WSIU director says Romney's PBS cuts would hurt - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

WSIU director says Romney's PBS cuts would hurt

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CARBONDALE, IL (KFVS) -

Mitt Romney's "BIG BIRD" comment rattled through the halls of SIU's PBS station, WSIU.

"I'm gonna stop the subsidy to PBS," Romney said. "I like PBS, I love Big Bird! But I'm not gonna keep spending money on things and borrowing money from China to pay for it."

WSIU Executive Director Greg Petrowich says cuts to public broadcasting wouldn't just affect his station, but the Heartland as a whole.

Petrowich says many of folks in southern Illinois can't afford cable or satellite service and rely on free public television for news and children's programming, like Sesame Street.

"It's $1.35 per citizen, per year to support public broadcasting," said Petrowich. "If people believe that's the most important $1.35 to get back in the federal treasury, so be it. But I think people know the amount compared to other things we're facing and I think they're not likely to support that cut."

According to a PBS report, local PBS stations raise $6 to every $1 of federal funding.

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