Say goodbye to OETA pbs. (Never mind! Funding restored.)

[primestar31]

Oklahoma Governor Stitt defends decision to ax PBS funding over 'really problematic' LGBTQ content

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, R., vetoed a bill last week that would have funded operations of the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA) over "problematic" content.

www.foxnews.com

 

[comfortably_numb]

My local PBS station claims they only get 1% of their funding from the government, so if that's true for all PBS stations, then why would this one go off the air?

 

[Peter Parker]

The vetoed bill involved authority to operate not just funding.

 

[Juan]

My local PBS station claims they only get 1% of their funding from the government, so if that's true for all PBS stations, then why would this one go off the air?

Depends on the market...some have multiple PBS stations compete for donations...I get philly,allentown,long island, NJ and NYC PBS stations on cable..kind of crazy

 

[TRG]

Oklahoma Governor Stitt defends decision to ax PBS funding over 'really problematic' LGBTQ content

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, R., vetoed a bill last week that would have funded operations of the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA) over "problematic" content.

www.foxnews.com

This isn't the pit and I'm not permitted to voice my opinion in the pit but I think this is rather unfortunate. I don't watch a lot of PBS content but my wife and I like Masterpiece and the like. I have so much more to comment on this but the rules are the rules.

 

[lordodogg]

Hopefully another org can buy the OETA stations and possibly change their call letters too.

 

[osu1991]

From personal experience, Stitt is a f#####g moron. He’s got his knickers all in a twist because he hasn’t got his way on some things and has been vetoing everything he can, in retaliation. Can’t believe he was elected the first time let alone a 2nd time. Makes we wonder daily about the people living in the State. Dealing with him several years ago on some work projects before he was Governor led me to hate politicians even more than I already did. Hopefully the Legislature overrides the veto as more than 90% of the Legislature had voted to pass the authorization to keep it funded.

There are dozens of translators around the State besides the 4 main transmitters for Tulsa, OKC, Eufaula and Cheyenne. I believe, the State emergency alerts system originates at OETA too. The law keeps it funded for a year after the current funding expires.

 

[CodyS]

Stitt was veto was overturned today so it will have funding at least until 2026 i believe

 

[comfortably_numb]

Lawmakers override Stitt's vetoes, including OETA legislation

Some lawmakers referred to the governor's vetoes as a "tantrum" as they pressed legislation into law.

www.oklahoman.com

 

[Trip]

Updating thread title to reflect veto override.

- Trip

 

[SamCdbs]

My local PBS station claims they only get 1% of their funding from the government, so if that's true for all PBS stations, then why would this one go off the air?

That is the big lie of PBS. The contradictory claims that they really get this tiny fraction of their money from taxes, but that the government funding is so really important and it wouldn't exist without it.

PBS used to have a slogan "if we didn't do it, who would?"

Well, in the 200 channel universe, and the streaming world, and all the educational content for free on YouTube, that question has been answered. Lots of people do exactly what PBS does, but in a free market and make a profit at it.

Long past time to shut the whole scam down.

 

[comfortably_numb]

Long past time to shut the whole scam down

I have mixed feelings about it. It certainly was a staple of my childhood TV diet. Mr. Rogers, Sesame Street, etc. And now I still watch many of the locally-produced programs. And, it's free.

 

[Trip]

That is the big lie of PBS. The contradictory claims that they really get this tiny fraction of their money from taxes, but that the government funding is so really important and it wouldn't exist without it.

Some individual PBS stations get extensive government funding, while some do not. The statements you hear are almost always about PBS or NPR as a networks, not individual stations. And it's important to listen for that term "federal funding," as we're talking here about state funding.

Here's an example which I don't know if it's still accurate, but it was when I heard it several years ago. UNC-TV in North Carolina got direct funding for all of its "nuts and bolts" expenses from the state. So, transmitters, studios, actual physical hardware needed to go on the air. And it was expected to provide services to other state government agencies through its network, whether that was in the form of tower space or datacasting services or whatever. And as a result, there are parts of the state where UNC-TV is the only TV you're likely to receive. But UNC-TV received no funding from the state for programming; all programming was viewer supported, not paid for by the state.

I wouldn't be surprised if OETA were similar (though I certainly don't know). The towers and other equipment would be paid for in part or in whole by the state, and those resources used in multiple ways, like for tower space and datacasting as noted above. There are definitely parts of the state where only OETA has service. And then other costs would be born by viewers. I suspect this, in part, since the state had the ability to literally shut the network down; that implies a high level of control by the state.

Alternately, Virginia's PBS stations lost funding some years back. The most rural stations ended up going off the air and being sold in the Incentive Auction. The others are still around in various states of operation, some were able to sell things in the Incentive Auction and made a mint, and others were not.

- Trip