NewsHour, lacking one of its funders, tightens its belt
With a budget shortfall of several million dollars, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer is experiencing its tightest financial times ever. Last year the program lost a major corporate sponsor, Archer Daniels Midland, and has had difficulty finding new sponsorship. Chevron and Pacific Life Insurance Co. are the current corporate sponsors.
Last month, Executive Producer Linda Winslow asked all NewsHour staff members for suggestions about how to close the gap, says spokeswoman Anne Bell. The staff decided to freeze salaries and company 401(k) contributions.
The NewsHour and other PBS programs have sought only long-term commitments from corporate underwriters, but with funders preferring shorter terms and quicker results, the producers, with PBS’s help, secured a 13-week pact with a Danish company, Vesta Wind Systems. An effort to add foundations as underwriters has increased their contribution to $7 million, up from $2 million five years ago.
Since the New York Times reported the shortfall May 19 [2008], viewers have been offering to donate. For now, the program is telling viewers to send checks earmarked for NewsHour to WETA, the show’s co-producer.
Web page posted May 27, 2008
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