N.Y. Public Station to Take Over New Jersey Network
June 7, 2011 | Read Time: 1 minute
New York’s WNET will take over New Jersey’s main public television operation as part of a deal that will end New Jersey’s payments for public broadcasting, The New York Times reports.
WNET will run the renamed NJTV for at least five years under a deal announced Monday by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The New York broadcaster agreed in writing to continue airing a New Jersey-centered news program on weekdays, but NJTV’s annual budget of $8-million will be less than half that of the New Jersey Network, which last year faced a cutoff of state funds.
Gov. Christie said he supports public broadcasting but that “we need to have it in a way that is not continuing to cost the state taxpayers and can be perceived as truly independent from state government.”
His proposal also calls for four state-owned radio licenses to be acquired by New York Public Radio and five others by Philadelphia’s WHYY. Several state legislators quickly announced plans to hold hearings on the agreement, which will take effect July 1 if approved by lawmakers.
Plus: Public television and radio’s umbrella organization, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, has named Syracuse University scholar Joel Kaplan its new ombudsman, the Associated Press says.
Mr. Kaplan is the associate dean of Syracuse’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication and a former reporter at the Chicago Tribune and The Tennessean.
