Public broadcasting may have been saved recently from a proposed
$200 million budget cut, but a little-known program that could
affect Santa Cruz-based KUSP’s signal into San Benito County is
still on the chopping block.
Hollister -Public broadcasting may have been saved recently from a proposed $200 million budget cut, but a little-known program that could affect Santa Cruz-based KUSP’s signal into San Benito County is still on the chopping block.
As part of a massive spending bill for health, education and labor programs, the House Appropriations Committee moved to cut over $200 million from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the biggest proposed slash to the program in over a decade, according to press reports.
A week ago the House of Representatives voted to reinstate $100 million previously promised to the CPB. Last Wednesday the House passed H.R. 3010, an appropriation providing for future funding for the CPB, which in turn provides funds for NPR stations like KUSP.
However, bill H.R. 3010 failed to restore funding for three affiliated programs the Appropriations Committee had moved to slash: The Ready to Learn Program, which funds children’s shows like Sesame Street and Arthur; the system’s conversion from analog to digital transmission; and what should concern Hollister residents the most: the elimination of the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program.
This Department of Commerce program was designed to aid public broadcasting stations and other non-profits to ensure that citizens in all parts of the country have equal access to radio. It was a grant from this program that allowed KUSP to build a Hollister transmitter.
KUSP is attempting to upgrade its entire system from analog to digital broadcasting, and the PTFP provides 75 percent of those funds. While the Senate recently moved to continue supporting the grant programs, the House called for the eradication of the PTFP altogether.
Will Hollister be left silent if the upgrade doesn’t go through?
“In the short run, it’s just about giving Hollister the highest quality signal we can,” said Terry Green, general manager of KUSP. “In the long run, if we can’t bring the transmitter up to date, it’s possible.”
Public radio is urging its listeners to contact their elected representatives, whether they approve of the proposed budget cuts or not. “What we really want is for people to get informed about the issue, talk about it, and then take action,” urged Green. KUSP’s Web site, www.kusp.org, provides a link with contact information for local representatives and California’s senators.
The proposed cuts come at a time when NPR’s audience has grown by two-thirds nationwide over the past five years, while commercial radio is struggling to stay afloat, according to the March issue of Wired Magazine. “Our growth has been more modest, about 10 or 20% over the past few years,” said Green. “Because people on the central coast have always been hip to NPR.”
