The Future of Public Broadcasting

KCPT is facing potential funding cuts at both the federal and state level. Learn more about how you can help protect Public Broadcasting and KCPT.

Join the campaign to save PBS and NPR stations at www.170millionamericans.org

What a great year for PBS! I am pleased to report that PBS programs have received 43 nominations for this year’s Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. This is the largest number of Primetime Emmy nominations our system has ever received, and more than twice the combined total of A&E, Bravo, Discovery, and the History channels. Masterpiece programs led the way for PBS with a combined 25 nominations. The 63^rd annual Emmys will air September 18 so be sure to watch.

The PBS programs with multiple nominations include Downton Abbey, Upstairs Downstairs, and Any Human Heart (all Masterpiece Classic); Sherlock: A Study In Pink (Masterpiece Mystery!); Freedom Riders (American Experience); and LennoNYC (American Masters). Paula Kerger recently wrote to all PBS station CEOs noting that these award nominations are a welcome recognition of the steps PBS has taken to strengthen primetime content.

And there’s more good news. PBS received 32 nominations for the 32^nd Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards. Programs with multiple nominations include POV, Frontline, Independent Lens, PBS NewsHour, Nature, and NOVA. This brings PBS’ total Emmy nominations to 121 in the Daytime, Primetime, and News & Documentary categories – our highest ever!

PBS’ children’s programming has a stellar number of nominations as well – Eight Emmy nominations for Sesame Street and three for The Electric Company.

For you Masterpiece Classic fans, Downton Abbey returns with seven new episodes. Created by Oscar-winning writer Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey depicts the lives of the noble Crawley family and the staff who serve them. Featuring an all-star cast, including Hugh Bonneville (Masterpiece Classic “Miss Austen Regrets”), Dame Maggie Smith (Harry Potter) and Elizabeth McGovern. Tune in to watch these new episodes beginning Sunday, January 8, 2012.

Other PBS programs to watch for – America in Primetime, a four part documentary that explores the history and significance of primetime scripted programs like I Love Lucy, Sex in the City, Man of the House, Beverly Hillbillies, and many more; America Revealed, a four part series with breathtaking aerial and satellite imagery to examine America’s infrastructure from above; The Fabric of the Cosmos (four hours inside of NOVA), which is an exploration of space and time based on Brian Greene’s best-selling book of the same name; and, Prohibition, another great documentary from Ken Burns, which examines the social, cultural, and political forces that converged in the first two decades of the 20^th century.

These award nominations underscore that PBS offers fantastic national content with diverse subject matters that both entertain and educate. Congratulations to all those involved in these exceptional productions!

Kliff Kuehl
KCPT President and CEO

“In Tight Times, PBS Leans on Pledge Drives” from New York Times

A recent New York Times article talked about how in tight times PBS leans on Pledge Drives for revenue but did you know that with your support Innovation in Community Exploration is what KCPT is all about!

For several years now, KCPT has used the power of our extraordinary programming to engage local viewers. Through the popularity of Antiques Roadshow, the KCPT Antiques Appraisal Fair is now in its third year! Seen throughout the region, our Memorial Day concert with the Kansas City Symphony, Celebration at the Station, is in its fifth year! And through Check, Please! KC, we are inviting viewers on our second KCPT Night on the Town featuring the KC Trolleys and four area restaurants!

These are just some of the ways to explore Kansas City with KCPT!

Public Broadcasting Listeners and Viewers Are Hearing Our Messages and Are Responding

Good news. This week Congress passed, and President Obama signed into law, a two-week spending bill to prevent a government shutdown. We are pleased that this short-term measure does not cut funding for public broadcasting, but the real negotiations for long-term funding are happening behind the scenes and it is likely that public broadcasting funding will be targeted for elimination in the final budget bill if negotiators don’t hear from supporters in overwhelming numbers.

Thank you!

As of this morning, we have over 293,000 advocates signed on to the 170 Million Americans campaign. Public Broadcasting listeners and viewers are hearing our messages and are responding. Phone calls and emails are pouring into the offices of Members of Congress on behalf of public broadcasting. Great work!

What happens next?

Congress now needs to regroup to vote on a long-term CR to fund the federal government for the rest of FY 2011. It’s important for Members of Congress to continue to hear from you about how important public broadcasting is to you.

Keep up the pressure. It’s working. But our funding is still far from secure and your engagement is critical!

Tags: members

The New York Times: Public Broadcasting Faces New Threat in Federal Budget

An NPR executive called Republicans’ budget fight this year “the most determined, organized and sophisticated challenge to federal funding for public radio — ever. Read the entire article.

More on proposed elimination of funding for public media

Kansas Legislature’s Proposed Elimination of Funding for KCPT

Kansas Legislators are considering cuts to all Kansas Public Broadcasting stations and eliminating KCPT’s funding completely from the state budget – due to KCPT’s Missouri address. If you live in the state of Kansas, please call or email your Kansas State Senators and let them know how important KCPT is to our entire region!

Find your legislator and their contact information now.

Some message points to use are:

The KCPT signal reaches 850,000 Kansans in Wyandotte, Johnson, Leavenworth and Miami counties. We believe those viewers deserve the same level of services that Kansans in other areas of the state receive.
Each week KCPT provides extensive coverage in these counties through local programs ranging from economic development… to the arts …. to local history.
KCPT’s K through 12 media services provide teacher training and classroom resources for more than 62,000 Kansas children.
And for our youngest viewers, KCPT’s preschool literacy program distributes free books and literacy training in impoverished pre-K sites in Wyandotte County.
KCPT Kids broadcasts more than 60 hours of educational, non-commercial, non-violent programs weekly to the Kansas children in our metro area.

More information about the proposed funding cuts to public media