LIMA — About 200 people gathered at Rhodes State College on Monday night to express their opinions about the potential sale of WBGU.
The forum, hosted by the Public Broadcasting Service station’s owner Bowling Green State University, was the second of four expected on the topic, and followed one last week in Findlay. Two more will be hosted at BGSU on Aug. 10 and Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. in 101 Olscamp Hall.
More than 30 attendees spoke out about the upcoming Federal Communications Commission auction and asked questions of university representatives, including President Mary Ellen Mazey, who said during the forum that she values public television, too.
BGSU’s options are to participate and sell their part of the spectrum, thus making the station go dark; to not sell and keep the station as it is; to sell and ask the FCC to move WBGU to VHF channels; or to sell and find a partner to share a channel with.
“What we’re asking is for them to remove the option off the table that would just let the university turn it in and take WBGU off the air,” said Bart Mills, a Lima resident and supporter of the station, at a meeting of supporters before the forum, adding that supporters could “live with” the other three options.
The auction, called the FCC Broadcast Spectrum Incentive Auction, is being hosted to potentially offer more of the UHF spectrum for smartphone, tablet and other mobile use. BGSU could potentially get $40 million for its part of the spectrum.
“I can’t stress enough that no decision has been made,” said BGSU Communications Director David Kielmeyer at the beginning of the forum. “We’re here to hear from you tonight.”
Stories of the station’s impact varied, one woman told of a BGSU alumnus who graduated with an Emmy award due to his work at the station, another of how the community as a whole is impacted by the station and still more of the children and adults who enjoy the programming it provides.
“If it’s not available to the children of the future, that’s going to be a loss,” said attendee Amanda Reynolds.
Londell Smith, of Lima, said he was part of the generation that grew up watching WBGU and that it “helped shape our values, morals and integrity.”
Bill Tyson, of Bluffton, said the station is “worth more than any number we can put on it.”
The forums are part of the decision-making process for the university, but it is also waiting for the final auction rules from the FCC, expected later this fall, according to a release from BGSU.
“We are carefully weighing the impact of each potential option on the broader community and the University’s mission,” Kielmeyer said, in a statement. “President Mary Ellen Mazey and members of our board of Trustees are keenly interested in the thoughts and feedback of WBGU-TV’s members, its viewers, and the public.”
The university board of trustees will make a decision at its next meeting in September if the FCC releases final auction information, Kielmeyer said.
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