PBS chief decries efforts to cut federal funding

The Associated Press, Saturday, July 21, 2012, 11:47am (PDT)

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- PBS President Paula Kerger says she's disappointed that public TV's federal funding is again under attack by lawmakers.

Kerger said Saturday that the move also is ironic, given the impressive number of Emmy Award nominations earned last week by PBS' programs, including the popular drama "Downton Abbey." PBS received 58 nods, second only to HBO and CBS.

Public TV gets 15 percent of its money from the federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting, with the rest largely contributed by viewers, Kerger told a meeting of the Television Critics Association.

But some stations get half or more of their funding from federal funds, Kerger said, predicting that a number of them will "go dark" if the money is cut off.