Posted on: Friday, June 24, 2005

Public broadcasting budget cut defeated

By Dennis Camire
Advertiser Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The House yesterday rejected $100 million in proposed budget cuts for public broadcasting, including Hawai'i's public television and radio stations.

"This was a very gratifying win," said Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i. "It affirms the public value of our Public Broadcasting System stations."

The House voted 284-140 to restore the money in a spending bill, which finances labor, health and education programs next year, that it still must approve. The Senate has not taken up the issue of public broadcasting financing.

Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawai'i, said the vote was "obviously a good, solid demonstration" of national concern over the Bush administration's attacks on public broadcasting.

"I think people heard from their constituents in no uncertain terms," Case said.

Under the proposed cuts, Hawai'i Public Television in Honolulu would have lost an estimated $421,752 next year, a 44.5 percent reduction in its federal assistance.

Michael Titterton, president and general manager of Hawai'i Public Radio in Honolulu, which has KHPR-FM and other stations, said the cut would have cost his system about $60,000.

An independent public radio station, KKCR-FM in Hanalei, was facing the loss of $45,476, about 45 percent of its federal money.

"It would have been devastating," said Michael Van De Veer, treasurer for the Kekahu Foundation, the parent of KKCR-FM. "It would have taken the heart out of our station."

Most of that money was restored because the House voted to eliminate $133 million for other public broadcasting programs, including Ready to Learn, a television and online service designed to help parents get their children ready for kindergarten. Other program cuts were for grants to help with stations' conversion to a digital signal and money for the satellite distribution system for programming.

Supporters of the cuts argued that Congress needs to trim federal spending, saying a large number of new radio, cable and satellite programs have emerged over the past two decades. Many also said public broadcasting could support itself.

Most money for public broadcasting is locally raised, but the cuts still would have hurt, Titterton said.

"Any reduction in funding is going to hurt when you are as close to the edge as public radio tends to be," he said.

Hawai'i Public Radio received about $229,000 this year in federal funding, a little more than 8 percent of the system's $2.6 million annual budget, Titterton said.

Van De Veer said that KKCR-FM on Kaua'i has only two paid staffers and depends on about 70 volunteers to keep the station running.

"We spend about $2,000 a month just on electricity. We would have possibly stayed on the air (if the cuts were approved), but I don't know what would have happened to the equipment."