PBS President: WCTE Could Go Away If Funding Cut

The President And CEO of PBS said she remains cautiously optimistic that elimination of public broadcasting funding will not happen this year.

Paula Kerger spoke at WCTE’s Annual Dinner Monday night in celebration of the station’s 40th anniversary. She said WCTE’s work has been used as an example in the current funding debate. The Trump Administration has proposed eliminating funding for public broadcasting in its current 2019 budget proposal.

“WCTE would be significantly impacted,” Kerger said. “They get somewhere between 35 and 40 percent of their funding from the federal government. If that money went away, actually the station would probably go away. It’s significant.”

“If people in this community do care about this station, they should let their legislators know.”

Kerger said she has spoken to both house and senate leaders from both parties, including representatives of the Tennessee delegation. She said Congressional leaders understand the impact of the $430 million cut.

“People (on Capitol Hill) are very supportive of public broadcasting,” Kerger said. “They see the work we’re doing on the community level. We just have to make sure that people understand the fact that the money comes locally and what it accomplishes in communities.”

The proposed 2019 budget reduces funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting from $445 million to $15 million.

“These are very difficult decisions for Congress to make and I’m really sympathetic,” Kerger said. “There’s limited amounts of resources and trying to figure out what’s most important.”

Kerger said the biggest percentage of the PBS audience comes from citizens who do not have cable. She said PBS continues to focus efforts on educating children with free programming available to all.