By Don Irvine ——Bio and Archives--October 28, 2010
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If there were any questions about how KCET is going to fare outside the PBS umbrella, a bunch of them were answered today. LA’s rogue station just landed a $1 million grant from the Ahmanson Foundation to help ease the transition to independence. That kind of cash tends to soothe the pain. Said KCET president Al Jerome in the press release: “This expression of strong support for KCET at this critical juncture in our history is an inspiration as we continue our efforts to make this new independent KCET a model for independent public media in the 21st century.” Press Release Los Angeles – October 26, 2010 – As KCET prepares for its role as the country’s largest independent public television station, effective January 1, 2011, The Ahmanson Foundation in Los Angeles, has awarded KCET a $1 million grant for the purpose of converting KCET to an independent public television station, it was announced today by Al Jerome, KCET president and CEO. “The Ahmanson Foundation has been one of KCET’s most important and longstanding foundation supporters,” said Jerome. “The foundation has provided grants for all three seasons of SoCal Connected, and it has underwritten the local broadcast of Nova on KCET for many years. “This expression of strong support for KCET at this critical juncture in our history is an inspiration as we continue our efforts to make this new independent KCET a model for independent public media in the 21st century.” The Ahmanson Foundation’s stated mission includes a commitment to support “non-profit organizations that demonstrate sound fiscal management, efficient operation, and program integrity,” and by doing so, “the Foundation strives to enhance the quality of life and cultural legacy of the Los Angeles community.”The defection of KCET leaves a huge hole in the PBS system as they will not have a station in the second largest television market in the U.S. PBS is negotiating with other stations in the area but they will have to do a great sales job to convince them that the constant fundraising and having to answer to the network is better than their current situation. The biggest worry that PBS has is that the KCET defection will lead to others stations seeking greener pastures and threaten the stability of the network. KCET’s exit was very timely coming on the heels of the Juan Williams NPR fiasco which has led to a revival of calls from conservatives to defund public broadcasting which will only increase if the Republicans take control of the House as expected next week. The salad days for public broadcasting are coming to an end and for one won’t be shedding any tears.
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Don Irvine is the chairman of Accuracy in Media and its sister organization Accuracy in Academia. As the son of Reed Irvine, who launched AIM in 1969, he developed an understanding of media bias at an early age, and has been actively involved with AIM for over 30 years.