Tell Idaho’s senators to save Idaho public television and radio | Opinion
Save Idaho Public Television
The Senate will decide by July 18, whether to rescind the already appropriated funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This will have a dramatic effect on our local Idaho Public Television service. Please call and ask them to support this valued Idaho treasure that provides educational, enlightening and entertaining programming available without a paid subscription. IdahoPTV is available in rural areas that have no Internet or cable service. IdahoPTV acts as our Emergency Alert Service!
It enhances government transparency by providing live coverage of the Idaho legislature in session. Vast educational resources are made available to public, private & home school providers through IdahoPTV. IdahoPTV combines national programming and local productions to offer in-depth understanding of history, the arts, nature, public affairs, civic education and science. CPB is one of the three funding sources. If any one is cut off, the other two struggle, if not fail. Help save one of Idaho’s treasured gems. Call Senators Crapo and Risch and tell them you want $1.60 of your taxes spent on public media as it serves every age group from toddlers on through the generations. Not a bad return on your investment!
Nancy Viano, Eagle
Devastating impact
Between now and July 18, the US Senate will vote on a bill to take back $1.1 billion already appropriated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that funds PBS and NPR stations nationwide. As a retired General Manager of Idaho Public Television, I know the devastating impact that the proposed rescission will have on local stations like IdahoPTV and the programs and services viewers have come to expect. This funding pays the salaries of employees who provide educational services to rural Idaho communities. It covers cost of the interconnection system that distributes programs to local stations. It supports the digital services that allows viewers to stream PBS programs anywhere anytime. It funds the emergency alert system that provides critical information to Idahoans during disasters. And it helps fund programs Idahoans have cherished for generations from children’s series like Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, to prime-time programs like NOVA, American Experience, Great Performances, and Outdoor Idaho. If you care about IdahoPTV, I encourage you to call Senators Risch & Crapo and ask them to support public media and vote against the rescission bill. Time is of the essence, please call them now!
Ron Pisaneschi, Boise
No clawback
Idaho Public Television and Boise State Public Radio need your help. By July 18, the United States Senate will vote on rescinding the already approved and mostly distributed funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. If passed, this “clawback” would have a terrible impact on IdahoPTV and BSPR’s ability to transmit and serve our state. As IdahoPTV’s former General Manager (1996-2013), as well as BSPR’s Interim General Manager (2015), I know well the positive impact that those funds have on their ability to provide local services, including emergency alerts to our state’s mostly rural communities. Tying together our far-flung, rural state needs that long-term support from CPB. Please take a moment and contact our U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch and let them know that you want them to vote against this “clawback.”
Peter Morrill, Boise