IdahoPTV programming worth every state dollar
Doug Bauer
January 14, 2010
Moscow-Pullman Daily News
Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's plan to eliminate annual state funding for Idaho Public Television is more than a surgical budget cut for many Idahoans who can't afford costly cable or satellite packages.
It's a TV lobotomy.
From kid favorites like "Sesame Street" to state-specific programming like "Dialogue," "Idaho Reports" and "Outdoor Idaho," IdahoPTV informs, educates and entertains residents of all ages.
Otter is calling for the state to gradually pull the plug on its $1.6 million annual contribution to IdahoPTV, which amounts to about 25 percent of the network's overall budget.
If state lawmakers approve the proposal, IdahoPTV stations in Moscow and Pocatello could close within the year, and some residents could soon see their rural translators go offline.
IdahoPTV also might have to return more than $1 million in grant money it has received from the federal government, and much of the state and federal money that was spent digitizing its signal would effectively go to waste.
KUID has operated on the University of Idaho campus since 1965, and about 100 students use the studio each semester to gain experience with broadcasting equipment. UI journalism students also produce a pair of television programs there, and the city of Moscow's cable Channel 8 is operated through a partnernship with the station.
Legislators need to realize that $1.6 million in annual funding for IdahoPTV isn't a subsidy or expenditure so much as it is an investment - one that pays dividends for students young and old, seniors on fixed incomes and residents who want to know how their tax dollars are being spent in Boise and other parts of the state.
Otter obviously doesn't see it that way, or else he'd consider cost-cutting measures that don't further erode the quality of life for Idaho residents on the opposite end of the economic spectrum.
Originally posted at http://www.dnews.com//story/opinion/48258/
The Opinion posted here is provided by permission of its original publisher and does not necessarily reflect the views of Idaho Public Television.