WQPT presents options to Black Hawk College trustees
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By David Burke | Friday, December 14, 2007 |
The board overseeing WQPT-TV will present a strategic plan to the Black Hawk College Board of Trustees tonight, outlining what could be done if the college does not sell the financially embattled PBS station’s license.
After months of development, members of the Greater Quad-City Telecommunications Commission will present the plan to the Black Hawk board during its regular meeting on the East Campus in Kewanee, Ill.
The Black Hawk board voted in June to give college President Keith Miller the authority to enter into an agreement to sell the station’s license and its equipment. The college’s funding for the station, which it has operated for the past 24 years, was completely cut for the current fiscal year.
“We continue to believe the best scenario is for WQPT and Black Hawk to continue to partner, and for us to continue to serve this community together,” said Kathy Michel, president of the telecommunications board.
WQPT is operating with a budget of slightly less than $2 million, general manager Rick Best said Wednesday. The presentation to the college board is not intended to change its mind about the funding cut but rather for Black Hawk to continue holding the license.
“We do not anticipate (funds) are going to come back, so we have to structure ourselves accordingly for the future,” Best added.
“We’re not asking Black Hawk to reinstate its funding. We understand,” Michel said. “They have their budget to develop and maintain as well. We’re asking them to allow us to provide programming and be responsible for the funding to do so.”
The strategic plan includes increased fundraising. Although individual contributions to the station increased by $100,000 in the past year, larger donors still have to be sought.
“There are a lot of financial partners out in the community that ’QPT has not tapped into or even talked with yet,” Best said. “That’s one of the goals, to expand those efforts.”
“We’ve tried to talk to community leaders, and I believe they very much would like us to continue operating WQPT,” Michel said. “I believe we have their support. We just hope we can continue working the way we have been working.”
A savings could come from a different Public Broadcasting System programming plan. Pending approval from a PBS board of directors, WQPT could enter into a program development plan. Only a limited number of PBS programs — what Best calls “icon series” such as “Masterpiece Theatre,” “Antiques Roadshow,” “Nova” and “Nature” — would remain, with the rest of the schedule filled by programming from other public broadcasting suppliers. (Children’s programming would remain the same.)
Best said that would cut the station’s programming budget from about $460,000 to $160,000 annually.
Local programming also could increase with the loss of PBS titles, he said. That could include everything from two-minute presentations to full programs. Local producers from outside may become involved as well.
“We’re not so presumptuous to think we’re the only ones who can produce local programming about the Quad-Cities,” Best said. “There are a lot of partners out there we need to start working with, who have the knowledge, the information, the finances perhaps, to assist us in creating that local content.”
Another possibility, perhaps on WQPT’s digital channel, would be to broadcast City Council meetings from throughout the Quad-Cities in what Best called a “local C-SPAN.” Currently, council meetings are shown on public-access cable TV channels in their own city.
“We’re such an interrelated bunch of communities here that I think it’s not unreasonable to assume people would want to know what was going on in the community next door to them,” Best said.
Personnel cuts have already been made from what was an 18-person staff a year ago, he said. Four positions have been vacated and not filled.
If Black Hawk were to sell the license, Federal Communications Commission rules state that it must go to another noncommercial broadcaster. Best said the strategic plans were developed with the presumption that Black Hawk would maintain the license for the station.
Other possibilities include a new home for WQPT if Black Hawk does not wish to continue to house the station.
“We feel it’s responsible to look at the options in case,” Best said. “The best scenario is to stay with Black Hawk, in the space we have, and continue operations for the time being. Should something happen that we would need to look for alternatives, we need to look at what those options might be.”
Best and Michel said the staff is positive about the station’s future.
“People are very much continuing on the assumption that there’s going to be a station there to continue with,” Best said. “The staff is understandably nervous about the future, as would anybody if the very future of the organization were up in the air. Everybody is very much doing business as usual.”
“They come in every day, and they’re focused on excellence and focused on our community and doing their jobs,” Michel said.
The staff and the 15-member oversight board are doing what they can to continue the station’s operations.
“We’re not sitting still,” Best said. “This plan is a pretty significant step forward in addressing the issues. We’re not just sitting back and waiting to hear from Black Hawk. We’re proceeding with making plans as best we can to ensure the future of the station.”
“That’s our intent, to keep this train on the track,” Michel said.
David Burke can be contacted at (563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes.com.
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