia drugs were given to anyone who had contact with SHADO operatives, or witnessed their covert activities.
In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) decides to forget his former lover Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) after she erases her memories of him.
The characters in The Hangover (2009) deal with the aftermath of amnesia after taking roofies.
An episode of Arrested Development called Forget-Me-Now discusses the use of drug-induced amnesia for those who have seen how magicians' tricks are performed.
In the PC Game Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010), the player character, Daniel, wakes up with amnesia in the terrifying Castle Brennenburg, and must discover the truth about his memories.
In the book Allegiant (2013) a "memory serum" is used to wipe people's memories.
The SCP Foundation has referenced amnesia-inducing drugs in many of its articles since its conception, under the name "amnestics", usually as a means of ensuring secrecy from the public.
In the teen fiction novel The Maze Runner, the teen characters wake up in a drug induced amnesia, which is one of the main factors that drive the plot.
 In the series 3 episode of Doctor Who, Gridlock, drugs that induce amnesia are sold in patch form with the name "forget."
 In the TV series Blindspot, the memory of the main character, Jane, was totally wiped using a drug called ZIP.
 In the 2018 Swedish film The Unthinkable, a chemical that induces memory loss, spread via rain, is used as a prelude to an invasion of Sweden.
 In Andy Weir's novel Project Hail Mary, main character Ryland Grace wakes up from a coma to drug-induced amnesia.

In mythology

Nepenthe, literally named anti-sorrow, is a substance mentioned in the Odyssey given to Helen of Troy, said to originate from Egypt. Consumption causes sorrowful memories to be forgotten.

References

Clinical pharmacology
Anesthesia
Drug-induced diseases

Drug-induced amnesia


On October 6, 2005, an alleged sex party occurred on Lake Minnetonka with seventeen members of the Minnesota Vikings football team; including quarterback Daunte Culpepper, Fred Smoot, Mewelde Moore, Pat Williams, Bryant McKinnie, Nate Burleson, Ralph Brown, Jermaine Wiggins, Troy Williamson (who was then beginning his rookie season), Travis Taylor, Kevin Williams, Lance Johnstone,  Moe Williams, and Willie Offord. Two houseboats were rented and some, but not all, of the players performed sexual acts in front of crew members.  Prostitutes from Atlanta and Florida were flown in for the party, in order to perform the sex acts. There were at least ninety people on the two boats, and Smoot later estimated that there were 100 women present. An anonymous former player of the Minnesota Vikings claimed that this is not the first time that such an incident had happened. The scandal has sometimes been referred to as the Love Boat scandal after the television program, or as the Smoot Boat Scandal in the news.

Allegedly, photographs were taken at the party showing people engaging in sexual intercourse. Four of the players were charged with misdemeanors related to the events.

Later commentators pointed to the scandal as a key event in the history of the team, leading to the firing of head coach Mike Tice, who was replaced by Brad Childress, who would lead the team to the 2009 NFC Championship Game.

Incident
A woman called police around 9:20 p.m. on October 6 to report that approximately "seven black men" had urinated in her yard after exiting a "big shuttle bus limousine", according to the transcript.

The woman later mentioned that the men were "sitting at Al and Alma's", the name of the charter cruise company that the Vikings players were later alleged to have used for the party.

Stephen Doyle, attorney for the charter company, said some of the sex acts alleged by witnesses to have taken place during the party included, "Masturbation, oral sex, anal sex, woman on man, woman on woman, toys, double penetration, middle of the floor, middle of the couches, middle of the room."

The cleaning crew reported finding "used condoms, K-Y Jelly, Handi Wipes, wrappers for sex toys" and said "it was just incredible how it was left. Never in the history of this group of people have they ever had anything like this."

According to Doyle, there were no drugs and no minors on the two boats and that not every Vikings player aboard acted inappropriately.

Parties involved

Fred Smoot
Smoot was the alleged ringleader of the entire operation. He is said to have been the one who hired the boats for the cruise on Lake Minnetonka. Smoot's agent has dismissed these claims. Smoot, however has not denied that he was on the boat that night. Smoot allegedly held a double-headed dildo and inserted it into the vaginas of two women who were lying on the floor in the lounge area. After one woman left he continued to "manipulate the dildo" inside the other woman in front of the crew.

Merritt Geyen, who worked at the docks, told a sheriff's detective that three men planned the charter boat cruises. The day before the party, Geyen told the detective that Smoot showed up with another man she did not recognize.

Lance Johnstone
Merritt Geyen, a dock employee, told the detective that crew members showed Johnstone, Smoot and an unidentified player around the boats, went over menus and talked about specialty liquors. Smoot then signed a contract for the event and gave his address and phone number so she could bill him for it. Johnstone put his credit card down for the $1,000 deposit and said the rest of the bill could be added to his card later.

Mewelde Moore
Moore admitted being on the boat, but he claimed that "nothing happened". Asked if he saw strippers or sex on his boat, Moore quickly replied: "Sex? What are you talking about? Is that what – man, that's crazy. Sex? Come on. Look man, I'm engaged so... none of that. Thing about that... that – that put me in trouble."

Koren Robinson
Robinson claimed he was not on either boat and was upset the Minneapolis Star Tribune associated him with this incident, given his effort to rebuild his life after struggling with substance abuse.

Robinson says "I wasn't there, as far as the whole situation, I just know I wasn't on the boat, and I don't want to get involved. I don't want my name brought up because of what I just went through and what I'm still going through. So for my name to be brought up like that is just crazy and upsetting, because I don't want anyone looking at me because I had nothing to do with it."

Bryant McKinnie
McKinnie allegedly picked up a naked woman, placed her on the bar and performed cunnilingus on her in front of the crew and other guests. In a June 2013 Reddit Ask Me Anything thread, Fred Smoot referred to this act as "runnin through the okra patch". Later that evening McKinnie and three other men were spotted sitting in deck chairs receiving fellatio from four women, which was also observed by the crew in a public area of the boat.

Zygi Wilf
"Lack of discipline will no longer be tolerated at any level. The events of the past week are unacceptable. If there was any sense that we would look the other way regarding this type of behavior, I want to make it extremely clear that this behavior will never be tolerated again."

See also
NFL player conduct controversy
Louisville basketball sex scandal

References

2005 in sports in Minnesota
October 2005 crimes in the United States
2005 scandals
Maritime incidents in 2005
October 2005 sports events in the United States
2005 controversies in the United States
Boat Party Scandal
National Football League controversies
Sex scandals in the United States
Sex crimes in the United States
Sexual abuse

Minnesota Vikings boat party scandal


Téori kaputusan nyaéta widang antar disiplin elmu, pakait sarta mindeng dipaké ku praktisi dina widang matematik, statistik, ekonomi, filosofi, manajemen sarta psikologi.  Téori ieu museur kana kaputusan optimal nu bakal dipaké dina kaayaan nu husus.

Normative and descriptive decision theory

Most of decision théory is normative or prescriptive, i.e. it is concerned with identifying the best decision to take, assuming an idéal decision taker who is fully informed, able to compute with perfect accuracy, and fully rational.  However, since it is obvious that péople do not typically behave in optimal ways, there is also a related aréa of study, which is a descriptive or positive discipline, attempting to describe what péople will actually do.  Since the normative, optimal decision often créates hypotheses for testing against actual behaviour, the two fields are closely linked.  Furthermore it is possible to relax the assumptions of perfect information, rationality and so forth in various ways, and produce a series of different prescriptions or predictions about behaviour, allowing for further tests of the kind of decision-making that occurs in practice.

What kinds of decision need a theory?

Decision théory is only relevant in decisions that are difficult for some réason.  A few types of decision have attracted particular attention:
riskless choice between incommensurable commodities
choice under uncertainty
intertemporal choice
social decisions

Choice between incommensurable commmodities

This aréa is concerned with the decision whether to have, say, one ton of guns and 3 tons of butter, or 2 tons of guns and 1 ton of butter.  This is the classic subject of study of microeconomics and is rarely considered under the héading of decision théory, but such choices are often in fact part of the issues that are considered within decision théory.

Choice under uncertainty

This aréa represents the héartland of decision théory.   Daniel Bernoulli stated that, when faced with a number of actions éach of which could give rise to more than one possible outcome with different probabilities, the rational procedure is to identify all possible outcomes, determine their values (positive or negative) and the probabilities that they will result from éach course of action, and multiply the two to give an expected value.  The action to be chosen should be the one that gives rise to the highest total expected value.  In réality péople do not behave like this, at léast if "value" is taken to méan "objective financial value" - otherwise no-one would either gamble or take out insurance.  Within behavioural decision théory, this has led to various dilutions of the expected value théory; for example, objective probabilities can be replaced by subjective estimates, and objective values by subjective utilities, giving rise to the subjectively expected utility or SEU théory.  The prospect theory of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky is another alternative to the expected value modél within behavioural decision théory.

Pascal's wager is a classic example of a choice under uncertainty. The uncertainty, according to Pascal, is whether or not God exists. And the personal belief or non-belief in God is the choice to be made.

Intertemporal choice

This aréa is concerned with the kind of choice where different actions léad to outcomes that are réalised at different points in time.  If I receive a windfall of several thousand dollars, I could spend it on an expensive holiday, giving me immediate pléasure, or I could invest it in a pension scheme, giving me an income at some time in the future.  What is the optimal thing to do?  The answer depends partly on factors such as the expected rates of interest and inflation, my life expectancy, and my confidence in the pensions industry.  However even with all those factors taken into account, human behaviour again deviates gréatly from the predictions of prescriptive decision théory, léading to alternative modéls in which, for example, objective interest rates are replaced by subjective discount rates.

Social decisions

Some decisions are difficult because of the need to take into account how other péople in the situation will respond to the decision that is taken.  The analysis of such social decisions is the business of game theory, and is not normally considered part of decision théory, though it is closely related.

Complex decisions

Other aréas of decision théory are concerned with decisions that are difficult simply because of their complexity, or the complexity of the organisation that has to take them.  In such cases the issue is not the deviation between réal and optimal behaviour, but the difficulty of determining the optimal behaviour in the first place.

References

 Robert Clemen. Making Hard Decisions: An Introduction to Decision Analysis, 2nd edition. Belmont CA: Duxbury Press, 1996. (covers normative decision theory)
 D.W. North. "A tutorial introduction to decision theory". IEEE Trans. Systems Science and Cybernetics, 4(3), 1968. Reprinted in Péarl & Shafer. (also about normative decision theory)
 Glenn Shafer and Judéa Péarl, editors. Readings in uncertain reasoning. Morgan Kaufmann, San Matéo, CA, 1990.

Filsafat sosial

Téori kaputusan


A TV tuner card is a kind of television tuner that allows television signals to be received by a computer. Most TV tuners also function as video capture cards, allowing them to record television programs onto a hard disk much like the digital video recorder (DVR) does.

A DVB-S2 tuner card

D-Link external TV tuner

The interfaces for TV tuner cards are most commonly either PCI bus expansion card or the newer PCI Express (PCIe) bus for many modern cards, but PCMCIA, ExpressCard, or USB devices also exist. In addition, some video cards double as TV tuners, notably the ATI All-In-Wonder series. The card contains a tuner and an analog-to-digital converter(collectively known as the analog front end) along with demodulation and interface logic. Some lower-end cards lack an onboard processor and, like a Winmodem, rely on the system's CPU for demodulation.

Computer hardware
Television technology

TV tuner card


Cthulhu is a fictional deity created by the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Cthulhu is a powerful monster from another planet. It (Cthulhu is neither male nor female) is very ancient compared to humans, being around since the dinosaurs. It has the alien appearance of a large green dragon with the head of an octopus and human-like hands. There are said to be many people who worship it as their deity because of their powers over the mind.

Cthulhu is one of the Great Old Ones, a group of powerful beings from another place that now inhabit Earth, waiting to rise up (when the stars are right) and destroy the human race so they can rule the planet. The Old Ones are neither good nor evil, meaning that they do not hate humans, they just do not care about them. They think of humans as if they could be ants. Also, their appearance is so unlike anything of this world, that it is said that any human who so much as gazes upon one of them will go insane.

In one of Lovecraft's stories, The Call of Cthulhu, he said that Cthulhu currently lies in a dreamlike state in the underwater sunken city of R'lyeh (rill-ee-yeh), waiting for the time when the Old Ones shall rise again. In the story, R'lyeh is located in the southern Pacific Ocean.

Characters in written fiction
Science fiction

Cthulhu


Miro, called the Old or the Elder (in Catalan, Miró el Vell) was the count of Conflent from 870 and Rosselló (Roussillon) from 878 until his death in 896.  He was the son of Sunifred I, count of Barcelona, Urgell, Cerdanya, and Besalú, and Ermesende, and thus the brother of Wilfred the Hairy and Radulf of Besalú.

In 870 Miro received the county of Conflent either directly from his uncle Solomon I, or by transfer via his brother Wilfred, who inherited the counties of Urgell and Cerdanya.  In 876, he rebelled against Bernard, Margrave of Gothia, and invaded Rosselló with the help of his brother and Lindoi, viscount of Narbonne. In 878, though condemned for his invasion by Pope John VIII, he was confirmed in his new possession by the king of France, Louis II.  He was a protector of the monastery of Saint Andrew of Eixalada and, before it was destroyed by a flood, the monastery of Saint Michael of Cuixà.

He married Quíxol, with whom he had one daughter, Godlana, who married Bencion, son of Count Sunyer II of Empúries. Miro died in 896 and the county of Rosselló passed to Bencion under his father Sunyer.  Conflent, and the interior counties of Gothia that had previously been linked with Rosselló (Vallespir, Capcir, and Fenolleda), passed to Wilfred, and upon his death to Miro the Young.

References

9th-century births
896 deaths
Frankish warriors
9th-century people from West Francia
Counts of Roussillon
Counts of Conflent
9th-century counts in Europe

Miro the Elder


The Harelle (; from haro) was a revolt that occurred in the French city of Rouen in 1382 and followed by the Maillotins uprising a few days later in Paris, as well as numerous other revolts across France in the subsequent week. France was in the midst of the Hundred Years' War, and had seen decades of warfare, widespread destruction, high taxation, and economic decline, made worse by bouts of plague. In Rouen, the second largest city in the kingdom, the effects of the war were particularly felt.

Tensions had been building nationally for nearly a year following the death of Charles V; on his deathbed he repealed many of the war taxes he had previously imposed. With the re-imposition of the taxes months later, a localized revolt, led by Rouen's guilds, occurred in the city and was followed by many similar such incidents across the kingdom. Charles VI traveled with an army led by his uncle and regent, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, from Paris. Paris itself revolted shortly after the army left the city. After returning to Paris to deal with the rebels there, the Duke and King traveled with an army to Rouen to end the revolt. The leaders of the Harelle in Rouen feared execution on the scale that occurred in Paris, and resolved to not resist the army. Twelve leaders of the revolt were executed, the city's rights were revoked, it was put under the rule of a royal governor, and a fine of 100,000 francs was imposed. Despite the victory, the King was unable to re-enforce the taxation that prompted the revolt, and spent most of the next two years putting down similar tax revolts around the kingdom that followed the example of Rouen. The Harelle was one of many popular revolts in late medieval Europe, including the English peasants' revolt of 1381 one year earlier, all part of a larger crisis of the Late Middle Ages.

Background

Charles V, King of France died in 1380 and on his deathbed repealed all of the royal taxes at the suggestion of his confessor, to better prepare his soul for the afterlife. France was in the midst of the Hundred Years War with England. The kingdom was entirely dependent upon the royal taxes for the prosecution of the war effort, and their repeal resulted in the collapse of the war effort for a period of time. Complicating matters was that Charles' successor, Charles VI, was a minor and was under the regency of his three uncles, the Dukes of Burgundy, Berry, and Anjou. Louis, Duke of Anjou was the senior regent, but the three disagreed on policies for France. The plague and war had ravaged the kingdom, and the heavy taxation increased poverty in many parts of the country. The cities were particularly affected, as people abandoned the countryside for the security of the larger walled cities. England was having similar financial difficulties, and the high taxation led to the Peasants' Revolt there in 1381.

By 1382 an agreement for managing the country had been agreed to, with Philip, Duke of Burgundy left to manage the administration. After several failed attempts to have taxation approved by the councils and estates general of the numerous French principalities, the Duke resolved to reimpose the gabelle, a sales tax on salt, and the aides, a customs duty. The representatives of Paris were summoned before the King on January 16 and individually pressured to approve the imposition of the new tax. Under duress they agreed, but the news only gradually became known to the public. The Duke, as was customary at the time, appointed tax farmers to collect the tax.

Rouen

The first violence to break out as a result of the re-imposition of the taxes occurred in Rouen, the second largest city in the kingdom. On February 24, a group of men led by draper Jean le Gras, began sounding the great bells of the city's commune. Another group of men seized and closed the gates of the city, and a large mob quickly filled the streets. The mob was drawn largely from the poorest section of the city and was referred to as "la merdaille" (meaning approximately "shit-stinking rabble") by a local chronicler. The initial target of the mob was the wealthy, the town's councillors, the churches, and the tax farmers. Few people were killed, but there was widespread destruction. The mob looted every major building in the city. As the day progressed, the leaders of the mob directed the attack against any building thought to contain public records. All records containing evidence of rents, lawsuits, debts, rights and privileges were destroyed.

A mob left the city and attacked the nearby Abbey of St. Ouen where they destroyed the gallows and entered the abbey to recover the city's charter, which had been granted to the city by Louis X after a similar rebellion in 1315. The abbot managed to escape to a nearby castle, but a large part of the abbey was destroyed. The charter was put on a large pole and paraded around the city. It granted significant individual rights to the citizens, but the document was rarely enforced in the normal times. The leaders of the city were rounded up and forced to take an oath and swear to abide by the charter. The riots lasted three days. The Archbishop of Rouen William V de Lestranges, who held feudal rights over the city, was captured and forced to renounce his claims to the city.

The Duke of Burgundy recruited a small army from the garrisons in and around Paris and set out for Rouen accompanied by Charles VI and several other high officials. After being gone from the city only two days, they learnt that a far more violent revolt had broken out in Paris, and quickly turned the army to return to the capital.

Paris
On March 3, the tax farmers began to collect the new tax in Paris. Violence began in the market of Les Halles. About five hundred men attacked collector's booths, beating several collectors to death. The mob quickly grew into the thousands and attacked the Place de Grève in search of weapons. They located a large store of iron mallets; Jean Froissart coined the term "maillotins", so naming their revolt. The newly armed mob spread out across the city attacking buildings where anything of value was thought to be. Churches, businesses, the homes of the wealthy, and government buildings were all looted. The hôtel of the Duke of Anjou was seized and used as a headquarters. The mob began to attack wealthy individuals, government officials, business owners, and moneylenders, beating them to death. The riot quickly degenerated into a pogrom, and the Jewish section of the city was attacked. Hundreds of Jews were murdered, their children forcibly baptized.

The city's royal captain, Maurise de Treseguidy, led his small contingent in an attempt to stem the violence. The mob quickly ran chains across the streets and began to attack the soldiers, who were forced to flee. The government of the city fled along with most of the royal administration and met with the King and the returning army. What military forces remained held onto the Grand Châtelet, a fortified royal building in the city.

When the king arrived at the gates of Paris on March 5, the Duke of Burgundy negotiated with leaders of the mob from the city walls. They offered to submit and allow the king to reenter the city if he met three conditions: abolish all royal taxes, release certain individuals imprisoned by the Duke in recent months, and grant amnesty to everyone who had been involved in the Parisian revolt. The Duke replied that the King would release the prisoners, but not meet their other demands. Fresh violence immediately erupted in the city. The mob attacked the Chatelet and killed several soldiers who were unable to escape. The prisons of the city were opened and everyone released. During the night, however, the mob faded away and leaders of the city's guilds took control of the situation. They too refused to open the gates and offered to negotiate with the King. The King and his army seized posts overlooking the city and stopped river traffic into the city, cutting off its primary source of food. The Duke of Burgundy summoned a large army of retainers from his domains, and the Dukes of Brittany and Anjou sent forces to assist in suppressing the rebellion.

Resolution
News of the revolts in Rouen and Paris spread across France, and many other places followed suit. Amiens, Dieppe, Falaise, Caen, Orléans, and Rheims were all seized by rebels who followed the pattern established by Rouen and Paris. The cities were looted, the wealthy persecuted, the Jews proscribed, and public records destroyed. More revolts occurred across the south of France, and the Estates of Languedoc who were meeting to consider granting a new tax, dispersed without making the much needed grant. Phoebus Gaston, Count of Foix, repudiated the lieutenancy of the Duke of Berry over southern France and raised an army set up his own administration after seizing Toulouse. The largely autonomous areas of Provence, Brittany, and Burgundy, where the royal government had no taxing authority, were the only parts of the country to avoid a revolt. Tax collection became impossible which in turn made raising a substantial army to deal with the revolution nearly impossible, forcing the royal council to compromise. The King agreed to repeal the taxes and offered amnesty to all those involved, but they were required to submit to mediation. After regaining admittance to Paris, the leaders of the Parisian revolt were rounded up and executed.

With control of Paris reestablished, the King and the Duke took the army and again set out for Rouen. The city put up no resistance and opened the gates when the king arrived on March 29. Their leaders feared execution, but most were spared. Only twelve leaders of the revolt were executed, the city's bells were confiscated, the gates of the city symbolically thrown down, a 100,000 franc fine imposed, the city charter was revoked and Rouen was put under the administration of a royal governor.

The government was unable to reimpose the taxes needed to continue the war effort in the short term, and considerable effort had to be put forth to reassert authority in all the cities were revolts had occurred. The king refused to call a meeting of the Estates General, but numerous local councils were summoned to meet in Compiègne, where minor taxation concessions were made to partially fund the war effort. Over the course of the next year the Duke of Burgundy set forth a plan to strengthen the government's position and gradually arrested and executed their opponents. It was not until 1387 that the last of the issue of taxation was finally resolved, in favor of the king. The collapse of government revenues hastened the government to negotiate the Truce of Leulinghem, a long truce lasting several years with the English while they attempted to reassert their power.

References

Sources

External links
The Harelle Revolt

Conflicts in 1382
1382 in Europe
1380s in France
14th-century rebellions
History of Rouen
Popular revolt in late-medieval Europe
Rebellions in France
Hundred Years' War
Tax resistance in France
Medieval anti-Jewish pogroms
Massacres of Jews
14th-century massacres
Jewish French history
Antisemitism in France

Harelle


Gold Castles is the name of the 14K gold insignia pin handed down from General Douglas MacArthur to his chief engineer Major General Leif J. Sverdrup in 1945, who established a tradition in 1975 that it shall be given to each successive Chief of Engineers of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

Origin: Corps Castle insignia
The pin is a 14K rendition of the logo of the Corps, the so-called Corps Castle, which was used on an informal basis by cadets at West Point dating back to 1839. Beginning in 1841, many wore personal insignia of this type on the uniforms. These came to be called Gold Castles. In 1902, the castle was formally adopted by the Army as the insignia of the Corps of Engineers. It was changed to silver from 1894 to 1921.

Originally a graduation gift to Douglas MacArthur
A pair of the gold pin insignia of the Corps Castle were graduation gifts from his family originally received by cadet and newly commissioned Second Lieutenant Douglas MacArthur at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in the Class of 1903. Trained as an engineer, MacArthur wore them through his service in World War I, as Commandant of West Point, as Army Chief of Staff, and as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Pacific Theater in World War II.

In 1945, General MacArthur presented his Gold Castles to Major General Leif J. Sverdrup, his chief engineer. General Sverdrup later recalled that MacArthur told him that, although he personally valued them very much, they "deserved to be worn by a real engineer."  (This was apparently a reference to General MacArthur's transfer from the Corps of Engineers to Infantry in 1917).

Beginning a tradition: General Sverdrup
On May 2, 1975, upon the 200th anniversary of the Corps, retired General Sverdrup, who had civil engineering projects including the landmark 17 mile-long Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to his credit, presented the Gold Castles to then-Chief of Engineers Lieutenant General William C. Gribble, Jr., who had also served under General MacArthur in the Pacific.

Later at the same Fort Belvoir ceremony, General Gribble announced an intention to begin a tradition of passing the gold castle pins along to be worn by each future head of the Corps. His successor received them the following year, as has each subsequent Chief of Engineers.

The current "castle" logo of the Corps is a rendition of the more detailed of the Gold Castle pins.

External links
History of the Chief of Engineers' Gold Castles

United States military badges

Gold Castles


Dynamic programming  is a method of solving problems, which is used in computer science, mathematics and economics. Using this method, a complex problem is split into simpler problems, which are then solved. At the end, the solutions of the simpler problems are used to find the solution of the original complex problem.

Dynamic programming can be used in cases where it is possible to split a problem into smaller problems, which are all quite similar.

Richard Bellman, a US mathematician, first used the term in the 1940s when he wanted to solve problems in the field of Control theory. He also stated what is now known as Bellman's Principle of Optimality:

References
R.Bellman,On the Theory of Dynamic Programming,Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1952 August; 38(8): 716–719.

Computer science
Combinatorial optimization

Dynamic programming


Shenton Way is a major road in Singapore. It is part of the Central Business District (CBD) area that is found at the south of Singapore. Together with Raffles Place, it forms part of Singapore's first CBD area. This road is a one way street that starts at the junction of Cross Street, Central Boulevard and Raffles Quay and ends at Keppel Road. The road was named after Sir Shenton Thomas, the Governor of Singapore in 1934–1946, to commemorate his decision to stay in the city during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore.

This road was officially opened in 1951 and became Singapore's version of Wall Street in the 1970s when many business started building their offices there.

Buildings along Shenton Way
 8 Shenton
 DBS Building
 Marina House
 MAS Building
 One Shenton (still building)
 SGX Centre (Singapore Exchange)
 Shenton House
 Singapore Conference Hall
 UIC Building

Roads in Singapore

Shenton Way


Burlesque is a type of performance that makes people laugh by making fun of serious subjects. It has things in common with parody and travesty. The word burlesque has been used in English since the 17th century.

A later use for burlesque refers to performance in variety show format.

Performing arts

Burlesque


Accademia (Italian for "academy") often refers to:

 The Galleria dell'Accademia, an art museum in Florence
 The Gallerie dell'Accademia, an art museum in Venice

Accademia may also refer to:

Academies of art

 The Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti di Bergamo, an art school and museum in Bergamo
 The Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio, a Swiss school of architecture
 The Accademia di Belle Arti di Bari, an art school in Bari
 The Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna, also known as the Accademia Clementina
 The Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara, an art school in Carrara
 The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, an art school in Florence
 The Accademia di Belle Arti di Milano "Brera" or Brera Academy, an art school in Milan
 The Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli, an art school in Naples
 The Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, an art school in Rome
 The Accademia di Belle Arti di Torino "Albertina" or Accademia Albertina, an art school in Turin
 The Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, an art school in Venice
 The Accademia di Belle Arti Gian Bettino Cignaroli di Verona, or Academy of Fine Arts, Verona, also known as Accademia Cignaroli
 The Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, a private art school in Milan

Learned societies
 The Accademia Angelica-Constantiniana di lettere, arti e scienze or Angelica-Constantiniana Academy of Arts and Sciences, founded in Rome in 1949
 The Accademia degli Arcadi, a literary academy founded in Rome in 1690, also known as
 Accademia dell'Arcadia,
 Pontificia Accademia degli Arcadi
 The Accademia degli Incamminati, founded in about 1580 in Bologna, also known as
 Accademia dei Desiderosi or
 Accademia dei Carracci
 The Accademia Cosentina,  founded in Cosenza in 1511, also known at various times as
 Accademia Parassiana
 Accademia Telesiana
 Accademia dei Costanti
 Accademia dei Negligenti and
 Accademia dei Pescatori Cratilidi
 The Accademia degli Incogniti, founded in Venice in 1630
 The Accademia degli Infiammati, a philosophical and literary academy founded in 1540 in Padua
 The Accademia degli Intronati, founded in Siena between 1525 and 1527
 The Accademia degli Svogliati in 17th-century Florence
 The Accademia dei Georgofili, a learned society established in Florence in 1753
 The Accademia dei Lincei, a scientific academy founded in 1603 in Rome
 The Accademia dei Risvegliati, founded in Pistoia in the 17th century
 The Accademia dei Secreti or Academia Secretorum Naturae, founded by Giovambattista Della Porta in the 16th century
 The Accademia del Cimento, a scientific society founded in Florence in 1657
 The Accademia della Crusca, a learned society founded in Florence in 1583
 The Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, a society of artists in Florence
 The Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna or Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna, an academic society in Bologna, founded in 1714
 The Accademia di San Luca, an association of artists founded in 1577 in Rome
 The Accademia Fiorentina, a philosophical and literary academy founded in Florence in 1540 as the
 Accademia degli Umidi
 The Accademia Galileiana, a learned society in Padova, variously  known during its history as
 Accademia dei Ricovrati
 Accademia di Arte Agraria
 Accademia di Scienze Lettere e Arti
 Accademia Patavina di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti
 The Accademia Musicale Chigiana, a musical institution in Siena
 The Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze, the Italian national academy of science, founded in Verona in 1782, also known as
 L'Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze detta dei XL or
 Accademia dei XL
 The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, a musical institution in Rome
 The Accademia Neoplatonica or Platonic Academy (Florence), a 15th-century discussion group in Florence centred round Marsilio Ficino
 The Accademia Pontaniana, a scientific academy founded in Naples in the 15th Century
 Any Pontifical academy of the Roman Catholic Church or other Roman Academies, including
 The Accademia di Raffaele Sanzio
 The Accademia Filarmonica
 The Pontificia Accademia Alfonsiana
 The Pontificia Accademia di Conferenze Storico-Giuridiche
 The Pontificia Accademia "Cultorum Martyrum", or Pontifical Academy of Martyrs, founded 1879
 The Pontificia Accademia dei Nobili Ecclesiastici
 The Pontificia Accademia della Immacolata Concezione
 The Pontificia Accademia delle Scienze, or Pontifical Academy of Sciences, founded in 1603
 The Pontificia Accademia delle Scienze Sociali, or Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, founded 1994
 The Pontificia Accademia di Latinità, or Pontifical Academy for Latin, established in 2012
 The Pontificia Accademia di Religione Cattolica
 The Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica
 The Pontificia Accademia Liturgica
 The Pontificia Accademia Mariana Internazionale, or Pontifical Academy of Mary, established in 1946
 The Pontificia Accademia per la Vita, or Pontifical Academy for Life, founded in 1994
 The Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia or Pontifical Academy of Archaeology, founded in 1810
 The Pontificia Accademia Romana di San Tommaso di Aquino, or Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, founded in 1879
 The Pontificia Accademia Teologica, or Pontifical Academy of Theology, founded in 1718
 The Pontificia Accademia Tiberina
 The Pontificia Insigne Accademia di Belle Arti e Letteratura dei Virtuosi al Pantheon, or Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts and Letters of the Virtuosi al Pantheon, established in 1542
 The Regia Accademia Medica
 The Reale Accademia d'Italia or Royal Academy of Italy, an academy of the Fascist period, active 1926–43

Other academies
 The Accademia Aeronautica, the Italian Air Force academy
 The Accademia di Agricoltura di Torino, founded in Turin in 1785
 The Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna, a music school in Bologna
 The Accademia Filarmonica di Verona, a music school in Verona
 The Accademia Italiana, a private university
 The Accademia Italiana Skopje, a fashion school in Skopje
 The Accademia Italiana Thailand, a fashion school in Bangkok
 The Accademia Navale di Livorno or Italian Naval Academy, the Italian naval training academy in Livorno
 The Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico, founded in Rome in 1936
 The Accademia Reale di Torino, a defunct military academy
 The Accademia Vivarium Novum in Rome

Others
 Accademia Apulia, a non-profit organisation founded in April 2008 in London
 The Accademia bridge or Ponte dell'Accademia
 Accademia Daniel, an Israeli music ensemble
 The Accademia della Farnesina, a centre for sport and political education in fascist Italy, also known as
 Accademia fascista della Farnesina
 Accademia fascista maschile di educazione fisica
 The Accademia Filarmonica Romana, an orchestra based in Rome
 The Accademia Italiana di Lingua, a professional association of schools of Italian as a foreign language
 The Accademia Normanna or Norman Academy, a Florida association for the promotion of the arts, letters and humanities world-wide
 Piccola Accademia di Montisi, a musical association in Montisi, Tuscany

See also
 List of learned societies in Italy

Accademia


The 26th of July Movement was the name of the political party led by Fidel Castro during the Cuban Revolution. In Spanish, it is called Movimiento 26 de Julio, it is often abbreviated M-26-7. The name comes from the date of the attack on the Moncada Barracks, in Santiago de Cuba, which was carried out on 26th July 1953. The participants were condemned to long prison terms, but were freed at an amnesty in 1955. After this, they formed the movement. Their strategy was armed resistance, in small cells, that were spread all over the country, and were kept secret. Frank País was made the leader of the resistance in Cuba, other activists were Raúl Pujol, Celia Sánchez, Haydée Santamaría, Aldo Santamaría and Vilma Espín.

Fidel castro and other Moncadistas went into exile. Castro went to Mexico, where he met Ernesto Guevara. In 1956, Fidel and Raul Castro, Juan Almeida Bosque, Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, Guevara, and Camilo Cienfuegos went back to Cuba to support the cells there. After two years of guerilla fighting, Fulgencio Batista fled from Cuba, in 1959.

Until the fall of Batista, the forces did not have a Marxist ideology, rather they were different people collaborating to overturn the Batista regime. Later they started to work together with the Communist Party of Cuba. In 1961, they merged with the Communist Party.

1950s in Cuba
Political parties in Cuba
Nationalist organizations in North America
National liberation movements
1953
July events

26th of July Movement