Post by Okwes on Jul 2, 2006 16:22:12 GMT -5
'Independent Native News' dropped for lack of funds
PUBLIC RADIO: Budget cuts end national show produced in Alaska.
By PAULA DOBBYN
Anchorage Daily News
Published: July 1, 2006
www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/7920605p-7814019c.html
<http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/7920605p-7814019c.html>
[Click to enlarge] <http://www.adn.com/photo/2006/07/01/2114933.jpg>
Click to enlarge
Alaska journalist Nellie Moore, who founded "Independent Native News"
six years ago, said the show's cancellation is a sign of the times. "It
just seems like instead of growing public broadcasting, it's constantly
shrinking," said Moore.
The only national radio show produced in Alaska went off the air Friday.
Funding cuts forced "Independent Native News," founded by Alaska
journalist Nellie Moore six years ago, to air its final newscast from
the studios of KUAC, said Robert Hannon, news director at the Fairbanks
public radio and television station.
"We couldn't sustain it," Hannon said Friday. "Funding is going down and
costs are rising. We're facing real fiscal challenges."
Hannon blamed legislative budget cuts over the last two years in
particular for the show's demise. But it's really part of a broader
effort by state and federal lawmakers to phase out financial support for
public broadcasting, he said.
"The handwriting is on the wall," Hannon said.
Government funding of public broadcasting has been under siege for
years. Conservatives often accuse public broadcasting of having a
liberal bias, a charge the broadcasters deny.
"Independent Native News," hosted by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock, produced a
five-minute national roundup of news focused on Alaska Natives, American
Indians and Canadian First Nation tribes. About 25 stations carried the
newscast, produced Monday through Friday. It was available for free on
the Internet.
Moore launched "Independent Native News" in 2000 after what she
described as a falling out with her former bosses at Koahnic
Broadcasting Corp. over control of news content. Koahnic Broadcasting of
Anchorage underwrites "National Native News," also a five-minute
newscast that is produced in New Mexico and airs nationally on public
radio stations.
"I'm really happy that it lasted as long as it did," Moore said.
But the show's cancellation is a "sign of the times," she said.
"It just seems like instead of growing public broadcasting, it's
constantly shrinking," said Moore, who turned over the program to KUAC
in 2003.
The Alaska Legislature cut funding to public television by $127,000 in
2006 and by $100,000 for the 2007 budget year, which starts today.
"If you get cut on the TV side, it affects the entire organization,"
Hannon said of KUAC's TV and radio operations, which share
administrative and other functions.
It took about $100,000 a year to produce "Independent Native News." The
show really requires a budget twice that size, he said. Hitchcock was
the sole employee. The show really needed another reporter and a
full-time fundraiser.
When Hitchcock was on vacation, on assignment or sick, KUAC news
staffers would scramble to fill in but it was not good, Hannon said.
"If we want it to keep going, we really need three people," he said.
Hitchcock remains on the KUAC staff and will continue to cover Native
issues thanks to a $45,000 one-year grant from the Alaska Public
Broadcasting Commission. Her stories will air locally on KUAC and
statewide on the Alaska Public Radio Network, Hannon said.
"The Alaska Public Broadcasting Commission agrees with our vision that
Native reporting is a serious issue that needs attention," he said.
PUBLIC RADIO: Budget cuts end national show produced in Alaska.
By PAULA DOBBYN
Anchorage Daily News
Published: July 1, 2006
www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/7920605p-7814019c.html
<http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/7920605p-7814019c.html>
[Click to enlarge] <http://www.adn.com/photo/2006/07/01/2114933.jpg>
Click to enlarge
Alaska journalist Nellie Moore, who founded "Independent Native News"
six years ago, said the show's cancellation is a sign of the times. "It
just seems like instead of growing public broadcasting, it's constantly
shrinking," said Moore.
The only national radio show produced in Alaska went off the air Friday.
Funding cuts forced "Independent Native News," founded by Alaska
journalist Nellie Moore six years ago, to air its final newscast from
the studios of KUAC, said Robert Hannon, news director at the Fairbanks
public radio and television station.
"We couldn't sustain it," Hannon said Friday. "Funding is going down and
costs are rising. We're facing real fiscal challenges."
Hannon blamed legislative budget cuts over the last two years in
particular for the show's demise. But it's really part of a broader
effort by state and federal lawmakers to phase out financial support for
public broadcasting, he said.
"The handwriting is on the wall," Hannon said.
Government funding of public broadcasting has been under siege for
years. Conservatives often accuse public broadcasting of having a
liberal bias, a charge the broadcasters deny.
"Independent Native News," hosted by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock, produced a
five-minute national roundup of news focused on Alaska Natives, American
Indians and Canadian First Nation tribes. About 25 stations carried the
newscast, produced Monday through Friday. It was available for free on
the Internet.
Moore launched "Independent Native News" in 2000 after what she
described as a falling out with her former bosses at Koahnic
Broadcasting Corp. over control of news content. Koahnic Broadcasting of
Anchorage underwrites "National Native News," also a five-minute
newscast that is produced in New Mexico and airs nationally on public
radio stations.
"I'm really happy that it lasted as long as it did," Moore said.
But the show's cancellation is a "sign of the times," she said.
"It just seems like instead of growing public broadcasting, it's
constantly shrinking," said Moore, who turned over the program to KUAC
in 2003.
The Alaska Legislature cut funding to public television by $127,000 in
2006 and by $100,000 for the 2007 budget year, which starts today.
"If you get cut on the TV side, it affects the entire organization,"
Hannon said of KUAC's TV and radio operations, which share
administrative and other functions.
It took about $100,000 a year to produce "Independent Native News." The
show really requires a budget twice that size, he said. Hitchcock was
the sole employee. The show really needed another reporter and a
full-time fundraiser.
When Hitchcock was on vacation, on assignment or sick, KUAC news
staffers would scramble to fill in but it was not good, Hannon said.
"If we want it to keep going, we really need three people," he said.
Hitchcock remains on the KUAC staff and will continue to cover Native
issues thanks to a $45,000 one-year grant from the Alaska Public
Broadcasting Commission. Her stories will air locally on KUAC and
statewide on the Alaska Public Radio Network, Hannon said.
"The Alaska Public Broadcasting Commission agrees with our vision that
Native reporting is a serious issue that needs attention," he said.