On Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. the Alabama Educational Television Commission will hold a public meeting to discuss possibly severing ties with PBS, though no public comment will be allowed.

At the meeting, viewers can expect to hear presentations from the APT board and commission regarding what could happen if they choose to sever ties with PBS. While there will be no time allotted for public comment, some say they are making their voices heard in other ways. And these longtime APT members said if PBS goes, so will they.

“We’re just longtime members and contributors who watch a lot of PBS on Alabama Public TV. We love the station, and one of our concerns is that if they disassociate from PBS, all of the contributors will leave,” Elaine Witt, a longtime APT member told AL.com.

“We will not have a financially viable station at all. It will be the end of a 70 year old public television station that has served Alabamians.”

Alabama Educational Television Commission Chairman Ferris Stephens said APT has received a “large number” of emails from audience members urging them not to vote to cut ties with PBS.

He maintains that allowing the public to speak at the meeting is unnecessary.

“We’re getting it in writing already. We’re getting plenty of it. It doesn’t have to be oral,” Stephens said.

There is no vote regarding PBS scheduled for the upcoming meeting. But commissioners can ask to vote on a matter at any public meeting.

“We’re going to be deliberative about it all. We want all the information we can get. We take our jobs seriously,” Stephens said.

How we got here

Earlier this year, the Trump administration cut $1.1 billion in funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

CPB funded more than 1,500 local public radio and television stations around the country.

As a result, APT lost nearly $3 million in grant funding from the CPB, which is about 13% of the total annual budget.

Stephens and Commissioner Les Barnett both brought up the idea of severing ties with PBS after the federal cuts and a lapsed payment to the public media giant.

“We’ve never been in this position before. PBS, as we have known it, has always been funded by the federal government, and we no longer have that money,” Stephens told AL.com.

Some of the commissioners said they are concerned that remaining in partnership with PBS could send a bad message to politicians like Trump and other Republican officials and limit the amount of financial support they receive from state legislators.

“I just know generally that over time, people have complained about new shows, from the legislature, over a period of years, decades,” Stephens said.

But APT Executive Director Wayne Reid said he’s heard no overwhelming opposition from state leaders.

Officials say the end of the longtime partnership with PBS would disrupt how APT operates, possibly resulting in the loss of more than $3 million in donor funding, 90% of its content and thousands of audience members.

“It’s interesting that they are so concerned about what politicians in Washington think, and they’re not concerned, or they seem not to be as concerned about the 20,000 contributors to the station,” Witt said.

Witt’s husband, Michael Sznajderman said he hopes the commission will consider audience members when a decision is made.

“My presumption is, if you are on this board, you should be an advocate for public and quality public television,” Sznajderman said.

“And now this appears to me to be a sudden political turnaround by a few members of this board.”

The response

APT became the nation’s first educational television network in 1955, and has been in partnership with PBS since its founding in 1969.

On their website, APT says its mission is to “enrich the lives of Alabama citizens by providing essential educational services” and help to “reach true school equity statewide.”

Witt said APT’s partnership with PBS has done just that for her and her family over the years.

“There are kids in my family who learned to read before they went to school by watching Sesame Street,” Witt said.

Witt and Sznajderman recently organized an event to show officials how much some audience members value PBS.

About 30 people attended the event, each writing letters to state legislators and APT commissioners urging them not to sever ties with PBS.

The couple also created a fundraising plan to help fill the financial gap in hopes of presenting it during the meeting, though they have not heard back from the commission about being added to the meeting agenda.

“If it’s truly a financial crisis, there is time and capability to raise the needed dollars,” Sznajderman said.

Through the PBS membership, Alabama audiences can stream popular educational and news programs including Sesame Street, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, the Ken Burns documentaries and NOVA.

“If you’re living in rural Alabama, if you have limited income, you can’t afford a satellite dish, cable or whatever, all you need is a cheap antenna. And you can get all of these really quality and important educational resources, humanities programs,” Sznajderman said.

“If they quit, PBS, as far as I understand, all of that will go away.”

“We’re viewers, and members and contributors who are trying to get our message through,” Witt said.

The APT Birmingham headquarters is located at 2112 11th Ave. South, Suite 400. The meeting will also be live streamed through Microsoft Teams. Residents can send feedback through APT’s website or by calling APT’s main line and leaving a message at 205-328-8756.

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