• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Trump to PBS and NPR: I’m cutting you off…

TheBigA said:
I'm a taxpayer. Don't I have a say in this? People in congress decide how your taxpayer money is spent. Taxpayers have no choice.
Click to expand...
... and you/taxpayers get to vote/choose who's in Congress and the White House. According to the circular reasoning in your posts, taxpayer funding of public broadcasting should never be questioned. According to that argument, taxpayers should just accept it and move on. However, I believe if listeners/viewers value public broadcasting, they should contribute on their own (such as I do for classical music KVOD-FM) -- but ALL taxpayers shouldn't be forced to fund it.

(Me thinks this discussion would be totally different if public broadcasting had the editorial leanings of Fox News instead of its current leanings...)
 
Gravel Switch said:
(Me thinks this discussion would be totally different if public broadcasting had the editorial leanings of Fox News instead of its current leanings...)
Click to expand...

You keep saying that. I keep pointing out that taxpayer money doesn't go to news coverage. So the "lean" has nothing to do with it. Conservatives from Oklahoma, Iowa, and Nebraska have continually supported public broadcasting because it means money for their states. The only reason they voted to defund was because of a threat from the president. He turned it into a vote about NPR, even though almost none of the money went to NPR.
 
current.org

WETA to cut staff, cancel ‘PBS News Weekend’ and close News Hour West bureau

The restructuring includes the elimination of 34 positions, following another round of cuts made in September.
current.org current.org

Here is an update WETA-TV Washington DC will cut PBS News Weekend as part of the CPB recissions. Note January 11, 2026 is the final date for PBS News Weekend. Note WETA will keep the weekday editions of PBS Newshour and Washington Week. Yes WETA owns these news shows and air nationwide on PBS.

The restructuring includes the elimination of 34 positions, adding to 21 positions WETA cut in September. The new cuts affect technical, editorial, administrative and corporate support services roles, according to WETA spokesperson Mary Stewart. They do not affect the flagship program PBS News Hour or Washington Week with The Atlantic.

In September, WETA cut its workforce by 5% and ended local programs to save $4.4 million this fiscal year. The new cuts represent a 6% workforce reduction, Stewart said.


Stewart said 12 new positions are being created and that employees who have been laid off will be encouraged to apply. The last airdate of PBS News Weekend will be Jan. 11. “The weekend show has really done well for us, and I know people really like it, and stations rely on it,” Stewart said. “And a lot of news happens over the weekend. This is solely driven by the federal funding cuts.”
Click to expand...
 
only1moore said:
Arkansas TV has joined the list of member stations to cut ties with PBS

Arkansas TV, formerly Arkansas PBS, plans to disaffiliate from federal agency after funding cuts | Arkansas Advocate

The network lost $2.5 million in programming and operational funds after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting lost federal funding this summer.
arkansasadvocate.com arkansasadvocate.com
Click to expand...
Woah yes there’s the PBS app but if Arkansas TV cannot get donors from PBS viewers who is going to get the donor money from Arkansas. They gotta have an out of state PBS affiliate that’s representing Arkansas who would that be? Are WGBH, KERA, KUHT, KQED and WETA have to step in and take donor money from Arkansas and appear as a “Superstation” covering the state.
 
only1moore said:
Arkansas TV has joined the list of member stations to cut ties with PBS

Arkansas TV, formerly Arkansas PBS, plans to disaffiliate from federal agency after funding cuts | Arkansas Advocate

The network lost $2.5 million in programming and operational funds after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting lost federal funding this summer.
arkansasadvocate.com arkansasadvocate.com
Click to expand...

As in Alabama and Florida, this was primarily a political decision. The new service does not yet have programming in place to replace the programming it will lose; and it does not have a commitment from the Arkansas state legislature to support replacement program purchases. And I'd be very surprised if donors to the PBS stations are going to be willing to step up for the new Arkansas network. My best guess is that the new Arkansas Television is going to go downhill *very, *very fast once it loses its PBS programming. Look for a religious operator to attempt to take over the show by the end of 2026, if not sooner.

Finally, I'll note that, as with most of the places where PBS and NPR ties are being cut, the cutting here is being done by a former member of the 1861 Confederacy.
 
This is happening at a time when people are already leaving OTA TV in large numbers for streaming. The immediate concern is that PBS was largely built as a programming service for OTA TV. But since some markets are disaffiliating, PBS has an opportunity to bypass the middlemen completely. It may take a change in PBS bylaws to make it happen. But I'd expect them to figure something out pretty quickly.
 
Y2kTheNewOldies said:
True and also the CEO of PBS was hit for the same issues that Maher’s team at NPR faced such as how will local affiliates fund their local news and documentaries like KPBS-TV San Diego does. There are stations that run the local version of PBS Newshour like KPBS and it’s important to their donors. Also true the CEO of CPB never appeared in congress to explain anything about their funding allocations. It was about finding content that offends the president for some reason even though we could not pin down the exact episodes of Frontline and Newshour that offended the White House.

Click to expand...
This is basically a low-key, understated version of a regular commercial TV newscast, minus the sports scores. Somewhat reminds me of localized news shows in Europe, where the station breaks away for the national program and inserts its own content.

 
Last edited:
Y2kTheNewOldies said:
Woah yes there’s the PBS app but if Arkansas TV cannot get donors from PBS viewers who is going to get the donor money from Arkansas. They gotta have an out of state PBS affiliate that’s representing Arkansas who would that be? Are WGBH, KERA, KUHT, KQED and WETA have to step in and take donor money from Arkansas and appear as a “Superstation” covering the state.
Click to expand...

Is there any reason that cable/satellite/OTT providers in Arkansas couldn't simply import PBS affiliates from adjacent states?

I know that back in the days (talking 1970s here) when there was all this hee-hack about local stations not wanting distant network affiliates to be brought in via cable, operators would import adjacent-market PBS stations to provide at least some content not available locally OTA. I'm not sure that local PBS stations have ever objected to that. (Satellite networks weren't yet a thing.)
 
Last edited:
IM42A said:
Is there any reason that cable/satellite/OTT providers in Arkansas couldn't simply import PBS affiliates from adjacent states?
Click to expand...
They can do so within a certain distance of a state border. I'm in eastern Vermont and get both Vermont and New Hampshire PBS affiliates on YouTube TV. Same goes for cable. I assume that further south, Massachusetts affiliates are available, and to the west, New York. Not sure how far from the borders those out-of-state stations can be imported, though. In a much larger state, like Arkansas, the populous center of the state might be out of luck.

When I lived in central Connecticut, cable (Cox) used to carry both the CPTV station and WGBY from Springfield, MA, but the latter was dropped quite a while back. I think the reason give was duplication of programming.
 
CTListener said:
They can do so within a certain distance of a state border. I'm in eastern Vermont and get both Vermont and New Hampshire PBS affiliates on YouTube TV. Same goes for cable. I assume that further south, Massachusetts affiliates are available, and to the west, New York. Not sure how far from the borders those out-of-state stations can be imported, though. In a much larger state, like Arkansas, the populous center of the state might be out of luck.

When I lived in central Connecticut, cable used to carry both the CPTV station and WGBY from Springfield, MA, but the latter was dropped quite a while back. I think the reason give was duplication of programming.
Click to expand...

Are you referring simply to technical limitations (the distant signal can only be received at the head end so far away and no further), or some kind of legal or regulatory restriction? I was thinking more of PBS from Memphis, Louisiana, Oklahoma, or Missouri, depending on where in Arkansas you're talking about. (And at one time Louisiana PBS was available FTA on satellite, not sure if that's the case anymore.)
 
Legal or regulatory restrictions. I lived in southeastern Arkansas around 1980 and only KETS Little Rock was on cable, despite Memphis and Monroe (LA) commercial stations also being carried. Have the rules changed since then?
 
CTListener said:
Legal or regulatory restrictions. I lived in southeastern Arkansas around 1980 and only KETS Little Rock was on cable, despite Memphis and Monroe (LA) commercial stations also being carried. Have the rules changed since then?
Click to expand...
I've never heard of any such restrictions, it seems to me that the only restrictions would be technical ones, viz. how feasible it would be to get a distant signal at the head end. And as I said, Louisiana PBS might still be available on satellite, I honestly don't know. One of my many projects is to retrofit some used satellite dishes and LNBs I have here, to try and get it FTA on a Koqit satellite receiver I have, and if it works, I hope to get Louisiana and Montana PBS if they're still out there FTA.
 
current.org

Arkansas PBS to drop PBS, rebrand as Arkansas TV

The Arkansas Educational Television Commission voted 6-2 Thursday to drop PBS programming next summer.
current.org current.org

Here is an update on where Arkansas Viewers can go to for PBS programming when Arkansas TV cuts itself from PBS affiliation.

In an FAQ on its website, Arkansas TV directs viewers seeking to continue their PBS Passport member benefits to WKNO-TV in Memphis, Tenn.; Ozarks Public Television in Springfield, Mo.; Mississippi Public Broadcasting; Louisiana Public Broadcasting; and the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority.

Arkansas TV will also drop PBS Kids programming and the Create and World channels. The network will have “award-winning children’s programming that’s been created locally over the last several years, and we’re planning even more for the future,” it says on its website.
Click to expand...
 
Y2kTheNewOldies said:
current.org

Arkansas PBS to drop PBS, rebrand as Arkansas TV

The Arkansas Educational Television Commission voted 6-2 Thursday to drop PBS programming next summer.
current.org current.org

Here is an update on where Arkansas Viewers can go to for PBS programming when Arkansas TV cuts itself from PBS affiliation.
Click to expand...
That's not going to work for OTA viewers in Little Rock. They're too far away from any of those places to get an OTA signal from them.
 
There's a possibility that Mississippi, Louisiana, and Oklahoma may follow Arkansas in this decision.

Anywhere you have state governments involved, there's a possibility they will drop PBS once their contract ends.
 
Y2kTheNewOldies said:
current.org

Arkansas PBS to drop PBS, rebrand as Arkansas TV

The Arkansas Educational Television Commission voted 6-2 Thursday to drop PBS programming next summer.
current.org current.org

Here is an update on where Arkansas Viewers can go to for PBS programming when Arkansas TV cuts itself from PBS affiliation.
Click to expand...
Article says Arkansas TV will replace PBS kiddie stuff with its own shows from its library.

So what sort of -- and how much -- "award-winning children's programming" as Arkansas Public Television actually produced over the years? Is there any on its current schedule?
 


Back
Top Bottom