WNET to cuts jobs, budget

New York’s WNET-Thirteen will cut 8 percent of its upcoming budget through cost reductions and job eliminations. Also affected will be parent organization WNET.org and sister station WLIW-21. WNET.org’s President and CEO Neal Shapiro told The Observer that of roughly 500 staffers, some 85 positions are targeted. According to Shapiro, individual and corporate as well as government funding for WNET and WLIW all have declined significantly in recent months. Also, N.Y. Gov. David Paterson’s new budget includes a 50 percent reduction in the overall funding for pubTV, which would mean about a $4.5 million cut for WNET.org. “If that happens, we’ll have to take more actions,” Shapiro told the paper.