North Carolina Public television: defunded but not defeated

The “Big Beautiful Bill” passed by congress contained many not so beautiful provisions. Among them was the dissolution of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a clearinghouse that distributes funds to public radio and television stations in the U.S.

When the bill was signed into law PBS NC, our statewide public broadcasting network, lost $4.8 million of its $30 million annual budget, a 16 percent loss. In addition to the CPB cut, the North Carolina Senate budget contained another appropriation reduction amounting to about the same amount. Suddenly, our state-owned public broadcasting network faced losing about one-third of its annual operating budget. Fortunately, the House budget bill contained no such reduction and, since no final budget was passed, there are hopes the Senate cuts can be averted.

Nonetheless, the loss of almost 5 million dollars in funding is creating considerable consternation and budget revisions, both in our state and nationally. What will PBS NC look like after those cuts?

PBS NC management acknowledges there will be personnel cuts in about every division except engineering, as well as cuts made to the 3,000 hours of yearly local programming and services they provide. One area where cuts are not anticipated is PBS NC’s role of coordinating with the NC Department of Emergency Management to disseminate vital information to our state. For example, during COVID, PBS NC broadcast all press conferences of Governor Cooper, as well as a weekly half-hour information update from DHHS Secretary, Mandy Cohen.

PBS NC pays more than $5 million a year to broadcast the programming of the PBS network. It is too early to tell how the CPB cuts will affect the production of national programs like the PBS Newshour, Nature, Antiques Roadshow, Frontline, the incredible Ken Burns documentaries and outstanding children’s programming. CPB provided about 15 percent of the national PBS funding also.

The television broadcasting industry was already in flux before the cuts. Viewers are cutting the cord, establishing new viewing habits on subscription sources and social media. The CPB defunding is adding more chaos to the changes, but PBS NC management is being optimistic.

David Crabtree, CEO and General Manager of PBS NC network acknowledges that the cuts are mandating changes, but says, “The clouds will lift, and the sun will shine again. What we do with that sunshine is up to us.”

David would never want anyone to make this about him, but it must be said that if forced to face a crisis, budget or otherwise, you would want Crabtree at the helm. A 40-plus year broadcasting veteran, he is the right man in the right place at the right time. His optimism and dedication to public television’s mission are both affirming and inspiring. His experience and wisdom will help guide the network in such a time as this.

There will be changes coming. A smaller employee base will be required to learn new techniques, adapt to new technologies and discover ways to economize without sacrificing quality programming. Crabtree gave an example how this might look.  

The network has recently been interviewing all the chancellors of our statewide university system so that viewers can meet them, learn about their institutions’ unique missions and their goals. A recent interview was with Chancellor Phillip Rogers of ECU. Rather than take the traditional crew of four or five production employees to Greenville, the network enlisted student interns from ECU to assist in the production. Crabtree said the interview was filmed using an iPhone, declaring that the viewer would probably never be able to tell the difference between this production and traditional network efforts. In addition to being a great interview, a lot of money was saved using this technology that might not have been employed otherwise.

Public broadcasting, especially public television is essential to our state, presenting us with a wide variety of programming that would not air on commercial stations. And, while it has been forced to insert sponsor messaging in productions, there are nowhere near the number, length or urgency of ads found on commercial outlets. PBS NC depends on donations in addition to the CPB and state funding.

It might be fascinating to watch how changes impact the network but we could almost hear excitement in Crabtree’s voice, predicting these changes might open some larger unknown opportunities. He asserts this time will not be a time of retreat for PBS NC, but rather a time of renewal.

Throughout it all, PBS NC will continue to tell North Carolina stories; stories no one else wants to tell and can’t tell. If you are a regular viewer, you already know that. If you’re not, check out our valuable public television resource. You will surely find programs you enjoy. Already, in response to the CPB cuts, there has been a new wave of donors pledging to support PBS NC.

PBS NC is a treasure to North Carolina. It deserves our support!

Tom Campbell is a Hall of Fame North Carolina broadcaster and columnist who has covered North Carolina public policy issues since 1965.  Contact him at tomcamp@ncspin.com