KQED tackles money woes

Contra Coasta times ^ | 7/11/03 | Judy Silber

[Drango]

Hard times have finally caught up to KQED, the Bay Area's public television and radio stations.

Reductions in corporate donations this year will force KQED to cut operating expenses by about 10 percent, or $5 million for the 2004 fiscal year, management has told employees. About half the cuts will come from cutting payroll.

[Drango]

The extra significance of this article is that, as they say on their own web page,...

"KQED is consistently the most-watched public television station in the nation in prime-time, reaching more than five million viewers each month.", and "KQED is the most-listened-to public radio station in the country, reaching more than 745,000 listeners each week."

[Drango]

*NPR/PBS* list ping

If you want on or off this *NPR/PBS* ping list, please FReepmail me or just bump the thread AND indicate your desire to be included. You must opt in! Don't be shy!
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[Support Free Republic]

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[Drango]

Democratic fundraising....If PBS won't do it, who will?

[BlacKnight]

Fund it with $$$ from Bill Moyer.

[Drango]

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/7/11/161050.shtml

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Movement Grows to Push 'Public' Broadcasting off the Taxpayers' Dole

Wes Vernon, NewsMax.com
Friday, July 11, 2003

WASHINGTON – Americans who have long resented having their hard-earned dollars confiscated to fund the trashing of their values on "public" broadcasting could get relief.

Under plans being formulated, Public Broadcasting System and National Public Radio would likely still be around. The “great unwashed” just would not be forced to pay for it. Instead, the hat would be passed to wealthy supporters.

At the core of the issue is the fact that public funding of PBS is declining, in voluntary tax-exempt contributions and in taxpayer-funded appropriations from Capitol Hill.

Neither source of funding “is adequate, in part or as a whole to ensure the future of public television,” according to PBS. “For our television stations to be subjected to the voluntary donations leaves [them] vulnerable to [the fact that] people do not give money to charities as much as they used to.”

“The Republicans’ budget proposal for 2004 is quite harsh,” PBS spokeswoman Lea Sloan complained to NewsMax.com.

CEO Pat Mitchell has said that her long-term goal is to “change the funding model for PBS,” Sloan reminded us, and the thinking in the upper reaches of PBS is that “our current model will not work on a long-term basis.”

One method under consideration, according to the PBS spokeswoman, is “a major donors initiative ... as opposed to seeking $35 contributions. Although [the smaller donation solicitations] could continue, the focus of the energy would be on raising large dollar amounts.” Sloan emphasized that this planning was in its early stages with an announcement likely “sometime in the next few weeks.”

The smaller contributions are highly profiled whenever PBS hauls out the metaphoric tin cup for a pledge telethon in the midst of a special program that people actually want to watch. Though that might not be discontinued altogether, Sloan said, the corporation needs to find some way of filling the funding gap.

A lackluster economy? The proliferation of news, information, history, and science cable channels that were not available when PBS started in the 1960s? Middle America's disenchantment with PBS elitism and leftism, as exemplified by commentator Bill Moyers? A combination of the above? For whatever reason, Middle America and its elected officials at the White House and on Capitol Hill are voting by withholding dollars.

"Raising large dollar amounts” would depend on moneyed PBS enthusiasts, presumably including the “liberal elite.”

The money crunch is reflected in the fact that, according to figures provided NewsMax by PBS, the Bush administration “has declined to request advance funding for CPB," the parent Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Next: NewsMax.com will explore the implications in a future installment.

[j.havenfarm]

There's nothing on PBS that you can't get, usually in a considerably less boring presentation, on A&E, Discovery, TLC, History Channel, etc. PBS is an unneeded dinosaur.

[tallhappy]

What happened to the QED? (pronounced kwedd) It was their cartoon icon way back when.

[kaktuskid]

Why not do something wacky, like taking ADS!

[azcap]

Does your cable have a Gay and Lesbian Political Agenda channel? Without PBS where could we get that programming?

[WorkingClassFilth]

Oh, my friends, the bubbles in the American PRAVDA stew are finally rising to the top of the kettle!

Since 46% of the 45 million dollar budget is $20,700,000, this means the averaged salary of the 248 KQED employees is a very humble and civil servant-like $83,467.00!

Even in their worst-case doomsday scenario, when these penniless church mice cut 40 of the 248 jobs (or about 17% of their work force) to meet the crunch of losing 5 million from their operating budget, the article states that half of the cuts would come from payroll. Assuming the pirate captains in charge will make the lowest swabs walk the plank first, the average salary of those being cut would still be an astonishing $62,500.00 average

Now, let's give them a chance to redeem themselves. Since the Bay Area membership is over 200,000 members, that works out to $225.00 per member to meet their entire budget. Even so, with Corporations are kicking in, minimally, $6,700,000.00, which would reduce the member's burden $33.50 leaving a total tab of $191.50 for an annual membership to pay.

Now that we know a little about the facts behind the figures, let's find out what San Francisco's KQED has to say for itself by tuning into their current fundraiser…

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FIRST MALE ANNOUNCER: People, it's only a lousy $191.50 for a year's worth of KQED. I ask you, is that too much for all of the fine programming you've all come to expect and enjoy? For God's sake, I spend more than that on a perm and manicure. My Starbucks habit is bigger than that, girl! It's time to dig deep, GLBTer's! Let's have a quick look at the many benefits that you and your family unit configuration can enjoy from an annual membership…

SECOND MALE ANNOUNCER: First, there's our award winning series on anal health and pleasure. This fine series does in depth examinations of topic that are important to you and our community. Who can forget the groundbreaking episode 'Fisting in Your Face!' I cried for days when I was fisted, er, when I saw that episode the first time. What other venues offer such sensitive portrayals of modern issues?

THIRD MALE ANNOUNCER: Gentleladies and Girlymen, W isn't going to give us our red meat on a platter and wild Bill is gone, Honey. That leaves us girls, so let's roll up our sleeves. Ooh! That's so-o-o-o butch, I'm going to put up my hair like Rosie the Riveter on the next break.

FEMALE ANNOUNCER: Yeah, fine, whatever. What about our classic series 'Grim Tales Told by Fairies' in which we bring the poignant retelling of familiar straight stories. Who can ever forget what the ugly duckling became when he finally found himself. Or what about the alternative lifestyles presented in our version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? Isn't this worth 0.52 cents a day? If you wimps can't grow the stones to kick out 0.52 coppers, I'm gonna personally come to your address and WHIP YOUR ASS!

FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD MALE ANNOUNCERS: Ooh! Me first!

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All of the kidding aside, this analysis of the crooked waste of NPR and PBS is making me guilty. You see, I haven't coughed up my support for FR this quarter. As soon as this is posted, I'm gonna re-up my support for FR during our fundraiser - how 'bout you?

[WorkingClassFilth]

There. I just forked over some green (voluntarily) to support FR. Now if we can only get rid of the (confiscatory) NPR/PBS piano on our heavily taxed backs...

[WorkingClassFilth]

P.S. I just looked at the numbers for the remaining staff after the cuts. Given an average salary of $83,467.00 before they lay off 40 jobs, the remaining salaries will average at an even heftier $87,500.00.

The math: [[($20,700,000.00)-($2,500,000.00)]/208 jobs]=$87,500.00.

Life is hell for the Commissars at the top.

[WorkingClassFilth]

Ping!

[185JHP]

Away with them - let Muffy and Biff do honest work to pay for their Brie!

[syriacus]

Next: NewsMax.com will explore the implications in a future installment.

That should be an interesting article, just as this one was.

Thanks for the ping, Drango.

[syriacus]

I'm going to put up my hair like Rosie the Riveter on the next break.

Loved the script!!

And while the third announcer is putting up his hair, he can have a friend pass around his riveter's hard hat for donations.

[gorush]

How ironic that such a leftist station uses the call letters kQED. QED stands for "quod erat demonstatum" or "it has been demonstrated", most commonly used after mathematical proofs. In other words, it represents truth. The left uses it to represent their propoganda. No, nothing IS sacred.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

KQED, and all the other PBS/NPR stations, are nothing but liberal shills for the Democratic Party. I wonder if they need to be regulated as such. It's also interesting that they think of themselves as "the elite". I actually heard one of the NPR reporters refer to himself as a member of the elite. He wasn't even joking.