Martha note: Tom Graham sent me a link to the following editorial by Christina Nuckols published on PilotOnline.com. It's offered without comment from me, but I'd love to know what you think.
And if anyone can find (or would like to write) an editorial taking the opposing view, please send it to me and I'll print that as well.
Public stations make an easy target for governor
Gov. Bob McDonnell was made for public broadcasting.
His speaking style doesn't lend itself to the 15-second sound bites that drive cable news shows. He's worn out several of my tape recorders over the years.
He's a policy wonk who can think past staff-generated talking points (if he wants to).
He's got a soothing National Public Radio voice like Scott Simon and Liane Hansen that turns the most acidic bad news into chamomile tea.
So why does McDonnell have it in for public radio and television?
No, this is not about Juan Williams. McDonnell tried earlier this year to phase out state support for public programming, before the political analyst was forced out at NPR, although I look for McDonnell and Williams to be chatting it up on Fox News any day now.
This is really just another of the Republican governor's predictable but gratuitous sops to his conservative base.
The governor tries to dress his budget cut as a serious effort to reprioritize spending programs.
"We have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of choices for consumers of Virginia to pick from in the free market, so I think the age of subsidizing public radio and television is over," he told reporters last week.
But $4 million in savings, phased in over two years, won't do much to offset the $54 million in new economic development spending the governor wants this year or an additional $50 million for public universities.
The problem for McDonnell is he likes getting kudos for being a fiscal conservative, but he doesn't like all the wails and tears that come with cutting popular services. Snuffleup-agus is one of the few clean shots available, particularly since Senate Democrats are sure to restore the public broadcasting money anyway.
McDonnell never wanted to be the governor of gloom. He hoped he'd arrive in the executive mansion as the economy bottomed out so he could ride a glorious wave of recovery. Instead, he's facing another year of wallowing around in the shallows with unemployment stubbornly high and corporations reluctant to invest.
With only four years to carve out a legacy, McDonnell has been forced to tinker with the pension fund and push for billions in increased borrowing, both of which go against his cautious nature. He justifies those actions by promising to redefine what services are truly important and which ones taxpayers can't afford to continue.
The first part is easy. He wants more for higher education, mental health and job creation. All good goals. The harder question is what doesn't matter? The wishy-washy report from McDonnell's reform commission didn't yield many answers, so the governor is left to make another half-hearted raid on public broadcasting and then let legislators sort it out later.
McDonnell may not feel personally invested in public broadcasting, but it provides a public service by airing events such as his annual state of the commonwealth address, which is important but can't really compete with "Dancing with the Stars."
What if McDonnell gave a speech and nobody paid any attention? Has he thought about that?
"I'm not saying they don't provide a function of some value," he said last week.
Unless he's prepared to add a tango to his repertoire, he might want to give his budget priorities a second look.
Christina Nuckols is an editorial writer for The Virginian-Pilot. E-mail her at christina.nuckols@pilotonline.com.
His speaking style doesn't lend itself to the 15-second sound bites that drive cable news shows. He's worn out several of my tape recorders over the years.
He's a policy wonk who can think past staff-generated talking points (if he wants to).
He's got a soothing National Public Radio voice like Scott Simon and Liane Hansen that turns the most acidic bad news into chamomile tea.
So why does McDonnell have it in for public radio and television?
No, this is not about Juan Williams. McDonnell tried earlier this year to phase out state support for public programming, before the political analyst was forced out at NPR, although I look for McDonnell and Williams to be chatting it up on Fox News any day now.
This is really just another of the Republican governor's predictable but gratuitous sops to his conservative base.
The governor tries to dress his budget cut as a serious effort to reprioritize spending programs.
"We have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of choices for consumers of Virginia to pick from in the free market, so I think the age of subsidizing public radio and television is over," he told reporters last week.
But $4 million in savings, phased in over two years, won't do much to offset the $54 million in new economic development spending the governor wants this year or an additional $50 million for public universities.
The problem for McDonnell is he likes getting kudos for being a fiscal conservative, but he doesn't like all the wails and tears that come with cutting popular services. Snuffleup-agus is one of the few clean shots available, particularly since Senate Democrats are sure to restore the public broadcasting money anyway.
McDonnell never wanted to be the governor of gloom. He hoped he'd arrive in the executive mansion as the economy bottomed out so he could ride a glorious wave of recovery. Instead, he's facing another year of wallowing around in the shallows with unemployment stubbornly high and corporations reluctant to invest.
With only four years to carve out a legacy, McDonnell has been forced to tinker with the pension fund and push for billions in increased borrowing, both of which go against his cautious nature. He justifies those actions by promising to redefine what services are truly important and which ones taxpayers can't afford to continue.
The first part is easy. He wants more for higher education, mental health and job creation. All good goals. The harder question is what doesn't matter? The wishy-washy report from McDonnell's reform commission didn't yield many answers, so the governor is left to make another half-hearted raid on public broadcasting and then let legislators sort it out later.
McDonnell may not feel personally invested in public broadcasting, but it provides a public service by airing events such as his annual state of the commonwealth address, which is important but can't really compete with "Dancing with the Stars."
What if McDonnell gave a speech and nobody paid any attention? Has he thought about that?
"I'm not saying they don't provide a function of some value," he said last week.
Unless he's prepared to add a tango to his repertoire, he might want to give his budget priorities a second look.
"some value"
ReplyDeleteHow many of the radio reading services for the blind in Virginia are connected to a public radio station? How will cuts in funds to the states public radio stations affect the radio reading services connected to those stations? How will this effect the visually impaired citizens of Virginia who rely on those radio reading services for local information.
I would say the value is more than "some" as the governor has suggested.
Denise,
ReplyDeleteThere are five radio reading services (RRS) in Virginia, each carried on a public radio station. Some, like WMRA's Valley Voice, are operated by the station, with overhead support from the station, and the help of dozens of volunteers. Some are independent organizations that partner with the local radio station.
All five services get a grant from the state, separate from the Community Service Grants to the stations.
We received a $24,000 grant for Valley Voice this year, down almost a third from two years ago. The grant is used to pay part of the salary and benefits of the Valley Voice Director.
We do not yet know whether the Governor's funding elimination plan includes the RRS grants. I asked the Secretary of Education, Gerard Robinson, who said he would have someone check and get back to me. No word yet.
If we lose the state RRS funding, WMRA will have to absorb the cost...which of course will be that much harder when we lose the station funding as well.
By law we have to provide some form of RRS. It could come from elsewhere, but then it would no longer provide readings of the many local newspapers in our service area. That would defeat the purpose of having the RRS - helping the print-impaired to stay informed about their community.