GREG PETERSEN

State College

As if the elimination of federal funds for WPSU TV & FM weren’t enough, the entity that holds the broadcast license for those stations — the Penn State Board of Trustees — made a decision to shutter the stations completely. For accuracy’s sake, it was the Board’s Committee on Finance and Investment that unanimously scuttled a deal that would have kept the stations operating. That vote also prevented the entire board from considering the issue.

To their credit, Penn State’s administration had worked diligently with sister station WHYY/Philadelphia to forge a plan that would see public media continuing into the future. To their discredit, the only option should the plan fail was closure. In this instance, failure was an option. No plan “B” whatsoever. No, “well it’s back to the drawing board.” It seems that the board and administration were okay with turning off public TV and radio for a very large swath of the state.

The immediate reaction from the WPSU staff and the public was one of shock and disbelief. That, understandably, turned into anger, some rage and some calls to action. Petitions, letters, editorials and many, many one-on-one conversations have happened in the wake of the news.

It’s curious that Penn State’s own land-grant mission statement says that they seek to “provide unparalleled access to education and public service to support the citizens of the Commonwealth and beyond.” It’s a mystery how terminating the operation of WPSU is a public service. It unquestionably is not supporting the citizens of the Commonwealth, let alone the neighbors of Penn State.

The action (or inaction, if you will) of the board will leave many Pennsylvanians without the critical services that a local public media station provides, from lifesaving public safety services to proven education resources to crucial news and local information. It must be noted that as some of the last locally owned and operated media, local public media stations provide programs and services that no one else provides. And yet today, because of the elimination of public media funding, those services are at risk, including core services that WPSU has been proud to offer the community for decades.

What’s going to be gone? Local programs that tell the unique stories of local history and hometown heroes. Educational services that help the youngest citizens get ready to learn. Local programs and events that connect communities and help forge partnerships to address pressing local issues.

In a now infamous move by the powers that be, WPSU has become the first station that a licensee has announced will go dark after the ending of federal funding. That is no small distinction for an institution where the seeds of public TV were sown at a 1952 meeting at the Nittany Lion Inn. That very consequential gathering landed a commitment by the federal government to set aside frequencies for non-commercial educational TV stations.

WPSU belongs to the people of Central and Northern Pennsylvania. The stations have strived every day for the last six decades to be of service to our community and provide a lifeline that truly makes a difference in people’s lives every day. It’s the preeminent example of the service mission that Penn State aspires to and reaches thousands every day. Sadly, that service mission had fallen out of favor.

In his letter to the first Carnegie Commission, E.B. White, the Pulitzer Prize-winning New Yorker magazine essayist, said that (pubic media) “should be our Lyceum, our Chautauqua, our Minsky’s and our Camelot. It should restate and clarify the social dilemma and the political pickle. Once in a while it does, and you get a quick glimpse of its potential.”

The time for action is now. If you want to save WPSU, contact PSU President Bendapudi’s office. Contact the Board of Trustees office. Contact Governor Shapiro’s office. Urge them to work together on a plan B.

Public media is too important.

Greg Petersen is the Immediate Past Chair of the WPSU Board of Representatives