W.V. pubcaster cutting programming due to budget squeeze, director tells lawmakers

Dennis Adkins, West Virginia Public Broadcasting executive director, told state legislators that state funding reductions and loss of corporate underwriting have forced the station to make programming cuts, reports the Charleston Gazette. Speaking to lawmakers on Thursday (Jan. 26), Adkins said further program cutbacks may be necessary. “We’re seeing erosion in our ability to provide a quality public broadcasting product to the citizens of West Virginia,” Adkins told members of the House Finance Committee. “To put it bluntly, our expenses are outpacing our revenues.” State appropriations to pubcasting in West Virginia have dropped 9 percent over the past two fiscal years, and corporate underwriting is off 17 percent in the last year. The public affairs TV show This Week in West Virginia is now on hiatus. If the situation doesn’t improve, Adkins told lawmakers, national programming on public TV and radio could be affected, and utility costs may force some translators to be shut down.