WEAR-TV’s Hannah James reports that the Pensacola State College’s Board of Trustees made a significant decision Tuesday night that will reshape the institution’s media operations.
Trustees voted to end WSRE’s 53-year affiliation with Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) and decertify its relationships with the public television station that has served Northwest Florida since 1972. The lone vote against the change was Vice Chair Andy Hobbs.
Hobbs’ Vote
Escambia County Chief DeAndy Hobbs voted against Pensacola State College cutting ties with WSRE-TV and PBS for several key reasons. Having grown up relying on PBS as his only television option besides one local channel, Hobbs shared in a phone interview his personal connection to the programming that helped shape his childhood.
He told the PSC board before the vote: “When I grew up, I didn’t have cable, I didn’t have a satellite. We had Channel 3, and we had PBS. I grew up with Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, and similar shows. And I said, ‘I think I turned out pretty okay.’”
He was encouraged by WSRE’s successful fundraising efforts, noting they had raised $300,000 in August and believed they could continue generating necessary funds. “My question was if they could run, raise $300,000 a month, that would be $3.6 million, which should be more than what we need to fund the WSRE with PBS.”
Hobbs added, “I thought that with the hard work WSRE Foundation had been doing and raising already $300,000, that 57 years of history deserved a little longer, a little more chance to survive.”
History Made
The PSC becomes the first Florida college to terminate its affiliation with PBS and decertify its relationship with its television station.
- The restructuring will eliminate half of WSRE’s 15 positions, with the remaining staff potentially absorbed into college operations. The station lost $1.5 million in federal and state funding this year, while Pensacola State contributes nearly $3 million annually in direct and indirect support.
Background: PBS is a nonprofit, private corporation funded by federal and state government grants (mainly via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting), viewer donations, dues from member stations, and support from foundations and corporations. It is well known for shows such as “Sesame Street,” “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” “NOVA,” “Frontline,” “PBS NewsHour,” and “Masterpiece.”
In May 2025, President Trump signed an executive order and legislation that directed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and other agencies to cease all federal funding for PBS and NPR. Gov. Ron DeSantis used his line-item veto to eliminate nearly $6 million in recurring state funding for public television and radio stations, affecting every PBS affiliate in Florida.
WSRE Foundation’s August pledge drive was the most successful pledge drive in the history of WSRE. The “I Love WSRE” campaign attracted over 400 new members, 431 renewed memberships, 175 people who previously let their memberships expire and decided to renew, and 188 current members who gave an additional gift to WSRE.
The foundation received 1,205 pledges, and of those, 1,081 were straight donations, without any pledge thank you gifts. In its board report, the foundation stated:
“We are pleased to announce that the August pledge drive (including donations) raised $225,000! “In a little over six weeks, all of our fundraising efforts – the August pledge drive, donations, direct mail responses, new WSRE Kids Club members, the WSRE Connect podcasting contract – we have raised approximately $305,000. Amazing!!!”
Termination Date
PBS programming will continue through June 2026 when the current budget expires. WSRE foundation leaders and Dr. Meadows plan to discuss transition strategies during Thursday’s foundation meeting. Read Hannah James’s report.
If you like our reporting, consider buying us a cup of coffee – here. Your donation will help broaden our reporting. Thank you.