Alabama Public Television considers cutting ties with PBS

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Each day, PBS programming fills the airwaves of Alabama Public Television with shows such as “Sesame Street,” “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” “Antiques Roadshow” and “PBS Newshour.” Alabamians could lose access to those programs on state airwaves if the Alabama Educational Television Commission opts to become the first state network to sever ties with PBS.

The Alabama commission last month discussed the possibility of dropping PBS and is expected to discuss the matter again its Nov. 18 meeting.

The possibility comes after President Donald Trump and Congress in July withdrew funding for the nonprofit The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides grants to public radio and television, and as some state commissioners accused PBS of being an unneeded expense or politically biased.

“We have to figure out what our options are,” said Ferris W. Stephens, the chairman of the commission. “Before we decide those things, I just think we need a lot more information.” Stephens said he does not expect a vote at the November meeting.

Alabama Public Television Executive Director Wayne Reid said some commissioners asked him to research the possibility and ramifications of ending the contract with PBS. Ending the affiliation would cause APT to lose access to popular programs such as “Sesame Street” and “PBS NewsHour”, as well as its ability to distribute content on streaming platforms. Reid said the state network would have to buy other programming to replace it.

“If we cut ties, all of that would be gone. Right now, we’re doing a ton of research. Everybody here is working on what it would take to replace the things that are affected by PBS,” Reid said.

Reid said he was also asked to research if they could keep PBS but drop the news programs “PBS NewsHour” and “Washington Week.” Reid said the decision ultimately belongs to the commission.

No other statewide network has cut ties with PBS to date, a spokesperson for PBS confirmed.

The possibility prompted a backlash from Alabama public television viewers and donors.

Jennifer Greer, a retired writer and educator, is one of the volunteers helping to mount a postcard campaign to urge the state to keep the PBS affiliation. Preschoolers, students and adults across the state benefit each day from PBS programs, she said.

“When you take one of the most effective tools in the public education toolkit, and you defund it and you make it so only the wealthy can afford it, that’s just irresponsible. That’s a step backward,” Greer said.

Petitions and posts were shared across social media urging people to “Save PBS for Alabama Children” urging people to attend the upcoming meeting.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting provided about $2.8 million for Alabama Public Television although the money is not directly used to purchase PBS programming. Alabama Public Television pays about $2.2 million to purchase PBS programming. The amount was discounted after the federal funding cut.

Greer and others said they are concerned that dropping PBS would put Alabama Public Television in a downward financial spiral. Public media gets a substantial part of its funding from memberships and donations. “If we separate from PBS, our contributions are going to plummet, and that could jeopardize the stability of the whole operation,” she said.

Commissioners were divided at an Oct. 28 meeting, according to the Alabama Reflector and al.com.

“I just, I don’t want to fund it, PBS has made themselves the enemy of what I stand with, and so I do not like them, and I don’t follow the philosophy of feeding the beast,” commission member Les Barnett said during the meeting according to the Alabama Reflector. Barnett did not return an email from The Associated Press.

J. Holland, another commission member, said he is interested in exploring if the state can begin buying PBS programming on an a la carte basis, picking some shows but not others. The current PBS contract does not allow that.

Pete Conroy, another commission member, said they should keep PBS. He said he is concerned that some commissioners are “acting politically.”

“I know how much PBS programming is used in our public schools, private schools and churches. It’s always about the kids. These children need to be lifted up with this kind of programming,” Conroy said.

FILE - Arthur the Aardvark waves on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 16, 2011, during a news conference to discuss the future of public broadcasting. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg, File)

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivian law enforcement officials on Wednesday arrested former President Luis Arce as part of a corruption investigation, opening an uncertain chapter in the country's politics a month after the inauguration of conservative President Rodrigo Paz ended 20 years of socialist rule.

A senior official in Paz's government, Marco Antonio Oviedo, told reporters that Arce had been arrested on five charges related to the alleged embezzlement of public funds during his stint as economy minister in the government of his erstwhile ally and predecessor, former leader Evo Morales. The anti-corruption unit - a special police force dedicated to fighting corruption - confirmed to The Associated Press that Arce was in their custody.

Oviedo described Arce's arrest as proof of the new government's commitment to fighting graft at the highest levels in fulfillment of its flagship campaign promise.

“It is the decision of this government to fight corruption, and we will arrest all those responsible for this massive embezzlement,” Oviedo said, accusing Arce and other officials of diverting an estimated $700 million from a state-run fund dedicated to supporting the Indigenous people and peasant farmers who formed the backbone of Morales' Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party.

He added: “Arce was identified as the main person responsible for this massive economic damage,” Bolivia's attorney general, Roger Mariaca Montenegro, told local media that Arce had invoked his right to remain silent during police questioning.

Arce's key ally and former government minister, Maria Nela Prada, insisted on the ex-president's innocence and denounced the corruption scandal as a case of political persecution.

Paz’s government denied that, portraying anti-corruption efforts as a key part of its agenda. Paz swept to victory on a wave of popular outrage over Bolivia’s worst economic crisis in four decades while his straight-talking vice president, Edman Lara, drew a massive following through his backstory as a former police captain who was fired from the force after denouncing corruption on social media.

Far from being a neutral arbiter, the courts in Bolivia have been seen — especially in the country’s past few politically volatile years — as a prize to control by both the left and the right.

Morales became the country’s first Indigenous president in 2006 and governed for 14 years before his 2019 ouster in the wake of mass protests over his disputed re-election to a fourth term.

A divisive right-wing interim government took over and swiftly issued arrest warrants for Morales and his officials, accusing Morales of terrorism and Arce of corruption, among other charges.

But the tables turned in the country's 2020 elections that brought Arce to power. He went on to pursue his political rivals, arresting and ultimately sentencing former interim president Jeanine Añez to 10 years in prison on charges of sedition.

With the pendulum now swinging back to the right under Paz, key opposition leaders including Añez have been released from prison pending further trial.

Celebrating Arce's arrest on social media, Lara vowed that this marked the first of many efforts to prosecute former officials for alleged corruption.

“Those who have stolen from this country will return every last cent,” Lara said, ending his video by wishing “death to the corrupt.”

DeBre reported from Santiago, Chile

FILE - Bolivia's President Luis Arce listens to questions during a press conference at the presidential palace in La Paz, Bolivia, Aug. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)