EDITORIAL: University’s undermining of public opinion on public broadcasting auction is disappointing
For decades, Central Michigan University’s support for public broadcasting has been a point of pride for everyone associated with the organization and the institution. Its five PBS television stations broadcast educational programming and news across Central and Northern Michigan reaching 5.6 million viewers.
As Central Michigan Life reported last week, the FCC is seeking to buy bandwidth on the television spectrum across the country and resell it to wireless carriers in order to accommodate the increased use of mobile devices.
Buried in the board of trustees’ Dec. 17 consent agenda was a motion to approve moving forward with the application process in an auction that could sell off part of CMU’s Public Broadcasting operation, reportedly worth more than $700 million. The university must decide by March 29 if it will participate in the auction.
This was the first time the public heard of this major piece of university business. No public forum, and no announcement from the university. Even public broadcasting’s radio station failed to cover a story concerning the organization’s television stations.
CMU should have done more to inform the stations’ viewers – and donors– about potential changes to pubic broadcasting. Its failure to do so is disappointing.
Not seeking public input on a decision that could have an impact on a large university asset is a cause for concern.
President George Ross and the trustees will give $2 million to public broadcasting system this year. As far as the Auxiliary Activities Fund, it is third only to Athletics and Computing Support, which will get $21 million and $11 million respectively.
The university’s silence on the topic has caused uneasiness among viewers of public programming and donors alike. We wonder why the trustees and Ross were unwilling to take a few moments to explain the spectrum auction during the meeting – an obvious place to discuss such matters.
At the same meeting, Ross was criticized in his official performance review for not effectively communicating CMU’s mission and vision for the future with the campus community more effectively.
If administrators and trustees thought no one was interested in possible changes to public broadcasting, they seriously underestimated what the organization means to the community.
It is unclear if CMU has any plan to hold public discussion about potential sale of the stations. In the meantime, school officials suggest you voice any concern or comments via an e-mail to the board at trustees@cmich.edu. CMU says you can send a letter to Warriner Hall.
Both options are about the least personal or effective methods of communication we could think of.
CMU’s decision to participate in the auction is non-binding, so it can back out at any time.
This story is far from over.
It’s about time we had our say. We encourage you to reach out to the board and send them your thoughts via email. Do us a favor while you are at it – carbon copy us on that e-mail at opinion@cm-life.com .
We are interested in your opinion. We’ll publish your letters on our website and in print. It may be the only way you will get to see how others feel about WCMU and its future.
Decision makers on this campus clearly value money. But apparently, they do not always value your opinion.
