The federal cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are much to blame for next summer’s shutdown of NJ PBS. Scott Kobler, partner at McCarter & English and Chair of NJ PBS, discusses how Governor Phil Murphy’s administration has also contributed to the television network’s shut down next summer.
“WNET and NJ PBS’s recent good-faith back-and-forth with the State included a request for a reasonable level of support, and was simple, clear, and deserved, particularly given our record,” NJ PBS Chair Scott Kobler said in a statement. “A public-private partnership operating the State’s retained licenses, NJ PBS raised funds from foundations, underwriters and viewers like you, so we walked the walk.”
“Over several months, we had not shied away from timely responding to the State, but I believe that the State’s intransigence or maybe even apathy, coupled with federal funding cuts and new media challenges, likely influenced WNET’s decision to protect its core enterprise as one of our nation’s leading public media platforms. So be it, but frankly it could have all been so much easier,” Kobler said.