Before BGSU officials decide whether or not to pull the plug on their public TV station, they should
listen to those who want the station saved.
They should take the advice of public TV’s beloved spokesman, Mr. Rogers, and be a good neighbor – in
this case, to those who rely on the station for education, jobs and programming that tackles local
topics.
Bowling Green State University may find it awfully tempting to take the possible $40 million the FCC
might offer to buy the broadcast spectrum used by WBGU-TV. But supporters of the station hope that BGSU
officials consider more than just dollar signs.
They want the chance to prove to BGSU trustees that the station holds more value than they may realize.
They want to show that the one-time windfall for the university may not be worth the loss of the station
that has been part of the campus and community for 50 years.
Much of the programming that WBGU-TV viewers watch can been seen on Toledo’s WGTE-TV. However, the BG
station reaches as far south as Lima, and much of that area would no longer have access. And programs
made for the BG area, such as shows on the 1978 blizzard, the Great Black Swamp, and the current opiate
epidemic, would no longer be created.
If WBGU-TV were to go dark, it would also mean the end of the strong TV production program offered now by
BGSU. The students in the program do far more than fetch coffee – they direct actual television shows.
Each year, 50 or so students work at the station. Few universities are able to boast of that
opportunity.
The channel also provides pretty constant positive public relations for the university as a whole. The
value of that marketing is hard to measure.
The station additionally covers countless events on campus, such as sports, Hatch entrepreneurs
competitions, announcements of new coaches and marketing shoots.
WBGU-TV supporters want university officials to realize that the short-term gain from selling the
spectrum is not a wise choice. They point out that a core value of the university is education – and the
station’s role has and will always be to educate students and the community at-large.
It’s not like commercial TV, where money is the goal and programming is the means. At public TV,
programming is the goal and money is the means, the supporters have stressed.
Those wanting to save the station are willing to compromise. If it would keep the station operating, they
would be willing to move to a less powerful broadcast frequency. Another possibility would be to form a
partnership with another station. Anything to keep the lights on at the local station.
The people who have created, worked at, and learned from WBGU-TV deserve more than just a polite chat
with university officials. Their 50 years of partnerships with students, the community and viewers have
earned them the right to a study group with officials, plus a chance to defend their worth to the board
of trustees.
While millions of dollars in one lump sum undoubtedly looks very attractive to university officials, they
need to realize that once they unplug WBGU-TV, the lights there will never be coming back on.