Retired station manager responds to challenge from ValleyPBS chief critics – GVwire

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Phyllis Brotherton, longtime Executive Vice President and CFO of ValleyPBS who retired from the station in 2018, provided GV Wire on Friday with the following response to comments made by interim CEO Jeff Aiello during the meeting of the board of directors on Wednesday on the criticisms leveled recently against the board of directors and station. Brotherton’s opinion piece came out in May on the same day the ValleyPBS board of directors announced Aiello’s appointment.

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Phyllis Brotherton (via Twitter)

Mr. Aiellos’ emotionally charged reactions to criticism, referring to a series of recent Op Ed articles in the media, including mine, are understandable. I would be excited too. Unfortunately, what’s annoying about a public entity like ValleyPBS is that it is, well, public, subject to questions and concerns that are raised periodically, even though it may be misinformed. I had a huge plastic Chill Pill on my desk at the station. Obviously, I should have offered it to Mr. Aiello.

I agree with Mr. Aiello that ValleyPBS seems to be in good shape at the moment. Since diving into the station’s financial data on the website and other research, in my opinion this is largely due to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Federal Government’s pandemic-related payments of over $ 1.2 million. of dollars over the past two years, which is great news. The question becomes: can the new business model, by placing more emphasis on local production, sustain and develop the station in the future, without windfall. I sincerely hope this will be the case, while continuing to serve the needs of the diverse community that the station serves.

Mr. Aiello has vigorously defended the station’s agricultural programming mentioned in an Op Ed article. There is no doubt that agribusiness plays an important role in the economy of the region and for the station, given significant donor funding for these programs. It is sometimes a harsh reality for nonprofits to follow the money, regardless of the funding opportunity, but there are also a lot of times when the main mission has to trump the money, undoubtedly a delicate balance. In a perfect world, the surplus derived from such programming fuels the coffers to enable increased services to low-income and underserved communities. The 2021/22 budget, presented at the recent public board meeting, does not appear to support this perfect world theory, as the net surplus after expenses of production activities appears to be very small; however, it is encouraging to hear that Mr. Aiello also intends to add local programs focused on other community sectors.

Mr. Aiello, a talented cinematographer, and the chairman of the board of ValleyPBS, a very successful businesswoman, called for less sneer (did I chuckle?) And an invitation to help. Do they really want our help or do they just want to silence our voices? (A rhetorical question that does not require an answer.)

The combined experience of ValleyPBS and the dedicated involvement of Op Ed writers Colin Dougherty, Doug Morris and myself, spans seventy years. Our legacy, which Mr. Aiello seems to believe is in danger of being eroded, though far from perfect, will remain strong and firmly in place, and our passion and publicly expressed concern for the station, though annoying and intrusive, will not is not without merit. .

It is now up to them to preach the word in the community.

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