November has been marked by a series of board meetings for our national organizations.

  
November 7-8, the APTS board’s annual retreat was held in Alexandria, where the board welcomed its new president and CEO, Pat Butler (LINK.) NETA chair Polly Anderson from KNME was co-chair of the search committee.

In other business the APTS board heard reports on economic issues within the system and focused much of their attention on the new Congress. There was also a very candid discussion regarding membership losses and plans to strengthen recruitment and retention.

Later that week the NPR board met in Washington. And finally, concluding what must be a record week for board meetings, the American Public Television board met in Palm Springs, CA.
  

The second CPB/PBS round robin was held November 9-10 in Crystal City. PBS will soon post notes and other materials from both round robins on PBS Connect.  Of the many critical topics, one that got great attention was John King’s report on recommendations from the PBS dues task force. There seemed to be a good reception to news that the proposed changes would simplify the formula but, as John noted, the real test will be when each member sees exactly how the change will impact their assessment.
   
Continuing the board theme, the CPB board met this week in New Orleans. The first day of the meeting, convened at the Ritz Carlton in New Orleans, was entirely in executive session. The second day, concluding around noon, was held at the National World War II Museum. The most notable news release from this meeting concerned NPR:  LINK
   

This meeting marked the election of new CPB board leadership. Bruce Ramer was elected to serve as chair and David Pryor was elected as vice chair (LINK)

The board also recognized the contributions of two notable directors. LPB’s Beth Courtney’s service on the board expires this year, as does that of Ernie Wilson. It is my understanding that President Obama may avoid the Senate confirmation process by making recess appointments in December.

While the APTS and CPB boards discussed anticipated problems with Congressional funding, and as we anticipate a Republican move on the House floor today, state funding issues may actually be the more immediate concern.
         
This week Mississippi governor Haley Barbour submitted his FY 12 budget recommendations. He announced the request will seek to reduce state spending by about 8% and included the following statement in his preface: “Mississippi taxpayers should not continue subsidizing a television and radio network, so I also recommend a sharp reduction in the appropriation for Mississippi Public Broadcasting. MPB must rely more on private sponsorship than tax dollars to operate. This decrease should begin a drawdown in funding for MPB that will ultimately result in its operating entirely on private donations or advertising revenues, except for educational programming used by and prepared for MDE (Mississippi Department of Education).” The cut proposed for FY 12 amounts to a reduction of 20% from FY 11, from $7.6 million to just over $6 million. By comparison funding for FY 08 was almost $8.3 million.
  
It is significant that Barbour is chair of the Republican Governors’ Association.