MONTGOMERY — Members of the Alabama Educational Television Commission voted on Tuesday by a 4-3 margin to survey Alabamians’ opinions of Alabama Public Television and PBS.
The commission voted at its November meeting to continue offering PBS programming through June 30. Pam Huff Simpson and Eric Land, members of the APT/PBS Review Committee, recommended that the commission continue their affiliation with PBS on Tuesday.
The commission oversees APT's programming and finances.
Governor Kay Ivey asked the commission in November to conduct a public survey and review before disaffiliating from PBS programming.
The commission voted 4-3 to hire the McLaughlin Group for $47,500 to survey 600 Alabamians on the issue.
The Republican-controlled Congress and President Donald Trump cut federal funding to NPR and PBS in 2025.
“I think it’s an important thing to do. The survey would include what do you want in a public television station? Is PBS complying with that? Is what we have as programming, do we comply with that? Is that what you want? We want to really know what people want. We have to ask them what they want. We want to find out what they really do think,” Ferris Stephens, Alabama Educational Television Commission chairman, said at the meeting on Tuesday.
Pete Conroy, a commission member, opposed conducting a survey. He said 99% of the feedback the commission received supports Alabama Public Television’s continued affiliation with PBS.
“The survey that’s already been done was the nearly over 1,500 emails that we’ve received,” Conroy said at the meeting.
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