Sen. William A. Walaska’s proposal to merge Rhode Island PBS and Capitol Television is laudable in intent but missing the one thing all such consolidations need: clearly identified savings.
The Warwick Democrat has introduced a bill to shift control of Capitol TV from the General Assembly to the R.I. Public Telecommunications Authority, which oversees WSBE-TV PBS 36. The state provides funding for both programs.
Walaska says the proposal would beef up the PBS station’s local programming, which could help with fundraising. It would also make better use of Capitol TV employees, whose workload televising legislative proceedings drops when lawmakers are not in session.
Walaska knows the proposal, introduced in the past, faces an uphill climb politically because lawmakers would have to do something against their nature: give up control. But there’s another reason the bill is unlikely to pass.
“This is one [consolidation] that can be done without hurting anyone,” Walaska said in a story on Page 16 of this week’s PBN.
For consolidations to make financial sense, in business or in government, significant savings must be achieved, often through job losses.
Without identified savings, there is little incentive for those controlling Capitol TV’s purse strings to let go. •