From PBS's Point of View program notes online: "In 1949, America's first listener-supported community radio station, KPFA, began broadcasting from Berkeley, California. The station quickly became a living testament to free speech and cultural diversity – a vital community of the air that often found itself embroiled in conflict. This riveting film takes us through KPFA's passionate 50-year history, including its founding by pacifists and poets, through its defiance of Cold War conformity, to the present day challenges that confront this on-going experiment in democratic media." (emphasis is mine)

I was too young to know much of anything about the early days of KPFA Radio; plus, I've never lived within their broacasting area. I have read a few postings, here, in the past couple of years and read some articles, so have had a great interest in it.

The above show was aired tonight. It was a fantastic program, very well done and I learned a lot from it.

While listening to some of the interviewees as they described what it was all about and the contentious times they have experienced with their struggles to keep information and diversity available, it struck me that we have said some of the very same things about the Mudcat. We've talked about how we can have a community which is diverse, with differing opinions, etc., yet have most everyone still feel welceom, etc.

One of them said what a concept it was, at the first, to boldly believe people would voluntarily pay for something which was going to be offered free of charge. All of which led me to conclude the Mudcat is to the Internet, in some ways, at least, what KPFA was for radio, esp. in the early days of both.

If you haven't seen the program, I would urge you to watch for ir, or see if you can get your community tv to purchase the video and show it. You can find info on it at www.pbs.org/pov.