As President of Central Wyoming College, the license holder for Wyoming PBS, I want to clarify a few key points.
First, Wyoming PBS is an amazing and important institution facing a serious financial threat largely due to a misconception that it is the same as the separate entity of the national PBS.
Wyoming PBS contractually carries their content but is a fully independent institution, rooted in our communities and guided by its own leadership, board, and mission.
Wyoming PBS CEO Joanna Kail does not report to PBS. She leads Wyoming PBS in service to the people of Wyoming with integrity and a strong commitment to local storytelling, education, and public service.
Wyoming PBS does not produce news commentary nor does it report on national politics. The content it produces is politically agnostic.
Wyoming PBS, through Ms. Kail, does not direct national PBS programming, nor can it opt in or out of content like a cable provider might. Instead, it contracts with the national PBS, a separate organization, for an unnecessarily rigid set slate of informational and entertainment programming.
Wyoming PBS has expressed interest in seeing more inclusive programmatic variety, because Wyoming clearly has a different social and political makeup than many urban areas. This is not simply about political coverage. It is about representation.
States like ours would benefit from more stories about agriculture, rural life, and small town communities, rather than programming that primarily reflects urban perspectives.
Wyoming PBS locally produces exceptional programming that speaks to the unique needs of our state. We care deeply about the station’s future and its continued service to Wyoming.
From productions like The Glaciers of the Winds to public affairs programs like Wyoming Chronicle, Wyoming PBS demonstrates this every day.
Also, it delivers live-streaming of legislative committee meetings.
Just recently, Wyoming PBS received three Heartland Emmy Awards for its locally produced programs, further demonstrating the quality and impact of the station’s work.
Wyoming PBS not only tells our stories but also provides the much needed glue to Wyoming’s ongoing civic conversations.
Wyoming PBS also plays a critical role in public safety.
As Wyoming’s statewide broadcaster, it serves as a primary source of emergency alerts, delivering timely warnings about wildfires, flooding, Amber and Ashanti alerts, and other urgent public safety information, especially in areas where other communication infrastructure may be limited.
I do not think it is unreasonable for Ms. Kail to ask the national PBS to listen more closely to a greater audience of rural and diverse voices and to consider expanding its programming slate, or at the very least, to study these needs in good faith.
PBS’s brand impacts the Wyoming PBS brand.
If some viewers judge all of PBS, and by extension Wyoming PBS, as biased, based on how they perceive a single program such as PBS NewsHour, which I happen to enjoy, then PBS must acknowledge that reality and do the extra work of ensuring broad public trust - without sacrificing journalistic integrity.
This issue is not isolated to Wyoming; rural stations are facing these same concerns nationwide.
Not attending to, or failing to say clearly, that it is willing to incorporate a more inclusive rural and middle-America perspective has placed stations like Wyoming PBS at existential risk. Let’s not throw out the baby with the ideological bathwater. Let’s find solutions.
This is not an “us versus them” situation; this is about all of us and our beloved Wyoming PBS.
Central Wyoming College is proud to support Wyoming PBS and its outstanding staff.
We are committed to transparency, accountability, and the continued success of this essential public service to all of Wyoming.
Dr. Brad Tyndall, President
Central Wyoming College
