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House passes bill removing protections for West Virginia Public Broadcasting

It should be noted that, around this same time last year, a reporter from WV Public Broadcasting was terminated for not playing nicely with that state's republican governor, and not always showing him in the best light.

Over the objections of the Democratic caucus, the House of Delegates passed a bill making changes to the board that oversees West Virginia Public Broadcasting, put it directly under the control of a cabinet official.
The House passed Senate Bill 844 — redesignating the Educational Broadcasting Authority as the Educational Broadcasting Commission — Wednesday in a 79-12 vote with four Republicans crossing the aisle to vote against the bill. With no further changes, the bill’s next stop is the desk of Gov. Jim Justice.
The bill places authority to hire the executive director of West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) in the hands of the cabinet secretary for the Department of Arts, Culture, and History, effectively putting an official of the Governor’s Office in charge of WVPB and its educational and cultural programming, as well as its newsroom.
 
This is why CPB was created as a buffer between the politicians and the broadcasters. The founders of public broadcasting knew politicians would want to control broadcasting.

Another problem for WVPB is the state funding. A few years ago the governor was saying the state could no longer afford to subsidize WVPB. The governor is now running for the Senate, so the future of this organization will be with the next governor.
 
Expect the same talking points to go nationwide especially the 2024 elections when certain members of congress and Governors in GOP Majority states on the national level will use the same ideas and falsely accuse shows not tied to PBS Newshour, PBS Frontline, NPR All Things Considered, Morning Edition and the local equivalents for some reason all because they want something censored. I remember when we talked about Elon Musk ranting about labeling NPR as "Government Sponsored" on Twitter all because Elon Musk was being sued at his other companies like SpaceX and Tesla over various allegations of discrimination and questionable safety records at those places. Plus it was Reuters and AP that covered Musk extensively. All Musk did was get PBS, NPR and their affiliates to boycott X inc.






 
For a party that says it believes in the constitution, these folks seem to have big problems understanding the first amendment,

Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;

Government should not interfere with the content. If they don't like the funding part, then withdraw the funding. But don't use funding as a means to circumvent the first amendment.
 
Government should not interfere with the content. If they don't like the funding part, then withdraw the funding. But don't use funding as a means to circumvent the first amendment.

It's been well-known for years that Trump has a deep admiration for autocratic rulers - Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, the rulers of places like China and Turkey, etc. When he goes to foreign countries and sees parades through the streets that show their military might - tanks, armored vehicles, missile launchers and the like, he wants parades like that here, too. When their ruler walks into a room and everyone immediately jumps to their feet and stands at attention (likely more out of fear vs. admiration or respect), Trump openly stated that this is exactly how he'd like to be greeted here in the USA. Its been quite obvious for a long time, but most especially since January 6, that the modern-day GOP doesn't want or care about a proper "democracy" or laws and especially the Constitution. They want autocratic rule - as long, of course as it's their chosen people in those positions of power, and they'll do nearly anything required to put and keep them there.

Likewise, Trump has been very vocal about any media source or even TV program that dares question him or speak against him or parody him. He's threatened to revoke licenses of broadcast networks, rails against cable networks and even shows like SNL if they don't show him favorably. That in mind, if taking over things like Public Broadcasting and controlling the message and what's reported can be one area that's effective in helping the republican party achieve that end, then they're happy to at least try.
 
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It's been well-known for years that Trump has a deep admiration for autocratic rulers - Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, the rulers of places like China and Turkey, etc. When he goes to foreign countries and sees parades through the streets that show their military might - tanks, armored vehicles, missile launchers and the like, he wants parades like that here, too. When their ruler walks into a room and everyone immediately jumps to their feet and stands at attention (likely more out of fear vs. admiration or respect), Trump openly stated that this is exactly how he'd like to be greeted here in the USA. Its been quite obvious for a long time, but most especially since January 6, that the modern-day GOP doesn't want or care about a proper "democracy" or laws and especially the Constitution. They want autocratic rule - as long, of course as it's their chosen people in those positions of power, and they'll do nearly anything required to put and keep them there.

Likewise, Trump has been very vocal about any media source or even TV program that dares question him or speak against him or parody him. He's threatened to revoke licenses of broadcast networks, rails against cable networks and even shows like SNL if they don't show him favorably. That in mind, if taking over things like Public Broadcasting and controlling the message and what's reported can be one area that's effective in helping the republican party achieve that end, then they're happy to at least try.
Did Nixon threaten the Washington Post's TV licences?

Meanwhile: WV had two former Governors do prison time since 1960. Can any state top that number? Unfortunately my home state has a bad habit or electing some questionable candidates. Someday West Virginia voters will realize the Republicans can not bring back the coal jobs, and when the Democrats get back in power, the Republicans will lose control of pubic broadcasting. It's typical WV political patronage.
 
This is why CPB was created as a buffer between the politicians and the broadcasters. The founders of public broadcasting knew politicians would want to control broadcasting.

Another problem for WVPB is the state funding. A few years ago the governor was saying the state could no longer afford to subsidize WVPB. The governor is now running for the Senate, so the future of this organization will be with the next governor.
"Today on WVPB, all the reasons Donald Trump is awesome"
 
Did Nixon threaten the Washington Post's TV licences?

Meanwhile: WV had two former Governors do prison time since 1960. Can any state top that number?
Only one for Connecticut -- Republican John Rowland, who served 2 1/2 years. Interesting thing about him is that he had been mayor of Waterbury years earlier, and one of his successors in that position also went to prison.
 
Meanwhile: WV had two former Governors do prison time since 1960. Can any state top that number? Unfortunately my home state has a bad habit or electing some questionable candidates. Someday West Virginia voters will realize the Republicans can not bring back the coal jobs, and when the Democrats get back in power, the Republicans will lose control of pubic broadcasting. It's typical WV political patronage.
IMO (sorry this thread is becoming about something other than just broadcasting), one of the saddest things about WV is the amount of money that was pumped into that state for years by Robert Byrd when he wielded a lot of political power...Everything from educational buildings to infrastructure and a whole plethora of buildings were funded at least in part by him, and many either have or had Byrd's name on them - only for that state which had all those financial resources at their fingertips, to end up dead last or nearly so in so many categories, including infrastructure and education.
 
IMO (sorry this thread is becoming about something other than just broadcasting), one of the saddest things about WV is the amount of money that was pumped into that state for years by Robert Byrd when he wielded a lot of political power...Everything from educational buildings to infrastructure and a whole plethora of buildings were funded at least in part by him, and many either have or had Byrd's name on them - only for that state which had all those financial resources at their fingertips, to end up dead last or nearly so in so many categories, including infrastructure and education.
The "Dixiecrats" were notorious for corruption.
 
There was Ray Blanton in Tennessee, who sold pardons but served time in federal prison for mail fraud, conspiracy and extortion. One of our TV stations in Knoxville did a special about him last year.
 
Did Nixon threaten the Washington Post's TV licences?

Meanwhile: WV had two former Governors do prison time since 1960. Can any state top that number? Unfortunately my home state has a bad habit or electing some questionable candidates. Someday West Virginia voters will realize the Republicans can not bring back the coal jobs, and when the Democrats get back in power, the Republicans will lose control of pubic broadcasting. It's typical WV political patronage.
Yep. Wally Barron with the “flower fund” bribery scheme, and Arch Moore with his crimes. However, his daughter, Shelly Moore Capito had been a long-serving Senator, and her son (Riley?) is following the family way-forget what he’s running for. Meanwhile, our current governor owes millions in back taxes, and is running to replace outgoing Senator Manchin.
 
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