PBS chief Paula Kerger said it's inexcusable that people seeking coupons for the looming digital TV conversion are being put on a waiting list, and she called for immediate federal action. "I'm very disheartened to hear that with a month before the (conversion) deadline, the federal government has run out of money to help citizens purchase digital converter boxes," Kerger, president and CEO of the Public Broadcasting System, said Wednesday. She pushed for Congress and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the arm of the Commerce Department administering the coupon program, to work together to quickly remedy the situation. It's especially crucial because "people are making very hard economic choices in their households" and more are depending on free, over-the-air television instead of cable or satellite, Kerger said.
