PBS/NPR State fudning

[berniek]

I heard this morning on the Morning News with Nancy and Kevin that the new state spending plan cut all funding for public tv and radio. What will the local impact be?

 

[dayplay01]

It was announced this morning on WVIA-FM that the usual announcers and staff were on "unpaid leave" due to the budget cuts. They did make it sound like they were going to be back on Tuesday though....

 

[amfmxm]

Don't know about WVIA but in recent years most public broadcasters had reached a point where government funding accounted for a very small chunk (like, 10 percent or less) of their operating budget. Now, the way non-profit accounting works, sometimes that money is designated to produce specific programming--and in those cases, that programming and the people attached to it may get whacked.

But otherwise--just like in personal life and/or commercial broadcasting circles--a 10 percent trim isn't life threatening. Nearly all commercial broadcasters (and nearly all American businesses) have taken much bigger cuts than that (20 percent... 25 percent... 30 percent) over the past couple years and have figured out how to continue to operate and keep nearly everyone fed.

I'm a commercial broadcaster who values public broadcasting very highly, so I don't mean to be unfair. But when the public broadcasters in PA start whining about this--or, more likely, start crying that Armageddon is nigh, take it with a grain of salt. Or, at least, an appropriate amount of skepticism.

They'll figure it out.

 

[Vince Sweeney]

Public television funding was cut completely from the initial draft of our just-passed state budget. Seeing how it got eliminated before the first round of negotiations began, there seemed little chance it would be restored, and it was not. I sat on the Pennsylvania Public Television Network Commission for roughly a year and a half. If there was still a commission, I'd likely still be a member, but there is not. When state funding looked sure to vanish, PPTN simply ceased to exist, with its duties and responsibilities assumed by other state agencies.

As to how much PA's public stations lost, it varies, but I can tell you that WVIA lost considerably more than 10% of its budget. Rather than misquote a figure, or perpetuate misinformation, perhaps Mr. Kelly would like to comment on the exact amount that no longer exists.

 

[marker101]

WITF (Harrisburg) has a statement on their website that says that state station funding was cut by 87.5% from 8mil to 1mil. So stations will get a signifcantly less check from the state this year. So, it's better than the original nothing, but it is still not much in comparison to years past. (And is not nothing, as Nancy and Kevin blabbed about falsely).

 

[ThomasCarten]

I was just talking with Larry Vojtko a few minutes ago. What they are doing (or will be doing shortly) is to automate FM on the furlough day, which may change during the week depending on circumstances. The day before Thanksgiving will be that week's unpaid/unstaffed; the day before Christmas, likewise. There remains the remote possibility that overnight operations will cease due to cost & electricity costs; note the word "remote," all you newspeople out there. They are also getting a very good break on costs from their syndicated program suppliers for one year due to the current PA budget cuts.