CMU Public TV is dying, make plans to attend the funeral

Goodbye CMU Public Television, it’s been so good to know you. Thank you for Sesame Street, Antiques Roadshow, Masterpiece Theater, Lawrence Welk, Mystery, Michigan Outdoors and Mr. Roger’s. Thank you for the wonderful series on the Civil War, the beautiful ballet programs, the opera, and that brilliant effort years ago to do all of the Shakespeare plays. Thank you for television without commercials and interruptions. You history has been magnificent.
Thank you to all the dedicated people at CMU Public Television for the countless hours spent on production, maintenance and fund raising. You have managed to keep CMU Public Television on the for more than 32 years. What a great public service. Our hats are off to you. We hate to see you go.
The handwriting is on the wall. The facts are clear. CMU Public Television is dead. Dead as a doornail – almost. The funeral arrangements haven’t been made yet and the burial site hasn’t been picked, but that will come. The body is still warm and the vultures circle far overhead, just out of sight. They wait with infinite patience, waiting for that last tell-tale twitch. When they finally float down on their great gray wings to divvy up the carcass of CMU Public Television, we will recognize them as the CMU Board of Trustees, their hard yellow eyes watering in the bright sun.
“Wait a minute! Hold on! Are you crazy?” the board supports public television. They’ve said that. They say it’s very important. They say it’s wonderful. They say it’s one of CMU’s greatest assets. Why they even voted to spend $3 million on public television if the governor approved a matching amount from state funds. They say they support public television.
In 1994 in Lansing, at the annual convention of Michigan broadcaster, Gov. Engler vehemently stated for all to hear, that he would never allow state funds to be used for public broadcasting. He has never wavered on that point. The governor has consistently refused to spend a penny on public television. Anyone who knows anything about John Engler knows that.
So did his friends on the CMU board really expect the governor to approve state funds for CMU Public Television? Of course not. But, they would like us to believe they support public television. Lets see what happens when the board really supports a program. Lets look at CMU athletics. Lets look at football.
Millions have been spent on a new stadium and training facilities – no questions asked. At public television’s little building the lobby is being changed into a campus welcome center for campus visitors. The building has been painted once in 20 years. The building was paid for with viewer contributions. I wouldn’t call that support, would you?
It was decide a while ago that the football team needed a new coach. Only the best would do. Thousands of dollars were spent on recruiting the best money could buy. Meanwhile at public television the director of public broadcasting was replaced by a faculty member from the accounting department. A nice guy, but no background in broadcasting and no fund-raising experience. He probably took a cut in pay. Could you possibly ever imagine that the board would hire an accountant to coach the football team? Of course not.
At the end of fiscal 1994-95 CMU Public Broadcasting had a budget surplus of about $20,000. After scrimping and saving and adding extra fund-raising projects, public television finally had some money to increase programming. It wasn’t much, but all the hard work had paid off. To television’s horror, the $20,000 was transferred to athletics. Football was showing a deficit. Needless to say, the board supports athletics, which is fine, but in contrast, it does not support public television.
So the vultures are preening their feathers and licking their beaks. There is not way out for CMU Public Television. The federal government says that television stations must meet the new digital standard, yet there is no federal money to pay for it. It will cost $17 million for CMU to make the switch. The governor won’t help, he’s made that quite clear. There is no longer any fund-raising expertise at CMU Public Television and the board has already said they don’t have the money. So, one by one, the nails are pound into the coffin. So please come to the funeral.
If you have ever watched a program on CMU Public Television that you really enjoyed, come to the funeral. If your kids grew up with Sesame Street, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, Electric Company or Reading Rainbow, ask them to come and pay their respects. If you have ever made a donation to CMU Public Television, and millions have, come to the funeral.
One more thing. To make sure CMU Public Television gets a decent burial, please make a donation to the funeral fund. It can be any amount, but be sure on the back of your check you write, “For TV funeral only.” You wouldn’t want your check to go to the wrong department. Come to the funeral. Rest in peace CMU Public TV, we will all be the less without you.