The sad story of a TV channel

Today, I stumbled upon an American cable channel called TLC - The Learning Channel - owned by Discovery Communications. Sounds promising indeed. But wait a minute let's check some of their shows they are airing: "Say Yes to the Dress", "Extreme Couponing", " Next Great Baker", "My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding", "19 Kids and Counting", "What Not To Wear", "My Crazy Obsession"...just a few of the highlights, the rest is of similar quality. I think there is no doubt about the educational value of those TV-shows.....

In the late 70s the Department of Health and Education and the NASA started this channel with an educational only focus. Ironically, it was regarded on most levels to be more academic, focused and technical than its rival the .....Discovery Channel. How you deal with rivals?....So in 1991 TLC was bought by Discovery Channel and slowly turned into what it is today...Hail to Discovery Channel for promoting Education and Science. A symbol for the shift in focus of our society?