House Democratic Caucus
Amidst calls from some state lawmakers to de-fund the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA), other donors, including the House Democratic Caucus, have stepped up to the plate to help the provider of Oklahoma’s only statewide news network to keep its doors open.
House Democratic Leader Scott Inman, D-Del City, pledged at OETA’s fundraiser on Sunday to help OETA “not only with our vocal support, but also with monetary resources.”
The House Democrats each gave a donation, totaling over $3,100 to help put OETA over the top of its fundraising goal.
“The House Democrats believe in the mission of OETA, which is to provide educational, and not merely entertaining, programming to all Oklahomans,” said Inman.
OETA features programs that educate and entertain our children, including Sesame Street, Arthur, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Curious George, Sid the Science Kid, and Dinosaur Train, among others. If state funding were to cease for OETA, “this would be a very different operation, and it would not – could not – continue to be a statewide operation,” said John McCarroll, executive director for OETA.
OETA reaches 95 percent of the state’s population. Many Oklahomans do not subscribe to a cable or satellite service and depend on over-the-air television stations. More than 1.8 million viewers — most of them Oklahomans but some from surrounding states — tune into OETA on a weekly basis.
According to James W. Utterback, Ph.D., President of Seminole State College and Chair of OETA, “OETA is the only media outlet to have the capability to transmit the culture of Oklahoma all across this state. It is also the only means of communication that can simultaneously reach virtually every Oklahoman with statewide emergency information.”
OETA has suffered 27% funding cuts in the last three years. Funding for OETA is only $3.8 million (from $5.2 million three years ago) in a budget of $6.5 billion, or 0.58% of total appropriations. The $1 million fundraiser, while a good achievement, would still not be enough to keep OETA’s current coverage and programming.
Citizens of Oklahoma are served with public television for less than $1.02 per capita in state funds. By comparison, citizens of Nebraska pay $5.73 per capita for public television access.
OETA provides a unique service which cannot be easily replaced. OETA, McCarroll said, would not be shut down because of an end to appropriations, but its coverage would be severely limited.
“In the end,” said Inman, “ending appropriations to OETA would hurt the people of Oklahoma while providing only minor budgetary relief. The valuable contributions OETA makes to our state clearly outweigh the costs.”
Where in the Constitution do we find the basis for spending the peoples money on this effort to undermine our government. Let them compete with the real networks and see how long they last.
OETA has been a great step forward for Oklahoma, but I question if it is necessary any longer. With the overwhelming growth of cable and satellite communications, perhaps OETA has served beyond its financial and functional usefulness.