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Talk:List of United States over-the-air television networks

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Re: The Omni Broadcast Network: Someone has listed the network as having 38 full-power affiliates in the table. I would like a source on this. The ONLY reference I can find on Omni is the company web-site, which boasts 38 stations, NOT 38 full-power stations. In fact, Omni's flagship station, its only O&O, is an LP (low power) station. Until I see a source for this rather unknown company having 38 full power stations, I'm changing the number back to what it originally was: 0.--Firsfron 10:21, 22 July 2005 (UTC)

Is there any point in having the section that tells what the analog channels are in the US? Seems out of place here. sam 23:26, Mar 8, 2005 (UTC)

 * Agreed. --Firsfron 02:29, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)

---

Once again, I must object. These are television networks, not channels. A channel, also called a station, is KABC or Channel 7. I'm going to move the article. -- Zoe

(much later)

This page was moved from List of American television networks to List of United States television networks in order to be consistent with List of United States radio networks. See the talk page for why it was this page, rather than that one, moved. Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 16:57, 3 Mar 2004 (UTC)

The nicknames for the networks are pretty controversial! Furthermore, they are indicative of a particular point of view about the network that isn't commonly held. IMO if anywhere, they belong a) with some explanation of the criticisms they reflect and b) on the networks' individual pages. KeithTyler 22:49, May 21, 2004 (UTC)

---

It should perhaps be made more clear that a "television network" is a network of broadcast stations -- not a cable channel. KeithTyler

Movement
I don't understand the need to move the article. A television network is a network of stations, not just a studio with a satellite uplink. I don't care what you call yourself, you're not a network if you only have one node. Certainly plenty of cable channels call themselves "networks" to make themselves sound significant, but that doesn't make them television networks.

In any case I'd think a move like this would have necessitated some discussion first. KeithTyler 17:05, Jun 22, 2004 (UTC)

Massive problems
Please see my comments in Talk:Lists of television channels if you are interested in standardizing the various television station/channel pages. - dcljr 02:37, 14 Aug 2004 (UTC)

I have worked on standardizing the various TV network pages. Prior to this standardizing, some of the pages (like the ABC page) focused nearly exclusively on corporate mergers, while others (like the FOX page) listed mostly TV shows aired on the network.

Now each page contains a little bit about the shows, but also contains info on how many affiliates that network has, how many people receive a signal from the network, etc. I also built a comparison chart on this page.

Naming
I think that either all of the networks should be referenced by their full names in the "English-language American commercial over-the-air television networks" area, or by their abbreviations, with their full names following [not some each way]. Tonsofpcs 05:55, 11 May 2005 (UTC)

 * The problem with that is that some networks normally refer to themselves by their acronyms, while some networks don't normally use acronyms at all. I have included the acronym if the acronym is ever used, but haven't included abbreviations to networks which never use an acronym. At one time, I think I might have listed each network by its full name, but it was large and unweildy, and made the table show up overly large in my browser.--Firsfron 09:17, 18 May 2005 (UTC)

The CW Network
Well, it was bound to happen. Two limping netlets ((Used Parts Network and The WB) finally merge.

What will happen to the tables once the network comes on the air?

Will we start seeing a hungry NBC licking its lips at i (TV network) next?

Raccoon Fox 03:45, 25 January 2006 (UTC)

 * Once UPN and WB merge, we'll have to update the table. But they won't merge until Autumn. The pages which list each network's affiliates will also have to be updated, as well as the lists of US TV stations beginning with K, W, and X.--Firsfron 23:13, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

 * I can handle updating the lists if you want. Shouldn't be too difficult. Just curious, though...should i add the CW Network and My Network TV to the table, or wait until they launch? Raccoon Fox 03:03, 26 February 2006 (UTC)

 * In my opinion it is better to wait until they are actually up and running (or close to it) before they appear on this list. That is just my opinion, though. I think there will be many changes before they are finally on the air, and it doesn't make sense to me to update the list continually, based on the vagueness that currently surrounds the question of which nets will get which affiliates. Currently, the list of CW network affiliates is in bad shape because editors have added potential affiliates to the list, and the list of My Network TV affiliates may get to be the same way.--Firsfron 19:17, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

Syndication/Programming Blocks or Network Programming?
Since Deutsche Welle offers programming to different stations, and is called a "Network", should it be listed with the affiliates? and if so, should the same go for the Kids WB, FoxBox/4Kids Entertainment, and BKN animation blocks? That is how the Retro Television Network (RTN) started, at least....  User:Raccoon Fox - Talk 00:31, 24 May 2006 (UTC)
 * I removed FoxKids and Kids WB from the list. These aren't separate networks, obviously, as their name implies, but just programming offered by the same company. RTN, from what I see, is just airing syndicated programming, so I'm unsure it should even be listed as a network, but if they're marketing themselves as a network, I'm cool with leaving them in the list, for now. DW... do we have a source where they themselves call the company a network?-- Firsfron of Ronchester 16:31, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

Asia Vision
Is this an actual network? The article in its flagship station WIAV-LP seems to say so....three stations, to be precise. does that warrant it to be a Network, and for it to be listed here?  User:Raccoon Fox - Talk 00:49, 8 June 2006 (UTC)
 * According to the link, the "official web-site" of Asia Vision doesn't mention Asia Vision, and the company that owns the station, Radio Music Productions, says it offers TV and Radio advertisement production. What television network makes local (DC-area) commercials? And what television network makes no mention of its name on its official web-site? (To be fair, I only checked out the main page and the four or five pages underneath it, but there was no mention of Asia Vision anywhere on them). I removed the network from the list, temporarily, until a link can be provided showing Asia Vision is an actual network (like an official web-site, heck one of the "networks" we list has only a MySpace account!) -- Firsfron of Ronchester 16:25, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

Shop at Home
It seems that Shop at Home has been revived as a part-time network. I think we can remove references to its closure now... -- WC  Quidditch  ☎   ✎  12:57, 24 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Agreed. -- Firsfron of Ronchester 16:07, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

Urban America Television
uatv is being put on the defunct list, then taken off, then put on again.maybe should we wait till it is confirmed that the network is defunct.there is still a chance (albeit slim) that it may go back on the air.

Organization
Shall i organize the Table by Network Name, Age, Size (affiliate number), or by type? Should i even break the template up into different templates? it seems to be getting awfully big...  User:Raccoon Fox • Talk 23:47, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
 * It was huge. I don't object.-- Firsfron of Ronchester 01:49, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

MyNetworkTV
Someone should add MyNetworkTV to the table of networks. i was thinking about adding it myself, but i dont know several important details (eg: % of U.S. Households Reached, # of Households Viewable, # of full-power affiliates, # of low-power affiliates & transmitters), so i hope someone will do it.Yet-another-user 04:13, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

PBS Kids
This channel is not defunct! It never really was a channel, anyway (it is attached to normal PBS). I say to move it to another section or delete it from the article for good!

Non-broadcast networks
I'm noting several of non-broadcast networks here (Bloomberg, HITN, HTV); I'm going to remove them, unless someone can point to them as full-time broadcast networks someplace (Yes, I know they are cable/satellite, but this article is for broadcast nets) --Mhking 14:19, 22 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Thanks. If someone can provide refs that they operate over-the-air stations, they should be kept. Barring that, there's no reason they should be in these lists. Firsfron of Ronchester  21:00, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

 * RacconFox -- unless you can provide notation as to WHERE those networks are broadcast networks, they shouldn't be included. --Mhking 18:47, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

PBS
I dont think PBS should be included as a network becouse its govorment affiliated, non comercial, and all its stations are independent of each other, nor should its predicesor NET. --J intela 03:48, 18 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Regardless of how it's funded, PBS is a "network" in that all of its stations follow a similar branding pattern, carry much of the same programming (though not always on the same schedule), and are controlled by a single entity (the Corporation for Public Broadcasting). Whether it's "commercial" or not has nothing to do with it - PBS, and its NET predecessor, have always been a true network of TV stations. Duncan1800 (talk) 07:28, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

May I just submit this thought - PBS stands for Public Broadcasting Service. It is service as opposed to system because it's a programing and content provider not a network. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.230.8.165 (talk) 01:01, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Would you say the same about the BBC in the UK, CBC in Canada, TVNZ in New Zealand, etc., as they're all public television broadcasters, much like PBS? The thing is, even though PBS member stations aren't "technically" owned by PBS, they still air a lot of its programming. I mean, to an extent, even stations actually owned by the major US networks (CBS, NBC, ABC) don't always air network programming, but they're still considered network affiliates. Just because a network produces programming doesn't always mean a station affiliated with said network will air that programming; WBBM (CBS 2 Chicago), WMAQ (NBC 5 Chicago), WLS (ABC 7 Chicago), WFLD (Fox 32 Chicago), & WPWR (My50 Chicago) don't always air programming produced by the network they're owned by, but they're still considered network stations. 2600:1700:C960:2270:918D:B7CC:B727:5ADE (talk) 05:41, 2 June 2022 (UTC)

Needs Updating
This article really needs updating. For example, The Tube Music Network is now defunct, But has not been added to the list of defunct TV networks. I'd do it myself but I'm half-asleep 58.104.20.194 (talk) 07:11, 20 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I'm going to take this on, as it's desperately in need of help. I'll be placing an edit tag on top of the page, as it might take me a day or so to do the research. Duncan1800 (talk) 07:23, 21 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I can't get to it right now, so I've removed the edit tag. Feel free to revert if you wish, but I didn't honestly change much. The plan was to reconcile the text at the bottom of the page with the tables on top, to split up both of those blocks. I would also argue that the specific info about each network could be moved to the relevant articles, as this page is already 38k in hugeness. Duncan1800 (talk) 09:33, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

high-traffic alert
Expect high traffic to this page, fellow wikipedians. Yahoo! is linking to it from RingtailedFox • Talk • Contribs 20:58, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

This article is so out of date it's funny
Really, many of the networks mentioned have added PLENTY of affiliates since the numbers were added to this article. Retro Agnostic (talk) 03:47, 31 December 2008 (UTC)

Please add My Retro TV
Just started this month, please add it! My Retro TV. Retro Agnostic (talk) 17:27, 9 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Already exists - RTN Retro Television Network (myretrotv.com). Not a new network, but changed hands in 2008 due to the Equity Media Holdings chapter 11 bankruptcy, now operated by Luken Communications. --66.102.80.212 (talk) 05:15, 10 January 2009 (UTC)

FOX, CW and MyNetworkTV
The article says FOX, CW and MyNetworkTV reach exactly the same number of people, which is obviously incorrect. Does anyone have the real numbers? Pja1981 (talk) 18:59, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

About myNetworkTV
It should be removed from the major television networks section, since News Corp has announced that MNT is technically no longer a TV network, but more of a programming syndication service now. 67.173.117.222 (talk) 09:57, 7 October 2009 (UTC)
 * This is technically true, and the change was made for legal reasons. However in practice it is still treated as a TV network by almost everyone, including elsewhere on Wikipedia, plus by the affiliates and TV listings. Therefore it's been re-added to the list. 82.153.198.135 (talk) 21:11, 27 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Your "by almost everyone" is a WP:WEASEL violation as it is unverifiable and violates the WP:V mandate. Therefore, I am removing this as unverifiable original research under the WP:NOR mandate. - Davodd (talk) 11:23, 14 February 2011 (UTC)
 * I have to agree with the above comments. myNetworkTV is no longer a major network and it needs to be bumped down. Rreagan007 (talk) 04:49, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

Retro Television Network % of U.S. households reached
I've been trying to find an updated number, but RTN has lost many affiliates in the last year to competitors like Antenna TV and MeTV, so 67% is probably no longer correct. (Esw01407 (talk) 20:23, 4 June 2011 (UTC))
 * I'm going to copy this over to WP:TVS so that someone more familiar with the math of this article can help us out.  Nate  • ( chatter ) 01:18, 5 June 2011 (UTC)

PBS, stations vs. population reached
can someone explain why, despite having many more stations than the commercial networks, PBS reaches less population? 68.227.174.198 (talk) 00:58, 3 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Some television markets just don't have a PBS station or are served by satellite stations, or for larger states with a less dense population, are served by translators that aren't counted in the numbers.  Nate  • ( chatter ) 02:50, 3 October 2013 (UTC)

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RfC about PBS's status, not just as a US TV network, but as a major US TV network
Should PBS be considered a United States TV network? And, based off that, should it be considered a major United States TV network? 2600:1700:C960:2270:918D:B7CC:B727:5ADE (talk) 06:01, 2 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Yes, and yes since it is in the US and is a TV network, and it is the largest non-profit one with a long history. I see in above discussions only two arguments with any relevance: a) that it's a content provider not a network, but this is a meaningless distinction today, a period in which most networks are also content providers of their own; and b) that it's not a network because its stations are independent, but this is also true of many other networks, and we are using "network" very loosely defined.  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  08:33, 2 June 2022 (UTC)
 * and more yes because PBS is a public broadcaster just like any other US station, and they follow the same FCC rules for the public and broadcasting as any other public broadcaster in the US must. It's even in their names for crying out loud (Federal Communications Commission, and Public Broadcasting Service). Also, agree with SmC about PBS being largest non-profit with a long history. As SmC has explained, "network" is a very loose term referring to what the FCC calls "public broadcasters", and PBS is for sure on the FCC official list of registered public broadcasters. Huggums537 (talk) 16:13, 2 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Comment/Endorse The reason for my reversion was past consensus and because the heading is built more for major commercial networks just because the 'MyNet/Ion is major!' argument is just...all-around exhausting. That said, now that we converted the top image to a gallery rather than a solid image, I would not be opposed to having PBS in that category, as long as it's agreed to by consensus.  Nate  • ( chatter ) 20:50, 2 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Been a while since I reviewed this article, and I don't know who started this nonsense about removing the CW from "The Big 5" when there are sources for them being part of the big 5 major networks. The "MyNet/Ion is major!" argument might be exhausting, but it has no basis in sourcing, so there is no justification for it to be included as major, but there are sources to justify the CW as major. Me thinks it's pretty dumb to have the major and minor sections anyway. Wikipedia should not be defining what is a major network, and what isn't. For example, the image caption should not read; "The five major commercial broadcast television networks, operating in the United States" as in an authoritative voice, but more like, "The logos of five common commercial broadcast television networks, which operate in the United States". It is original research for us to be arguing about what is a major network and what isn't. If it were my article, I would drop the language of "major networks" all together. For example, in the lede, I would change: In the United States, for most of the history of broadcasting, there were only three or four major commercial national terrestrial networks. to something more along the lines of: "In the United States, for most of the history of broadcasting, there were only three or four widely available commercial national terrestrial networks." Huggums537 (talk) 21:48, 2 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Are there research or statistics on historical viewership of these networks? Senorangel (talk) 23:16, 2 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Yes, and No - Yes as network, No not major.  The label ‘network’ is not used as much for it as for others, but seems used enough to include it.  (e.g. yougov)  But it does not seem ‘major’ as the viewership numbers are so far below the biggest networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC...) and so many others are above it.  My impression is that PBS would be somewhere between #11 and #20, behind others like TNT, ESPN, Univision, HGTV, etcetera.   Cheers Markbassett (talk) 14:47, 3 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Um, except TNT, ESPN, Univision, HGTV, etcetera are not terrestrial over the air broadcast networks so even if you had any data supporting this it would be inapplicable to this article. Huggums537 (talk) 05:07, 4 June 2022 (UTC)
 * As far as your claim about viewership; do you have any data to back it up? I mean, you made a claim without linking to anything that backs up the claim. If you're going to make accusations/allegations, then it's common sense that you then provide sources that back up what you're saying. So, I am requesting that either you provide a source for the data you're referencing, or be smart enough to retract your statement before you hurt your side. 2600:1700:C960:2270:D19C:DC99:A287:62E7 (talk) 23:01, 3 June 2022 (UTC)
 * So Markbassett, you've got nothing, no data, no sources, to back up your claim about viewership numbers for PBS.
 * Honestly, I would almost ask another Wikipedia editor to have your claim about viewership numbers stricken from this discussion. 2600:1700:C960:2270:E064:F985:6600:2A0F (talk) 23:01, 8 June 2022 (UTC)

 * Yes, and yes it is indeed a (public broadcaster) TV network based in the US. NMasiha (talk) 17:09, 6 June 2022 (UTC)

Concerning the inclusion of the PBS logo in the article...
Someone needs to write up a valid non-free use rationale on the image page for the PBS logo, so that the logo can be included in the box with the logos for ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, & The CW. Honestly, I have no clue how to do it myself (I've never written up something like that), so a more experienced editor would need to write one up, so the logo can be put back in the article. 2600:1700:C960:2270:5D07:23C4:1139:5BF1 (talk) 08:26, 28 June 2022 (UTC)

Concerning The CW's status as a TV network...
An editor has decided, without discussing it beforehand, to demote The CW's position within the article to a minor TV network.

Now, after doing some research through Google, it seems to me that The CW is in fact America's fifth major TV network after ABC, CBS, Fox, & NBC.

So, should The CW's position in the article be reverted back to being a major TV network? 2600:1700:C960:2270:4DA1:A876:E48E:5AC (talk) 23:04, 18 September 2022 (UTC)
 * All reverted; clear vandalism. The IP has been doing this same thing for months and trying to be WP:POINTy about MyNetworkTV being a network rather than the time-filler block it is now (and some foggy CRYSTALing that the C-Dub will end up only carrying NewsNation when Nexstar acquires control, which isn't happening). I'll continue to revert this; it carries original programming. End of.  Nate  • ( chatter ) 23:26, 18 September 2022 (UTC)
 * This too; the network will find replacement affiliates despite the loss of CBS stations and they still originate mostly original programming, even if it's from unconventional or international sources.  Nate  • ( chatter ) 01:12, 2 June 2023 (UTC)
 * CW Sports programming is not carried by CW affiliates owned by CBS News and Stations (which dropped the network's programming on September 1, 2023, and already has rival PGA Tour), Lilly Broadcasting, or Tegna Inc.; In the affected markets that don't air coverage of LIV Golf, CW Sports programming will air on digital multicast networks carried on digital subchannels under a secondary affiliation agreement, so technically CW Sports is a programming service similar to MyNetworkTV. 2603:8001:B202:3294:B8C5:DD92:B856:1582 (talk) 18:36, 15 July 2023 (UTC)
 * It's a clearly temporary situation that will resolve over time as affiliation agreements are updated or made (which NX is taking care of as far as the loss of the CBSNS group); the articles to note this are those involving The CW, not this one, because that goes into finite detail territory. Also it features original content for sure, not a rerun feed like MyNet.  Nate  • ( chatter ) 18:34, 30 July 2023 (UTC)
 * It's worth noting that the new CW affiliate in Seattle (KOMO-DT2) has a secondary affiliation with the digital multicast network Comet, so technically it has a similar format to MyNetworkTV, which usually maintains secondary affiliation agreements with other digital multicast networks. 2603:8001:B202:3294:D9FA:68F:C5EB:5439 (talk) 02:24, 27 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Nexstar's acquisition of The CW resulted in criticism, specifically their strategy is to cut back on its original programming, instead by converting the network into a programming service relying on syndicated content from broadcast networks and cable channels, and sports programming. It's worth mentioning that most CW stations owned by Nexstar have deemphasized the network's branding outside of the network's programming schedule. 24.30.157.170 (talk) 02:37, 9 October 2023 (UTC)
 * A so-called "programming service" (which is wholly uncited) wouldn't be adding sports programming in new timeslots or just carrying old Dateline episodes found on Xumo and calling it a day. Canadian content not seen in America before, along with sports programming, is still new content and it's clear this is a transition period as a network, not a white flag. And one very unusual aberration in its affiliation base (which was a last-minute issue and will be settled down the line) does not portend the network's fate. Unlike MyNetworkTV which is declining into a true secondary service on subchannels with 'primary' as a misnomer, The CW is still a network, and you need to stop unless you have strong industry sourcing as to this conclusion.  Nate  • ( chatter ) 03:09, 9 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Nexstar does has the option to buy the remaining stakes of The CW sometime between 2024 and 2026, just to confirm that Nexstar is violating FCC ownership regulations since the company owns almost 200 stations, and it's possible that Nexstar will highly likely downgrade The CW to a to a minor broadcast network. 2603:8001:B202:3294:A87A:F9DC:F23B:5ED (talk) 04:25, 1 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Until, and if that day comes that they just offer a flat 24/7 feed of repeats, right now it's a major broadcast network. They have affiliates and offer original programming. It's a network. This argument is tiresome and you're now in the territory of debate for the sake of it even as your argument was refuted months ago.  Nate  • ( chatter ) 13:03, 1 November 2023 (UTC)
 * There were recent affiliation changes that happened in Phoenix DMA, as KASW recently became an independent station airing telecasts of the Arizona Coyotes hockey team, and The CW affiliation moved to KNXV-DT2, sharing a secondary affiliation with the multicast network Antenna TV. Now it's confirmed that The CW has a similar format to MyNetworkTV. 2603:8001:B202:3294:54BF:A16:D250:30E1 (talk) 21:48, 24 November 2023 (UTC)
 * And this changes absolutely nothing. Still a broadcast network, not a syndicated service. We're done here. The horse has reincarnated into something else and wants you to move on now.  Nate  • ( chatter ) 00:17, 25 November 2023 (UTC)

About Ion Television
Ion Television is not a broadcast network, as the majority of the network's affiliates are automated with the same schedule of duplicative programming easily found on streaming services, unlike the other broadcast networks which program their own schedules. In fact, Ion Television also operates as a streaming channel and as a pay television network. The network obviously had a better history when it was known as Pax TV, which had original programming in its early years. I wish Ion Television shuts down forever and their stations will revert to their independent status afterwards. 2603:8001:B202:3294:54BF:A16:D250:30E1 (talk) 04:27, 25 November 2023 (UTC)
 * It has television stations that broadcast it as a main channel. There are affiliates. There is sports coverage on the network. It is free-to-air to everyone and not a 'pay channel'. This is becoming disruptive and you've been told this multiple times. Stop your persistence and find something else to do; further questions like this will be removed unanswered (and certainly not debated).  Nate  • ( chatter ) 05:09, 25 November 2023 (UTC)
 * If Ion Television does shut down, Ion Plus would take over Ion's channel space, and then Qubo would relaunch afterwards. Besides, both networks had more better programming, particularly Canadian content.2603:8001:B202:3294:8BD:3038:1118:CE8A (talk) 08:27, 31 December 2023 (UTC)

Broadcast networks that share secondary affiliations
In the past, the Big Four networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox) maintained secondary affiliations on stations affiliated with other networks depending on the market; This would also apply to UPN and The WB, which usually relied on secondary affiliations as well. 2603:8001:B202:3294:255C:4D3F:B587:AC8E (talk) 02:29, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

 * Currently, the only two broadcast networks that share secondary affiliations with other networks are The CW and MyNetworkTV, both of which are programming services that share secondary affiliations with digital multicast networks such as Antenna TV. 2603:8001:B202:3294:EC21:A6B8:73DE:92D7 (talk) 02:30, 13 December 2023 (UTC)
 * What?? The CW is a network, not a service. It's not like MyNetworkTV, and yes, stations like Sinclair-Owned KOMO-TV and Scripps-Owned KNXV-TV air the CW on a digital subchannel, it's not considered a programming service but it airs programs that aren't all repeats. I don't understand your reasoning but it's not a service, it's a network. Mer764Wiki (talk) 03:21, 13 December 2023 (UTC)
 * What about The CW Sports, which is a syndication service that shares secondary affiliations with other stations, as most CW affiliates refused to air sports programming. 2603:8001:B202:3294:EC21:A6B8:73DE:92D7 (talk) 04:45, 13 December 2023 (UTC)
 * It's part of the network. Stop.  Nate  • ( chatter ) 14:54, 13 December 2023 (UTC)

Hybrid networks
Nexstar's majority purchase of The CW resulted in some odd side-effects, which is the network is clearly becoming more of a hybrid rather than a true broadcast network by sharing secondary affiliations with digital multicast television networks (such as the affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona, which shares a secondary affiliation with Antenna TV on it's second subchannel), which clearly relegates the network's status from major to minor. The tipping point is that Nexstar gave CBS the right to drop The CW affiliations, which led to an affiliation realignment of owned-and-operated stations. 2603:8001:B202:3294:8BD:3038:1118:CE8A (talk) 08:09, 31 December 2023 (UTC)

 * Gee, sounds like you've been at this behavior for some time.
 * I mean, (a.k.a. Nate) has had to tell you to cease your attempts at pushing the narrative that The CW isn't a major TV network.
 * The thing is, with the discussion I linked you to on here from your talk page, the user who started that discussion used multiple sources that clearly reference The CW as a major TV network. How does a station's CW affiliation being placed on a subchannel (?.2, ?.3, etc.) mean The CW is no longer a major TV network? You do realize there's stations in some US cities where affiliation with NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, etc. is placed on a subchannel sometimes because there aren't enough stations in certain cities to accommodate all the currently-existing networks, don't you?
 * So, using your logic, does that then mean that, if a station affiliated with one of the major TV networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, etc.) in some random US city has its NBC/CBS/ABC/Fox affiliation on a subchannel, rather than on the main channel, then NBC/CBS/ABC/Fox is no longer a major TV network? ClarkKentWannabe (talk) 10:14, 31 December 2023 (UTC)
 * To begin with, when The CW Sports division was announced, several affiliates declined to carry the network's sports programming (particularly the CBS-owned stations), and in those affected markets, CW Sports programming instead aired on Nexstar-owned stations or digital subchannels, or on other stations via secondary affiliation agreements. When CBS-owned stations decided to drop the CW affiliations, it was all clear to me that The CW has became more of a hybrid rather than a true broadcast network like MyNetworkTV. 2603:8001:B202:3294:8BD:3038:1118:CE8A (talk) 10:40, 31 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Just because when you've posted elsewhere using that terminology, I didn't quite understand.
 * What do you mean by a "hybrid" network? ClarkKentWannabe (talk) 10:48, 31 December 2023 (UTC)
 * A hybrid network refers to a programming block, as it's a format that mixes elements of both network and syndication models as original and syndicated programming are supplied during prime time by the networks and by their stations at all other times. 2603:8001:B202:3294:8BD:3038:1118:CE8A (talk) 11:03, 31 December 2023 (UTC)
 * So, you're saying just because The CW on some stations in some cities was relegated to a subchannel, rather than the main channel, that means it's no longer a major TV network?
 * I mean, from what I'm aware of, the major networks, for the most part, are major due to the fact of how widespread their carriage is. If you look at the table listing for the networks, you'll see a column that is titled ""% of U.S. households reached". The CW is right up there with NBC, CBS, ABC, & Fox at 97%. Of course, MyNetworkTV is also at 97%, but Fox has openly & officially declared MyNetworkTV a programming syndication service. As for Ion Television, their number is at 75%.
 * So, your claim of a "hybrid" network has no basis in reality. A programming block is a block of programming broadcast on a TV network; a good example of a programming block is Heroes & Icons (H&I)'s "All Star Trek" programming block Monday through Friday.
 * So, honestly, I completely disagree with your premise of The CW being a "hybrid" network, as it's nothing of the sort. ClarkKentWannabe (talk) 15:22, 31 December 2023 (UTC)
 * From what I've remembered, the Tribune-owned CW affiliates deemphasized the network's branding during its early years, to the point that the CBS-owned CW stations have kept the network's branding up until their stations disaffiliated from the network. 2603:8001:B202:3294:8BD:3038:1118:CE8A (talk) 16:41, 31 December 2023 (UTC)

Syndication packages
If The CW Sports is not officially part of The CW's schedule, let's consider it as a syndication package similar to ACC Network. Currently, CW stations owned by Tegna Media or Lilly Broadcasting refused to carry it as they have the right of first refusal, and it's instead being carried on digital subchannel networks, MyNetworkTV affiliates, or independent stations under secondary affiliation agreements. 2603:8001:B202:3294:C95A:64A7:3DEF:9B2C (talk) 18:11, 1 January 2024 (UTC)

 * From my awareness, The CW Sports is the sports division of The CW, so claiming it's not is incorrect.
 * And, again bringing up stations' affiliate status with The CW has already been proven not to affect the network's status as a major network., as user Nate/MrSchimpf has reminded you multiple times already.
 * So, at this point, I am kindly reminding you of 's multiple comments to you on this issue. I will also kindly request that you cease & desist your actions on this subject; your thoughts have been acknowledged & addressed. ClarkKentWannabe (talk) 23:59, 1 January 2024 (UTC)

FCC ownership violations
The FCC fined Nexstar for violating ownership regulations after acquiring The CW without any approval, but for also giving CBS the right to disaffiliate from The CW in eight large markets. In fact, the company owns too many owned-and-operated stations that a large number of them are in smaller markets via The CW Plus syndication service. And now the Scripps-owned stations are dropping the CW affiliations in seven markets on September 1, 2024. It's worth noting that the secondary CW affiliations with multicast networks in Seattle and Phoenix were rather short-lived, as the affiliations moved to KUNS-TV and KAZT-TV. 2603:8001:B202:3294:A06A:B0D1:4E56:9EC4 (talk) 06:23, 9 May 2024 (UTC)


text:
Skunkworks

Skunkworks or Skunk works may refer to:

 * Skunk Works, an official trademark for the Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Programs (formerly Lockheed Advanced Development Projects).
 * Skunkworks project, a project typically developed by a small and loosely structured group of people who research and develop a project primarily for the sake of innovation
 * Skunkworks (album), alternative rock album by Bruce Dickinson

Other uses

 * SCO Skunkware, a collection of open source software.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Skunkworks


text:
Bellum omnium contra omnes

Bellum omnium contra omnes, a Latin phrase meaning "the war of all against all", is the description that Thomas Hobbes gives to human existence in the state-of-nature thought experiment that he conducts in De Cive (1642) and Leviathan (1651). The common modern English usage is a war of "each against all" where war is rare and terms such as "competition" or "struggle" are more common.

Thomas Hobbes' use
In Leviathan itself, Hobbes speaks of 'warre of every one against every one', of 'a war [...] of every man against every man' and of 'a perpetuall warre of every man against his neighbour', but the Latin phrase occurs in De Cive: "[...] ostendo primo conditionem hominum extra societatem civilem, quam conditionem appellare liceat statum naturæ, aliam non esse quam bellum omnium contra omnes; atque in eo bello jus esse omnibus in omnia.

I demonstrate, in the first place, that the state of men without civil society (which state we may properly call the state of nature) is nothing else but a mere war of all against all; and in that war all men have equal right unto all things."

Later on, two slightly modified versions are presented in De Cive: "[...] Status hominum naturalis antequam in societatem coiretur, bellum fuerit; neque hoc simpliciter, sed bellum omnium in omnes.

The natural state of men, before they entered into society, was a mere war, and that not simply, but a war of all men against all men."

"Nam unusquisque naturali necessitate bonum sibi appetit, neque est quisquam qui bellum istud omnium contra omnes, quod tali statui naturaliter adhæret, sibi existimat esse bonum.

For every man by natural necessity desires that which is good for him: nor is there any that esteems a war of all against all, which necessarily adheres to such a state, to be good for him."

In chapter XIII of Leviathan, Hobbes explains the concept with these words: "Hereby it is manifest that during the time men live without a common Power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called War; and such a war as is of every man against every man. [...] In such condition there is no place for Industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no Culture of the Earth; no Navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by Sea; no commodious Building; no Instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no Knowledge of the face of the Earth; no account of Time; no Arts; no Letters; no Society; and which is worst of all, continual Fear, and danger of violent death; And the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

The thought experiment places people in a pre-social condition, and theorizes what would happen in such a condition. According to Hobbes, the outcome is that people choose to enter a social contract, giving up some of their liberties in order to enjoy peace. This thought experiment is a test for the legitimation of a state in fulfilling its role as "sovereign" to guarantee social order, and for comparing different types of states on that basis.

Hobbes distinguishes between war and battle: war does not only consist of actual battle; it points to the situation in which one knows there is a 'Will to contend by Battle'.

Later uses
In his Notes on the State of Virginia (1785), Thomas Jefferson uses the phrase bellum omnium in omnia ("war of all things against all things", assuming omnium is intended to be neuter like omnia) as he laments that the constitution of that state was twice at risk of being sacrificed to the nomination of a dictator after the manner of the Roman Republic.

The phrase was sometimes used by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: "Religion has become the spirit of civil society, of the sphere of egoism, of bellum omnium contra omnes."
 * In On the Jewish Question (1843–1844):

"One could just as well deduce from this abstract phrase that each individual reciprocally blocks the assertion of the others' interests, so that, instead of a general affirmation this war of all against all produces a general negation."
 * In Outlines of the Critique of Political Economy (1857–1858):

 * The English translation eliminates the Latin phrase used in the original German.

"It is remarkable how Darwin rediscovers, among the beasts and plants, the society of England with its division of labour, competition, opening up of new markets, 'inventions' and Malthusian 'struggle for existence'. It is Hobbes' bellum omnium contra omnes."
 * In a letter from Marx to Engels (18 June 1862):

"The whole Darwinists teaching of the struggle for existence is simply a transference from society to living nature of Hobbes's doctrine of bellum omnium contra omnes and of the bourgeois-economic doctrine of competition together with Malthus's theory of population. When this conjurer's trick has been performed..., the same theories are transferred back again from organic nature into history and it is now claimed that their validity as eternal laws of human society has been proved."
 * In a letter to Pyotr Lavrov (London, 12–17 November 1875), Engels is expressed clearly against any attempt to legitimize the trend anthropomorphizing human nature to the distorted view of natural selection:

It was also used by Friedrich Nietzsche in On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense (1873): "Insofar as the individual wants to preserve himself against other individuals, in a natural state of affairs he employs the intellect mostly for simulation alone. But because man, out of need and boredom, wants to exist socially, herd-fashion, he requires a peace pact and he endeavors to banish at least the very crudest bellum omnium contra omnes from his world."

title: Bellum omnium contra omnes


text:
Mount Rushmore

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe, or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota, United States. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum designed the sculpture, called Shrine of Democracy, and oversaw the project's execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum. The sculpture features the 60 ft heads of four United States presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, chosen to represent the nation's birth, growth, development, and preservation, respectively. Mount Rushmore attracts more than two million visitors annually to the memorial park which covers 1278 acre. The mountain's elevation is 5725 ft above sea level.

The sculptor chose Mount Rushmore in part because it faces southeast for maximum sun exposure. The carving was the idea of Doane Robinson, a historian for the state of South Dakota. Robinson originally wanted the sculpture to feature American West heroes, such as Lewis and Clark, their expedition guide Sacagawea, Oglala Lakota chief Red Cloud, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Oglala Lakota chief Crazy Horse. Borglum chose the four presidents instead.

Peter Norbeck, U.S. senator from South Dakota, sponsored the project and secured federal funding. Construction began in 1927 and the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. After Gutzon Borglum died in March 1941, his son Lincoln took over as leader of the construction project. Each president was originally to be depicted from head to waist, but lack of funding forced construction to end on October 31, 1941, and only Washington's sculpture includes any detail below chin level.

The sculpture at Mount Rushmore is built on land that was illegally taken from the Sioux Nation in the 1870s. The Sioux continue to demand return of the land, and in 1980 the US Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians that the taking of the Black Hills required just compensation, and awarded the tribe $102 million. The Sioux have refused the money, which has grown with interest to over a billion dollars, and demand the return of the land. This conflict continues, leading some critics of the monument to refer to it as a "Shrine of Hypocrisy". ''

"Six Grandfathers" to "Mount Rushmore"
Mount Rushmore and the surrounding Black Hills (Pahá Sápa) are considered sacred by Plains Indians such as the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Lakota Sioux, who used the area for centuries as a place to pray and gather food, building materials, and medicine. The Lakota called the mountain "Six Grandfathers" (Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe), symbolizing ancestral deities personified as the six directions: north, south, east, west, above (sky), and below (earth). In the latter half of the 19th century, expansion by the United States into the Black Hills led to the Sioux Wars. In the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, the U.S. government granted exclusive use of all of the Black Hills, including Six Grandfathers, to the Sioux in perpetuity.

Six Grandfathers was a significant part of the spiritual journey taken in the early 1870s by Lakota leader Black Elk (Heȟáka Sápa, also known as "The Sixth Grandfather"), that culminated at the nearby Black Elk Peak, (Hiŋháŋ Káǧa, "Making of Owls") U.S. general George Armstrong Custer summited Black Elk Peak a few years later in 1874 during the Black Hills Expedition, which triggered the Black Hills Gold Rush and Great Sioux War of 1876. In 1877, the U.S. broke the Treaty of Fort Laramie and asserted control over the area, leading to an influx of settlers and prospectors.

Among those prospectors was New York mining promoter James Wilson, who organized the Harney Peak Tin Company, and hired New York attorney Charles E. Rushmore to visit the Black Hills and confirm the company's land claims. During a visit in 1884 or 1885, Rushmore saw Six Grandfathers and asked his guide, Bill Challis, the mountain's name; Challis replied that the mountain didn't have a name, but that it would henceforth be named after Rushmore. The name "Mount Rushmore" continued to be used locally, and was officially recognized by the United States Board of Geographic Names in June 1930.

Concept, design and funding
By the 1920s, South Dakota had become a U.S. state, and was a popular destination for road trippers visiting the Black Hills National Forest, Wind Cave National Park, and Needles Highway. In 1923, the Secretary of the South Dakota State Historical Society, Doane Robinson, who would come to be known as the "Father of Mount Rushmore", learned about the "Shrine to the Confederacy", a project to carve the likenesses of Confederate generals into the side of Stone Mountain, Georgia, that had been underway since 1915. Seeking to boost tourism to South Dakota, Robinson began promoting the idea of a similar monument in the Black Hills, representing "not only the wild grandeur of its local geography but also the triumph of western civilization over that geography through its anthropomorphic representation."

Robinson initially approached sculptor Lorado Taft, but Taft was ill at the time and uninterested in Robinson's project. Robinson next sought the help of then-U.S. Senator Peter Norbeck, who had established Custer State Park when he was Governor in 1919. Norbeck cautiously supported Robinson's plan, and Robinson began campaigning for it publicly. Some in the local community also supported Robinson's plan, but many opposed it vigorously.

On August 20, 1924, Robinson wrote to Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of "Shrine to the Confederacy", asking him to travel to the Black Hills region to determine whether the carving could be accomplished. Borglum, who had involved himself with the Ku Klux Klan, one of the Stone Mountain memorial's funders, had been having disagreements with the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, and on September 24, 1924, travelled to South Dakota to meet Robinson.

Borglum's original plan was to make the carvings in 150-meter-high granite pillars known as the Needles (Hiŋháŋ Káǧa). However, the eroded Needles were too thin to support sculpting. Also, some in the Black Hills such as Cora Babbitt Johnson, protested against carving the Needles on environmental and religious grounds. On August 14, 1925, Borglum summitted Black Elk Peak while scouting alternative locations, and reportedly said upon seeing Mount Rushmore, "America will march along that skyline." He chose Mount Rushmore, a grander location, partly because it faced southeast and enjoyed maximum exposure to sunlight.

Borglum rejected Robinson's original plan of depicting characters from the Old West, such as Lewis and Clark, Red Cloud, Sacagawea, John C. Fremont, and Crazy Horse, and instead decided to depict four American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. The four presidential faces were said to be carved into the granite with the intention of symbolizing "an accomplishment born, planned, and created in the minds and by the hands of Americans for Americans". The Lakota and other local indigenous communities objected to the overall plan as constituting desecration of their sacred lands, and to the racist and sometimes violent anti-indigenous policies of the four presidents depicted. For the Lakota and other tribes, the monument "came to epitomize the loss of their sacred lands and the injustices they've suffered under the U.S. government."

Senator Norbeck and Congressman William Williamson of South Dakota introduced bills in early 1925 for permission to use federal land, which passed easily. South Dakota legislation had less support, only passing narrowly on its third attempt, which Governor Carl Gunderson signed into law on March 5, 1925. Private funding came slowly and Borglum invited President Calvin Coolidge to an August 1927 dedication ceremony, at which he promised federal funding. Congress passed the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Act, signed by Coolidge, which authorized up to $250,000 in matching funds. The 1929 presidential transition to Herbert Hoover delayed funding until an initial federal match of $54,670.56 was acquired.

Carving started in 1927 and ended in 1941 with no fatalities.

Construction
Between October 4, 1927, and October 31, 1941, Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers sculpted the colossal 60 ft carvings of United States Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln to represent the first 150 years of American history. These presidents were selected by Borglum because of their role in preserving the Republic and expanding its territory. The carving of Mount Rushmore involved the use of dynamite, followed by the process of "honeycombing", where workers drill holes close together, allowing small pieces to be removed by hand. In total, about 450,000 ST of rock were blasted off the mountainside. The image of Thomas Jefferson was originally intended to appear in the area at Washington's right, but after the work there was begun, the rock was found to be unsuitable, so the work on Jefferson's figure was dynamited, and a new figure was sculpted to Washington's left. The chief carver of the mountain was Luigi Del Bianco, an artisan and stonemason who emigrated to the U.S. from Friuli in Italy and was chosen to work on this project because of his understanding of sculptural language and ability to imbue emotion in the carved portraits.

In 1933, the National Park Service took Mount Rushmore under its jurisdiction. Julian Spotts helped with the project by improving its infrastructure. For example, he had the tram upgraded so it could reach the top of Mount Rushmore for the ease of workers. By July 4, 1934, Washington's face had been completed and was dedicated. The face of Thomas Jefferson was dedicated in 1936, and Abraham Lincoln's on September 17, 1937. In 1937, a bill was introduced in Congress to add the head of civil-rights leader Susan B. Anthony, but a rider was passed on an appropriations bill requiring federal funds be used to finish only those heads that had already been started at that time. In 1939, the face of Theodore Roosevelt was dedicated.

The Sculptor's Studio – a display of unique plaster models and tools related to the sculpting – was built in 1939 under the direction of Borglum. Borglum died from an embolism in March 1941. His son, Lincoln Borglum, continued the project. Originally, it was planned that the figures would be carved from head to waist, but insufficient funding forced the carving to end. Borglum had also planned a massive panel in the shape of the Louisiana Purchase commemorating in eight-foot-tall gilded letters the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Louisiana Purchase, and seven other territorial acquisitions from the Alaska purchase to the Panama Canal Zone. In total, the entire project cost US$989,992.32 (equivalent to $ in ).

Nick Clifford, the last remaining carver, died in November 2019 at age 98.

Later developments
Harold Spitznagel and Cecil Doty designed the original visitor center, finished in 1957, as part of the Mission 66 effort to improve visitors' facilities at national parks and monuments across the country. Ten years of redevelopment work culminated with the completion of extensive visitor facilities and sidewalks in 1998, such as a Visitor Center, the Lincoln Borglum Museum, and the Presidential Trail.

On October 15, 1966, Mount Rushmore was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A 500-word essay giving the history of the United States by Nebraska student William Andrew Burkett was selected as the college-age group winner in a 1934 competition, and that essay was placed on the Entablature on a bronze plate in 1973. In 1991, President George H. W. Bush officially dedicated Mount Rushmore.

In 2004, Gerard Baker was appointed superintendent of the park, the first and so far only Native American in that role. Baker stated that he will open up more "avenues of interpretation", and that the four presidents are "only one avenue and only one focus."

Proposals to add additional faces
In 1937, when the sculpture was not yet complete, a bill in Congress supporting the addition of women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony failed. When the sculpture was completed in 1941, the sculptors said that the remaining rock was not suitable for additional carvings. This stance was shared by RESPEC, an engineering firm charged with monitoring the stability of the rock in 1989. Proposals of additional sculptures include John F. Kennedy after his assassination in 1963, and Ronald Reagan in 1985 and 1999 – the latter proposal receiving a debate in Congress at the time. Barack Obama was asked about his own potential addition in 2008 and he joked that his ears were too large.

Donald Trump has on occasion expressed interest in his own addition to the mountain. During a 2017 rally in Ohio, Trump said, "I'd ask whether or not you some day think I will be on Mount Rushmore... If I did it joking, totally joking, having fun, the fake news media will say, 'He believes he should be on Mount Rushmore.' So I won't say it." South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, described the potential addition as Trump's "dream" in 2018.

Tourism
Tourism is South Dakota's second-largest industry, and Mount Rushmore is the state's top tourist attraction. 2,185,447 people visited the park in 2012.

The popularity of the location, as with many other national monuments, derives from its immediate recognizability; "there are no substitutes for iconic resources such as the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln Memorial, or Mount Rushmore. These locations are one of a kind places". However, Mount Rushmore also provides access to a surrounding environment of wilderness, which distinguishes it from the typical proximity of national monuments to urban centers like Washington, D.C., and New York City.

In the 1950s and 1960s, local Lakota Sioux elder Benjamin Black Elk (son of medicine man Black Elk, who had been present at the Battle of the Little Bighorn) was known as the "Fifth Face of Mount Rushmore", posing for photographs with thousands of tourists daily in his native attire. The South Dakota State Historical Society notes that he was one of the most photographed people in the world over that 20-year period.

Hall of Records

Borglum originally envisioned a grand Hall of Records where America's greatest historical documents and artifacts could be protected and shown to tourists. He managed to start the project, but cut only 70 feet (21 m) into the rock before work stopped in 1939 to focus on the faces. In 1998, a repository was constructed inside the mouth of the cave housing 16 enamel panels with biographical and historical information about Mount Rushmore as well as the texts of the documents Borglum wanted to preserve there. The repository consists of a teakwood box inside of a titanium vault placed in the ground with a granite capstone.

Conservation
The ongoing conservation of the site is overseen by the National Park Service. Maintenance of the memorial requires mountain climbers to monitor and seal cracks annually. Due to budget constraints, the memorial is not regularly cleaned to remove lichens. However, in 2005 Alfred Kärcher, a German manufacturer of pressure washing and steam cleaning machines, conducted a free cleanup operation which lasted several weeks, using pressurized water at over 200 F. Other efforts to conserve the monument have included replacement of the sealant applied originally to cracks in the stone by Gutzon Borglum, which had proved ineffective at providing water resistance. The components of Borglum's sealant included linseed oil, granite dust, and white lead, but a modern silicone replacement for the cracks is now used, disguised with granite dust.

In 1998, electronic monitoring devices were installed to track movement in the topology of the sculpture to an accuracy of three millimeters. The site was digitally recorded in 2009 using a terrestrial laser scanning method as part of the international Scottish Ten project, providing a high-resolution record to aid the conservation of the site. This data was made publicly accessible online.

Ecology
The flora and fauna of Mount Rushmore are similar to those of the rest of the Black Hills region of South Dakota. Birds including the turkey vulture, golden eagle, bald eagle, red-tailed hawk, swallows and white-throated swifts fly around Mount Rushmore and nest in the ledges of the mountain. Smaller birds, including songbirds, nuthatches, woodpeckers and flycatchers inhabit the surrounding pine forests. Terrestrial mammals include the mouse, least chipmunk, red squirrel, skunk, porcupine, raccoon, beaver, badger, coyote, bighorn sheep, bobcat, elk, mule deer, yellow-bellied marmot, and American bison. The striped chorus frog, western chorus frog, and northern leopard frog also inhabit the area, along with several species of snake. Grizzly Bear Brook and Starling Basin Brook, the two streams in the memorial, support fish such as the longnose dace and the brook trout. Mountain goats are not indigenous to the region. Those living near Mount Rushmore are descendants of a herd that Canada gifted to Custer State Park in 1924, which later escaped.

At lower elevations, coniferous trees, mainly the ponderosa pine, surround most of the monument. Other trees include the bur oak, the Black Hills spruce, and the cottonwood. Nine species of shrubs grow near Mount Rushmore. There is also a wide variety of wildflowers, including especially the snapdragon, sunflower, and violet. Towards higher elevations, plant life becomes sparser. However, only approximately five percent of the plant species found in the Black Hills are indigenous to the region.

The area receives about 18 in of precipitation on average per year, enough to support abundant animal and plant life. Trees and other plants help to control surface runoff. Dikes, seeps, and springs help to dam up water that is flowing downhill, providing watering spots for animals. In addition, stones like sandstone and limestone help to hold groundwater, creating aquifers.

A 2016 investigation by the U.S. Geological Survey found unusually high concentrations of perchlorate in the surface water and groundwater of the area. A sample collected from a stream had a maximum perchlorate concentration of 54 micrograms per liter, roughly 270 times higher than samples taken from locations outside the area. The report concluded the probable cause of the contamination was the aerial fireworks displays that had taken place on Independence Days from 1998 to 2009. The National Park Service also reported that at least 27 forest fires around Mount Rushmore in that same period (1998 to 2009) have been caused by fireworks displays.

A study of the fire scars present in tree ring samples indicates that forest fires occur in the ponderosa forests surrounding Mount Rushmore around every 27 years. Large fires are not common. Most events have been ground fires that serve to clear forest debris. The area is a climax community with an equilibrium such that a pine beetle infestation would threaten the forest.

Geology
Mount Rushmore is largely composed of granite. The memorial is carved on the northwest margin of the Black Elk Peak granite batholith in the Black Hills of South Dakota, so the geologic formations of the heart of the Black Hills region are also evident at Mount Rushmore. The batholith magma intruded into the pre-existing mica schist rocks during the Proterozoic, 1.6 billion years ago. Coarse grained pegmatite dikes are associated with the granite intrusion of Black Elk Peak and are visibly lighter in color, thus explaining the light-colored streaks on the foreheads of the presidents.

The Black Hills granites were exposed to erosion during the Neoproterozoic, but were later buried by sandstone and other sediments during the Cambrian. Remaining buried throughout the Paleozoic, they were re-exposed again during the Laramide orogeny around 70 million years ago. The Black Hills area was uplifted as an elongated geologic dome. Subsequent erosion stripped the granite of the overlying sediments and the softer adjacent schist. Some schist does remain and can be seen as the darker material just below the sculpture of Washington.

The tallest mountain in the region is Black Elk Peak (7,242 ft). Borglum selected Mount Rushmore as the site for several reasons. The rock of the mountain is composed of smooth, fine-grained granite. The durable granite erodes only 1 in every 10,000 years, thus was more than sturdy enough to support the sculpture and its long-term exposure. The mountain's height of 5725 ft above sea level made it suitable, and because it faces the southeast, the workers also had the advantage of sunlight for most of the day.

It is not possible to add another president to the memorial, because the rock that surrounds the existing faces is not suitable for additional carving, and because additional sculpting could create instabilities in the existing carvings.

Soils
The Mount Rushmore area is underlain by well drained alfisol soils of very gravelly loam (Mocmount) to silt loam (Buska) texture, brown to dark grayish brown.

Climate
Mount Rushmore has a dry-winter humid continental climate (Dwb in the Köppen climate classification). It is inside a USDA Plant Hardiness Zone of 5a, meaning certain plant life in the area can withstand a low temperature of no less than -20 F.

The two wettest months of the year are May and June. Orographic lift causes brief but strong afternoon thunderstorms during the summer.

In popular culture

Mount Rushmore has been depicted in multiple films, comic books, and television series. Its functions vary from settings for action scenes to the site of hidden locations. Its most famous appearance is as the location of the final chase scene in the 1959 film North by Northwest. It is used as a secret base of operations by the protagonists in the 2004 film Team America: World Police, and the secret underground city of Cíbola is located there in the 2007 film National Treasure: Book of Secrets. In some films, the presidential faces are replaced with others; examples include the 1980 film Superman II and the 1996 film Mars Attacks! where the villains add their faces to the monument, and the 2003 film Head of State where the newly elected president's face is added. In works showing attacks on landmarks to signify the scope of a threat, Mount Rushmore is a common target; examples include the aforementioned facial replacements in Superman II and Mars Attacks! as well as natural disasters in works like the 2006 miniseries 10.5: Apocalypse and terrorist attacks as in the 1997 film The Peacekeeper. An atypical representation of the monument appears in the 2013 film Nebraska, where instead of being treated with reverence it is criticized for being unfinished.

Land dispute
The Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) had granted the Black Hills to the Lakota people in perpetuity, but the United States took the area from the tribe after the Great Sioux War of 1876. Members of the American Indian Movement led an occupation of the monument in 1971, naming it "Mount Crazy Horse", and Lakota holy man John Fire Lame Deer planted a prayer staff on top of the mountain. Lame Deer said that the staff formed a symbolic shroud over the presidents' faces "which shall remain dirty until the treaties concerning the Black Hills are fulfilled."

The 1980 United States Supreme Court decision United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians ruled that the Sioux had not received just compensation for their land in the Black Hills, which includes Mount Rushmore. The court proposed $102 million as compensation for the loss of the Black Hills. This compensation was valued at $1.3 billion in 2011, and – with accumulated interest – nearly $2 billion in 2021. In 2020, Oglala Lakota Nation citizen and Indigenous activist Nick Tilsen explained that his people would not accept a settlement, "because we won't settle for anything less than the full return of our lands as stipulated by the treaties our nations signed and agreed upon."

Construction on the Crazy Horse Memorial began in 1940 elsewhere in the Black Hills. Ostensibly to commemorate the Native American leader and as a response to Mount Rushmore, if completed it would be larger than Mount Rushmore. The Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation has rejected offers of federal funds. Its construction has the support of some Lakota chiefs, but it is the subject of controversy, even among Native American tribes.

Legacy and commemoration
Borglum titled his sculpture at Mount Rushmore as the Shrine of Democracy, but the illegal seizure of the Black Hills where the memorial is located has led to some critics to refer to it as the "Shrine of Hypocrisy".

On August 11, 1952, the U.S. Post Office issued the Mount Rushmore Memorial 3-cent commemorative stamp on the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. On January 2, 1974, a 26-cent airmail stamp depicting the monument was also issued. In 1991 the United States Mint released commemorative silver dollar, half-dollar, and five-dollar coins celebrating the 50th anniversary of the monument's dedication,   and the sculpture was the main subject of the 2006 South Dakota state quarter.

In music, American composer Michael Daugherty's 2010 piece for chorus and orchestra, "Mount Rushmore", depicts each of the four presidents in separate movements. The piece sets texts by George Washington, William Billings, Thomas Jefferson, Maria Cosway, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. By contrast, the song, "Little Snakes", by Protest The Hero, "addresses the violent colonial history involved in the sculpting of Mount Rushmore", critiquing the monument as a symbol of colonialism, referencing the genocide of indigenous peoples and the ownership of slaves by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

The Washington Nationals baseball club uses large foam rubber depictions of the "Rushmore Four" in both their marketing campaigns and in a series of in-stadium promotions such as the Presidents Race.

title: Mount Rushmore


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Political capital

Political capital (PC) refers to an individual's ability to influence political decisions. Political capital can be understood as a metaphor used in political theory to conceptualize the accumulation of resources and power built through relationships, trust, goodwill, and influence between politicians or parties and other stakeholders, such as constituents. Political capital can be understood as a type of currency used to mobilize voters, achieve policy reform, or accomplish other political goals. Although not a literal form of capital, political capital is often described as a type of credit, or a resource that can be banked, spent or misspent, invested, lost, and saved.

Some thinkers distinguish between reputational and representative political capital. Reputational capital refers to a politician's credibility and reliability. It is accumulated by maintaining consistent policy positions and ideological views. Representative capital refers to a politician's influence in policymaking. It is accumulated through experience, seniority, and serving in leadership positions. Thus, political capital—reputational and representative—is the product of relationships among opinion (public impressions), policy (legislative rewards/penalties), and political judgement (prudent decision-making).

Origins
Pierre Bourdieu is regularly credited with developing the most popular theories of political capital (as well as social capital) in his 1991 book Language and Symbolic Power. However, the concept of political capital was introduced to political theory in 1961 by American political scientist Edward C. Banfield in his book Political Influence. Banfield described political capital as a “stock of influence” which might be built “by 'buying' a bit here and there from the many small 'owners' who were endowed with it by the constitution-makers”—that is, political capital can be used for types of exchange between politicians or between politicians and voters. Like money, Banfield says, political capital must be spent and saved wisely, or a politician would be “out of business” before long.

Bourdieu's theory of political capital further elaborates on the metaphor of money and the concept of capital itself. In “The Forms of Capital”, Bourdieu defines capital as “accumulated labor (in its materialized form or its 'incorporated,' embodied form) which, when appropriated…by agents or groups of agents, enables them to appropriate social energy in the form of reified or living labor.” Political capital, then, is how symbolically understood capital functions within a political system: it is a form of credit accumulated by politicians, which can be used to accomplish other goals, such as the work required to pass legislation or achieve reelection.

Measurement
There are a variety of approaches within political theory to measuring political capital as a way of analyzing its influence on local, regional, state, national, and international politics. Political capital is sometimes theorized in terms of objectification, or applying concrete forms to the otherwise abstract concept. Some theorists consider things like the number of votes, people present at a meeting, protesters present at a march, money donated to a political campaign, public opinion survey results, and other factors to be objectified or material and measurable elements of political capital. This capital is built from what the opposition thinks of the politician, so radical politicians will lose capital.

Theorists also consider political capital within a framework of instrumental and structural elements; instrumental political capital is made up of available resources, such as funding, while structural political capital shapes decision-making processes.

Dynamics
The amount of political capital one has is assigned from observers rather than claimed by one's self. A politician gains political capital by winning elections, pursuing policies that have public support, achieving success with initiatives, and performing favors for other politicians.

Political capital must be spent to be useful and will generally expire by the end of a politician's term in office. In addition, it can be wasted, typically by failed attempts to promote unpopular policies that are not central to a politician's agenda. American President George W. Bush claimed to have earned political capital after his 2004 re-election.

Political capital is highest in the “honeymoon period” of a presidency as in the United States, where the president is newly elected, and the people still support the person they voted for. Along with the president's popularity are those who ride on the “coattails”, congressional representatives of the president's party that are elected alongside the president. This support in Congress enables the president to better use the honeymoon period and political capital to pass ideal legislation.

Criticism
Journalist Michael Hirsh has argued that the concept of political capital is often misunderstood and unhelpful at explaining the dynamics of political power.

title: Political capital