Fresno’s public television short-changes viewers on important news for farming shows

While viewing the PBS broadcast of the July 21 hearing of the Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the United States Capitol, my wife Cheryl and I were stunned to see our local public television affiliate, KVPT Channel 18, cut away during crucial testimony.

In its stead, the station inserted a program it has likely aired dozens of times previously.

It should go without saying that the broadcasts of these hearings may be some of the most important ever in our nation’s history. Certainly, with the amount of apparent local confusion regarding the nature of the insurrection, and especially its genesis, our local audiences need to have as much opportunity as possible to learn the truth about this dark day. Cutting away from such broadcasts should only occur for reporting on an even more dire emergency. Anything less is at best, inexcusable.

(We sent an email to the address listed for the station’s CEO, Jeff Aiello, requesting an explanation for this unfortunate programming decision. As of this writing, we have yet to receive acknowledgment, or response.)

We realize this one incident may not necessarily be indicative of the station’s commitment to important programming, but in communicating our concern to friends, and to a member of the station’s community advisory board, we’ve learned there have been ongoing concerns about KVPT’s management and programming. From these discussions and further research, we’ve also learned the station’s governing board is dominated by agricultural and other business interests, and that its community advisory board rarely convenes for lack of quorum.

The agricultural industry is a powerful, but unrepresentative, minority in “el Valle Central de San Joaquín.” The industry’s primary interest appears to be making the case that all of California’s water, from the Sierra Nevada, to the rivers of the north, and even to the rivers of the sky, belong to agriculture, almost exclusively. While there are many other opinions regarding California water, Ch. 18 appears to be subservient to one — corporate agriculture’s.

This almost singular focus exists on Ch. 18’s programming to the near exclusion of the amazing diversity of cultural, artistic, musical, educational, news and opinion experiences and opportunities that are readily available in the central San Joaquín Valley.

This most certainly is not what President Lyndon Johnson set out to create when he signed into law on Nov. 7, 1967, the creation of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which led to the subsequent creation of PBS, the parent and patron saint of Ch. 18:

“At its best, public television would help make our nation a replica of the old Greek marketplace, where public affairs took place in view of all the citizens. But in weak or even in irresponsible hands, it could generate controversy without understanding; it could mislead as well as teach; it could appeal to passions, rather than to reason. If public television is to fulfill our hopes, then the corporation must be representative, it must be responsible — and it must be long on enlightened leadership.”

We are respectfully asking Ch. 18’s management to open their minds and hearts to the bountiful and beautiful diversity of news, opinion, arts, entertainment and education that exist here in the San Joaquín Valley. We certainly hope they will not interfere with future PBS broadcasts of the vitally important investigations by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.