For all its entertainment value, the television industry has failed to enlighten the general public.

　　With the exception of short news broadcasts, many TV channels devote prime time to talk shows or sitcoms that are rarely thought provoking. Most of these shows focus on silly subjects such as wearing fake nails, or how to dress like celebrities. Certainly there are more serious interviews, but most of those focus on successful entrepreneurs and how they make money or how many BMWs they own.

　　There are few programs about academics and their quest to improve society, or about statesmen and their ideas and concerns. There is nothing that provides interaction between the people and politicians such as that offered by non-profit C-SPAN in the United States.

　　C-SPAN provides live programing of US Congress, Senate hearings and other political events.

　　Other networks such as Canadian public broadcaster CBC offer a diverse range of shows including investigative reporting, documentaries mixed in with entertainment.

　　But by and large, Chinese television is a mad commercial world where wacky, sissy or mediocre presenters pretend to be larger than life. TV elevates clowns to stardom and sets bad examples for a numb audience. You may not be fooled, but others may well drift into a similar orbit. Without critical thinking, the mob will believe what TV presents as reality.

　　Even if some presenters are intelligent and other programs are acceptable, one thing remains true: Television content hopelessly tilts toward hedonist gossip. Few stories inspire the audience to cultivate noble minds or consider issues of profound social or political importance.

　　It turns many into commercial entities who cannot think beyond houses, cars, wine and sex.

　　While a flood of low-brow talk shows may wash away critical thinking, the heaps of dramas about ancient emperors or the new generation also fail to inspire.

　　Dramas about emperors give full play to the bureaucratic rat race, nepotism, and the cult of personality, often mixed with a bit of flirting without due moral admonishment. Those about the new generation depict the lavish life styles of young people.

　　Some say viewers invariably prefer hedonist pleasures over serious topics. They say people don't want serious discussions after a day at work. They are wrong for two reasons.

　　First, listening to great and serious poems accompanied by music also entertains. You don't have to see people flirting or watch someone put his head in a box of bees to relax.

　　Second, never say you only like one thing before you are exposed to another. When C-SPAN was launched in the US in 1979, it faced similar doubts.

　　Sometimes it was bumped off the air by professional wrestling. But now about 50 million people in the US watch C-SPAN regularly. Most viewers find C-SPAN's gavel-to-gavel coverage of political conventions and debates on scientific issues excellent. The majority of its viewers are younger than 50. It rebukes the notion that serious topics on social and political issues have no market other than for the elderly.

　　A public service channel like C-SPAN will not generate as many ads as soap operas, but it has a market and it has value. It is not just economically viable, but also morally and politically important. It gives people food for thought and engages in positive dialogue with legislators, scientists and great thinkers.