Is this going to be a trend?

Gee, this sounds awfully familiar:

Springfield’s public television station is in a financial crisis so serious that the station’s chief executive officer is warning it could go off the air…. Gruebel is appealing to viewers to donate $330,000 to get the station through the summer. If the money doesn’t materialize, “any number of negative scenarios can play out,” he said….

While the non-profit corporation hasn’t missed any loan payments, he said, it is at risk of violating loan covenants, including requirements to stay within a certain asset-to-debt ratio and have a minimum amount of money in reserve. The covenants are scheduled for review in September, he added.

Is this the new strategy for public television stations to raise money/pay off debt/get free publicity?

Quote of the Day

Across the nation, the realization is taking hold that rising energy prices are less a momentary blip than a change with lasting consequences. The shift to costlier fuel is threatening to slow the decades-old migration away from cities, while exacerbating the housing downturn by diminishing the appeal of larger homes set far from urban jobs…. More than three-fourths of prospective home buyers are now more inclined to live in an urban area because of fuel prices, according to a recent survey of 903 real estate agents with Coldwell Banker, the national brokerage firm.