Their government funding is a larger share of revenue -- 30 percent, 40 percent, 50 percent or more. These are areas where listeners may have no other access to free over-the-air news and information.

Modest as it is -- government funding is critical because it allows taxpayers to leverage a small investment into a very large one. It is seed money. Station managers tell me that 10 percent plays a critical role in generating the other 90 percent that makes their broadcasts possible.

The fact that we have four sources of revenue -- listeners, philanthropy, corporate and government -- helps ensure that public media is not beholden to any one source of revenue. Indeed it is through this diversity of funding that we are able to maintain our journalistic independence.