The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
The state budget outlook for WHRO has improved since last week, but the local public broadcasting company still faces a possible six-figure reduction in its allocation from Richmond.
WHRO faced a $650,000 cut in annual funding under the House version of the state budget and $110,050 in the Senate's plan, Bert Schmidt, WHRO's president and chief executive officer, said last week. WHRO urged supporters to lobby legislators to restore the money.
The budget approved by the General Assembly before it adjourned last weekend cut funding for the state's five public broadcasting stations by more than $1.6 million, Schmidt said Wednesday.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine still may amend the budget. Any changes would get a last look by the legislature when it reconvenes for its veto session next month.
Schmidt said that last week's lobbying campaign made an impression on legislators and that he would ask WHRO members again to push to reduce the cut. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure WHRO is able to continue providing important programs and services," he said.
If a public broadcasting cut stands, Schmidt said, the Virginia Public Broadcasting Board and the state secretary of administration would decide how to parcel it out among the five Virginia stations.
A call seeking comment from the assistant of Mark Emblidge, chairman of the Public Broadcasting Board, was not returned.
Some state public broadcasting grants are divided evenly among the five, he said, so the cut also might be spread equally. In that scenario, the $1.64 million statewide reduction would cost WHRO more than $325,000.
The public broadcasting company, though, might shoulder a larger share because it's one of Virginia's biggest stations, Schmidt said.
Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com
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Isky
The arts elevate the human spirit and bring out the very best in us. I love them all, and am willing to pay handsomely for tickets. Subsidies may be necessary sometimes--I am not yet convinced.
However, read your words, buddy. Very arrogant and hateful and spiteful. Surely you can find a better way to represent what the arts have done for you and what they have made of you. Right???
Put your money where your mouth....typing is
If you wish to support WHRO, then write a check. If you wish to support the arts, then purchase a ticket. Personally my relaxation of choice is reading a good book. Why should money be taken out of my pocket, that I could use to purchase a good book, so that a television channel that I'm am not going to watch can get a government subsidy?
It is a shame that more people don't attend the opera, the symphony, or our local museums; however, that does not mean the government should take money that should be used for necessities and spend it on the arts.
If you wish to support the arts then write a check or volunteer but stop asking others, who may wish to do otherwise with their time and money, to pay for your pleasures.
Children....
Please, try to understand that every time you open your mouth (figuratively) - you are NOT required to confirm your double-digit IQ.
WHRO does FAR more than Public TV (I will get back to that in a sec). The tasks it performs for the local school districts and non-profit organizations (although you lot are probably the same group who believe that money for the arts and education is money down the tube, so this may fall on deaf ears) would cost FAR more if not aggregated for economy of scale. If you believe the cities (esp. Va Beach) are capable of cooperating on such things without a third-party in the mix - I have a bridge to sell you.
As for local public TV having no place, that is like the folks 15 years ago who told me to "get with the new economy - the old rules are history". News Flash - the new economy is dead, and the old rules are back with a vengeance. Those who believed in the new economy either got scammed -- or were one of the scammers...
750 characters is too little space to educate you barbarians...
I offer $20 each for a
I offer $20 each for a couple of DVCams. HD is in, SD is out.
Government radio and
Government radio and television's time has passed. There are far better ways to spend taxpayer money.
how does a handout "cost" the recipient?
It seems to me that the written word has degenerated to the point that "writers" are illiterate. I fail to comprehend how an organization that is sitting around dependent on free money from the taxpayer has somehow lost something when they fail to get what they are demanding? Does this mean that I can write down a million dollars on my taxes because I asked my boss for it and he didn't deliver?