Check us out at 1:10 in the FOX 35 News report above!

What's Happening

Public Broadcasting is our local connection to the global community; and without a doubt, it is a service that has touched all of our lives.

Through the click of a switch, PBS instantly takes us to the other side of the world, it transports us into a different time era, and it opens our eyes to things we've never seen. PBS has become our nation's largest classroom, our nation's largest performance stage, our nation's trusted window into the world. For sure, without PBS, we would not be the nation we are today; and we would certainly not be the people that we are today.

Here in the Orlando community, our source of Public Broadcasting has been WMFE-TV. A station that has existed for 45 years, WMFE-TV—fondly referred to as Channel 24—has provided us with quality programming like Mister Roger's Neighborhood, Sesame Street, Bill Nye the Science Guy, NOVA, and Newshour. Indeed, for many of us, WMFE-TV became the only reliable choice for news and entertainment. Free from advertiser-influence, WMFE-TV has evolved into an accessible, entertaining, and objective form of media—one that our community should not be without.

And then on April 1, 2011, WMFE made the announcement that they have struck a deal to sell their television station to focus on radio. The decision to sell was a shock to many of us—as it should be, for the entire transaction lacked complete transparency and credibility.

This sale is what catalyzed our campaign to Keep PBS in Orlando.

WMFE's decision to sell was based heavily on financial issues. As the cost to sustain a television station has increased, WMFE-TV's funds have decreased. In addition, WMFE argued that two neighboring college-operated PBS stations—WDSC in Daytona and WBCC in Cocoa—would serve as suitable replacements for the loss of WMFE-TV. While these may be PBS stations, but they are not flagship stations. This means they do not broadcast 100% PBS programming. It should also be noted that these smaller PBS stations are only available through Brighthouse Networks—not Comcast, and with limited range HDTV antenna over-the-air reception. Hence, these stations were never accessible to the entire Orlando community.

What made the shock of the sale even more stunning was the fact that WMFE decided to sell their television station to Daystar Networks—a Texas-based Christian television station, one that is heavily faith-based and filled with subjective programming. However, if you look at the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) filing, Daystar has renamed themselves "Community Educators of Orlando Inc." And yet, this effort to rebrand themselves is meaningless because we — as true members of the community — know that Community Educators of Orlando Inc. has only been in existence for two months.

With that said, this is not a campaign against religious-programming; this is a campaign for objective educational programming, one that fulfills the FCC's definition of a non-commercial channel.

In the very beginnings of our campaign to Keep PBS in Orlando, are two co-founders pursued a brilliant idea — have UCF adopt Orlando’s PBS station. Initially, the idea seemed like an impossible happy ending. And soon, we began pursuing other means of keeping PBS in Orlando, including a writing campaign to the FCC.

But then on May 26, 2011, the University of Central Florida (UCF) Board of Trustees finally voted on the creation of a new source of public broadcasting — WUCF TV.

Scheduled to be on-air on July 1, 2011, WUCF TV is the result of a partnership between UCF and Brevard Community College (BCC). The new station will provide the community with both nationally acclaimed PBS programming and locally made programming.

Though we are thrilled to have played a supporting role in the formation of this station, the campaign is not over yet. Indeed, the same day the UCF Board of Trustees agreed to create WUCF TV, Florida's Governor Rick Scott vetoed nearly $4.8 million appropriation for public broadcasting. That figure had already been reduced by 30% from last year; and with these cuts, 13 public radio stations will lose $87,287 in state funds and 13 television stations will lose a subsidy of $434,837.

At a local level, Gov. Scott's veto resulted in a loss of $300,000 for WUCF TV before the station could even launch.

Our campaign was designed to be long term — and now that we have a new flagship station, it is time for us to advocate and support its existence. This means contributions to the new station and supporting public funding for its growth.

Will you join us? Will you help Keep PBS in Orlando? This is an ambitious campaign that started from the bottom—and we want to take it to the top. But we need your help.

This doesn't take effort; this takes passion—a passion that we all possess. You just need to find it.