FLINT, MICH., and PHILADELPHIA: The University of Michigan can no longer run its public TV station, while the Philly PBS affiliate cut staff this week, reports indicate. The UofM said it could no longer operate WFUM-TV, the PBS member station in the Flint market. The donations from individuals and businesses that kept the station alive for almost 30 years decreased by 28 percent since 2007, University officials told news outlets.
The Ann Arbor News said the station license is being shopped around. WFUM’s studio and offices are on the University’s Flint campus. The station employs around 20 people and won nine regional Emmy Awards for 2008, the Flint Journal said.
In Philadelphia, 17 folks were laid off at WHYY-TV, the PBS affil in the City of Brotherly Love. The move came in a surprise announcement after ongoing assurances that the station was financially sound, Philadelphia Inquirer TV critic Jonathan Storm reported. The cuts were said to comprise around 8 percent of the station’s staff, and would save it around $1.2 million a year, or 4 percent of its annual budget.
Storm said that during a meeting to discuss the layoffs, one executive producer asked if executive pay cuts were considered instead and volunteered to take one. The article said WHYY chief Bill Marrazzo, considered one of the highest paid CEOs in public TV, indicated no such alternative was considered.
The layoffs came after the state’s governor asked its general assembly to cut support for public TV.
The article has generated a lot of feedback. It’s available at http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20090423_WHYY_cites_budget_woes_as_it_lays_off_17_staffers.html.
