January 26, 1995: Vol26n14: Loss of funds for public broadcasting could cut programming at WBFO

By STEVE COX
Reporter Staff
A House Appropriations Subcommittee in Washington held hearings last
week that could set the stage for elimination of federal support to
public broadcasting. Advocates say this could have a devastating
effect on area public broadcasting stations, including UB's National
Public Radio affiliate, WBFO-FM.
	Speaker Newt Gingrich made clear in December that he feels it
is time for the government to sever its tie to public broadcasting. At
Gingrich's urging, the House held hearings last week to decide whether
to reduce or completely eliminate the $285 million currently given to
public broadcasting each year through the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting.
	WBFO General Manager Jennifer Roth says that the station
receives $200,000, about 25 percent of its overall budget, from the
federal government. The loss of those funds could, according to Roth,
necessitate "cutting back our broadcast hours, reducing our local news
and music programming and/or eliminating some NPR programs."
	Another 28 percent of WBFO's operating budget comes from UB.
The university itself faces an uncertain budgetary future as Gov.
Pataki's first budget, due out next week, tries to close a projected
deficit and keep his commitment to cutting the state income tax.
	WBFO-FM, heard at 88.7 on the FM band, broadcasts NPR News,
jazz, public affairs programming and specialized music, including
ethnic music. Housed in Allen Hall on the South Campus, the station
covers a 22-mile radius of Buffalo with some 80,000 regular listeners.
New '"repeater stations" now serve Jamestown and Olean. The WBFO News
Department has won national awards for its productions, "Homicide on
the East Side" in 1993 and "The First Year" in 1994.
	House Speaker Gingrich has said that he believes the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting should be "privatized" and that
PBS has done too little to generate its own revenues. "Big Bird makes
money. Barney makes money," said Gingrich recently. "These are
profit-making centers. They would survive fine. I understand why the
elite wants the money, but I think they ought to be honest. These are
a bunch of rich, upper-class people who want their toy to play with."
The amount of money appropriated to public radio stations amounts to
roughly 29 cents per taxpayer, according to a National Public Radio
fact sheet, and overall support of public broadcasting costs the
average taxpayer just over a dollar 
	Although congressional leaders say all programs receiving
federal funding will receive the same type of scrutiny, Washington
political analysts say the real target of this effort by the
Republican-controlled Congress to eliminate federal support is public
affairs broadcasting widely viewed as having a liberal bent.
	At last Thursday's hearing, CPB Chief Executive Richard
Carlson testified that he estimated 90 public television stations and
more than 200 radio stations, mostly in smaller markets already
underserved by commercial broadcast stations, would be forced to
close. Echoing a 1993 report by the Twentieth Century Fund, Carlson
indicated that public television and radio would not die without
federal funds, but they would be a great deal less healthy and make a
much smaller contribution to American culture.
	Carlson called claims that PBS caters only to a rich elite
wildly exaggerated. He cited a Nielsen study that showed PBS
television viewers were only slightly wealthier than the nation as a
whole. More than half of PBS opera viewers, for instance, have family
incomes under $40,000. At some point during an average month, 80
percent of Americans watch public television.
	The local public television station, WNED-TV, has also
indicated that the loss of federal funding would mandate drastic
cutbacks there. J. Michael Collins, president of the Western New York
Public Broadcasting Association, indicates that Channel 17
broadcasting could be forced off the air before 3:30 p.m. and after 11
p.m. Channel 23 and WNED-AM radio could be forced to close.
	Among local Congressmen, Rep. William Paxon of Amherst is a
staunch opponent of continued federal support for public broadcasting.
Rep. Jack Quinn of Hamburg, who introduced an amendment to kill off
federal funding last year, is officially undecided. Rep. John LaFalce
of Tonawanda and Rep. Amory Houghton of Corning are strong supporters
of public broadcasting.