Public TV Flagship Plans Cuts

Facing massive cuts in the funding it receives from the state of New York, public TV giant WNET said Wednesday that it is laying off 69 employees and, starting July 1, will go dark at midnight on weekends.

All told, WNET has carved $10 million from its spending plans for the fiscal year that begins July 1, said station president William Baker. The station will receive $5 million in state support--half the money it got last year--and it is faced with $5 million in increased costs, including a $1-million jump in the fees it must pay to receive programs from PBS.

Wednesday’s dismissals brought the total number of workers laid off in the last three years to about 180, and left the station with 431 employees, Baker said.

At the same time, WNET reorganized its staff, eliminating the position of senior vice president and grouping station activities into four divisions: program services, educational resources, technical support and revenue.

“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in 34 years in the (television) business,” Baker said.

He said that the station has been working on the changes for about a year, ever since it became apparent that funds were going to be short. By cutting payroll and reducing bureaucracy, Baker said, the cuts would not affect the programs produced by WNET at either the local or the national level.

The station is known for producing programs such as “The MacNeil/Lehrer News-Hour,” “Great Performances” and “Nature.”