This is what is wrong with PBS/NPR

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SnoBrdr
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This is what is wrong with PBS/NPR

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http://www.bostonherald.com/news/column ... yer_funded

From Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald

Boston public broadcasting behemoth WGBH, facing potentially severe budget cuts by the Trump administration, awarded big pay hikes and bonuses to executives and staffers last year while reporting a $38 million loss, new reports show.

The taxpayer-funded nonprofit’s CEO, Jonathan Abbott, got an $85,000 bonus in the 2016 fiscal year, boosting his annual compensation to $624,930, according to tax reports filed with the state attorney general’s office. WGBH gave out a total of nearly $300,000 in bonuses to 10 employees, including Abbott, according to their financial reports.

New on-air host Jim Braude earned nearly $364,000 in the 2016 fiscal year, reports show, while seven other high-ranking staffers and executives also topped the $300,000-a-year mark.

The soaring salaries at WGBH come as the organization and other PBS stations are being threatened with potentially devastating funding cuts by the Trump administration, which has proposed eventually eliminating all funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The CPB funnels hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money to WGBH and other public media outlets.

WGBH’s recently filed audit with the attorney general’s public charities division show the organization spent a total of $217 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, while getting a total of $179 million in operating revenue and other support. That left WGBH with a nearly $38 million deficit for the fiscal year.

A spokeswoman for WGBH attributed the deficit to the timing of several grant renewals, which weren’t signed until after the end of the fiscal year.

“This fluctuation is common with organizations managing many large grants,” spokeswoman Jeanne Hopkins said. “For example, three weeks after the end of FY16 we signed more than $60 million in multi-year grants for such productions as ‘Masterpiece,’ ‘NOVA,’ ‘Frontline,’ ‘Antiques Roadshow,’ ‘Arthur,’ ‘American Experience’ and many others.”

Hopkins added that ­WGBH’s board-approved operating budget actually showed a $1.9 million surplus, not a deficit, because of the timing of grants and income generated from a subsidiary that is not counted as operating revenue.

The organization’s federal tax report also included for the first time the compensation for Braude, who replaced longtime on-air host Emily Rooney in March 2015, and co-hosts a radio show and anchors a half-hour daily news show on WGBH.

Braude’s total of $363,958 in compensation appears to be well over what Rooney earned. The last reports to include her salary show she earned about $230,000 a year.

A WGBH spokeswoman said Braude’s higher salary is because of his three-hour-a-day radio gig, which Rooney did not have. Rooney hosted a one-hour radio show and anchored a daily news show as well as another weekly TV show, which she still hosts.

Braude is just one of nearly a dozen staffers and executives who earned well over six figures in 2016. The others include:

• Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Benjamin Godley, who was the second-highest paid executive and topped out at $471,970 in total compensation. Godley’s total includes $50,000 in bonus and incentive pay.

• Vice President of National Programming John Bredar, who earned $385,383 in salary and benefits, including a $45,000 bonus.

• Executive producer David Fanning, who made $359,676 in fiscal 2016.

• Executive producer Raney Aronson, whose annual take was $359,044.

The total amount the stations spent for salaries grew to more than $81 million in fiscal 2016, a $3.6 million increase from the previous year, reports show.

Abbott’s bonus was “based on performance” and determined by a compensation committee, Hopkins said.

“The compensation committee utilizes third-party data and consultants to benchmark comparable compensation packages for the CEO and other key executive roles in functionally comparable positions and similarly sized organizations,” she said.

According to WGBH’s internal audit, the organization’s expenses increased by $14 million last year, from $203 million to $217 million, but operating revenue decreased from the previous year. That decrease included a $33 million drop in contributions and grants.

Hopkins said the total increase in salaries was a “small portion” of the total payroll.

“It mainly reflects the growth in our local newsroom, and our continued investment in local content across radio, television and digital,” she said.

WGBH got $9 million in grants from the federally-funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting last year, as well as $6 million in funding from other government agencies, accounting for about eight percent of the operating budget, according to Hopkins. The CPB also contributed another 4.5 percent of WGBH’s budget with community service grants.

The station received a total of $36.5 million in viewer and listener contributions in FY16, and another $28 million in corporate contributions, accounting for 35 percent of the operating budget, Hopkins said.

WGBH also spent a total of $206,500 in lobbying in fiscal 2016, according to its financial reports.
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freeski
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Re: This is what is wrong with PBS/NPR

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The bonuses and anything over $10K for lobbying are moral crimes. PBS should be more centered in their political reporting.
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brownman
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Re: This is what is wrong with PBS/NPR

Post by brownman »

Little difference in bonus structure from that within a hedge fund.
Moderating their viewpoint does little to change their remuneration strategy.
Many Grants happen as a direct result of their political standing.

Very Simple .. Don't tune in if you don't like what they expose.

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Re: This is what is wrong with PBS/NPR

Post by freeski »

brownman wrote:Very Simple .. Don't tune in if you don't like what they expose.
I DISagree this is tax $. If it was like everybody else (market driven) yea just don't watch it. They would be much better if they did not have a political slant to their news. There is a market for unbiased news, a huge market because no one is providing it. CBS used to be better than the hack networks, butt since Trump they've slid hard to the left.

I enjoy a lot of the PBS programing. Their documentaries are top notch and I never miss Will Lange. Also, great wildlife.

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Re: This is what is wrong with PBS/NPR

Post by brownman »

Nova and Frontline have presented lots of excellent programming over the years.
We watch and support them .. though we don't yet fund any endowment :wink:

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Re: This is what is wrong with PBS/NPR

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brownman wrote:Nova and Frontline have presented lots of excellent programming over the years.
We watch and support them .. though we don't yet fund any endowment :wink:

:Toast
Yes, some of those are excellent. I have given $ in the past, butt now that I have left the dark side no longer do. Maybe the Democrats will come back to the middle and dump the snowflake elites and PBS will follow.
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deadheadskier
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Re: This is what is wrong with PBS/NPR

Post by deadheadskier »

So, apparently NPR tweeting the Declaration of Independence is a "trigger" for Trump supporters?

http://gizmodo.com/trump-supporters-cry ... socialflow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:?
SnoBrdr
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Re: This is what is wrong with PBS/NPR

Post by SnoBrdr »

deadheadskier wrote:So, apparently NPR tweeting the Declaration of Independence is a "trigger" for Trump supporters?

http://gizmodo.com/trump-supporters-cry ... socialflow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:?
interesting as HBO had both the DoI and the BoR read last night at 7 PM.

But they used people from both sides of the isle.
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Mister Moose
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Re: This is what is wrong with PBS/NPR

Post by Mister Moose »

SnoBrdr wrote: But they used people from both sides of the isle.
Haiti and Dominican Republic?
Sint Maarten and Saint-Martin?
Scotland and Great Britain?
Suffolk and Nassau?
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Re: This is what is wrong with PBS/NPR

Post by Bubba »

Mister Moose wrote:
SnoBrdr wrote: But they used people from both sides of the isle.
Haiti and Dominican Republic?
Sint Maarten and Saint-Martin?
Scotland and Great Britain?
Suffolk and Nassau?
Suffolk and Queens/Brooklyn. Nassau is in the middle.
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Mister Moose
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Re: This is what is wrong with PBS/NPR

Post by Mister Moose »

Bubba wrote:
Mister Moose wrote:
SnoBrdr wrote: But they used people from both sides of the isle.
Suffolk and Nassau?
Suffolk and Queens/Brooklyn. Nassau is in the middle.
I'll defer to the local. Or Ex Pat. With a mention of Wikipedia:

"However, colloquial usage of the term "Long Island" usually refers only to Nassau and Suffolk counties"
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Re: This is what is wrong with PBS/NPR

Post by Bubba »

Mister Moose wrote:
Bubba wrote:
Mister Moose wrote:
SnoBrdr wrote: But they used people from both sides of the isle.
Suffolk and Nassau?
Suffolk and Queens/Brooklyn. Nassau is in the middle.
I'll defer to the local. Or Ex Pat. With a mention of Wikipedia:

"However, colloquial usage of the term "Long Island" usually refers only to Nassau and Suffolk counties"
The oddity of local lingo:

If you're in a borough other than Manhattan and you're going into Manhattan, you're going "into the city" even though you're already in NYC.

If you're in Brooklyn or Queens and you're going out to Nassau or Suffolk, you're going "out to the island" even though you're already on the island.
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Re: This is what is wrong with PBS/NPR

Post by XtremeJibber2001 »

Damn that NPR! :lol: :lol: :lol:

http://gizmodo.com/trump-supporters-cry ... 1796633566
Trump Supporters Cry Bias After NPR Tweets the Declaration of Independence

Matt Novak
Yesterday 6:00am

NPR tweeted the entire Declaration of Independence in 140-character chunks yesterday to celebrate Independence Day. But more than a few people thought that the tweets were a political stance against Donald Trump. Seriously.

The Declaration of Independence is one of the most cherished documents in the United States. We even make movies about it like it’s the Ark of the Covenant. But some Trump supporters were a bit confused yesterday, and saw phrases like “unworthy the Head of a civilized nation” as biased. They assumed that NPR was blasting the current president rather than King George in 1776.

NPR has been reading the Declaration of Independence on air in a tradition that dates back 29 years. And in fairness, the Declaration of Independence is a pretty anti-authoritarian document. So it makes sense that people might believe that it’s a statement against all tyrants.

But you’d think that people who want to “make America great again” might recognize the words of the Declaration of Independence. I guess not.

The line about the right of the people to abolish the current government and form a new one struck a chord with some Trump enthusiasts.

And some people were particularly offended by the line about King George being an “unworthy” leader of a civilized nation, believing that perhaps NPR was talking about a different tyrant:

Some Trump supporters even called the Declaration of Independence “trash”:

While others assumed that the word “obstructed” might be a little too close to the charges of “obstruction” against President Trump:

And even after it was pointed out that NPR was simply tweeting the Declaration of Independence, some people still saw an anti-Trump political motivation in the whole process:

Because apparently NPR needs more “balance,” maybe by reading out the arguments made by supporters of King George in 1776?

Yes, some Trump supporters believe that you gotta hear both sides. If you’re going to tweet out the Declaration of Independence, why not The Art of the Deal or other texts written by authoritarians? You don’t want to be seen as biased now, do you?

But I guess this is where we’re at as a country. The nation’s most treasured texts are being interpreted as protests against the president. Which really makes you wonder what Trump supporters stand for. If the Declaration of Independence is now anti-American, what counts as patriotic?

Ah yes, a song about making American great again that has North Korean-levels of creepiness. That’ll do.
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