July 23rd, 2009 
joel Blazing headline in the front page of the Erie Times-News this morning: Cable loss a threat to WQLN. Online reporter Mike Maciag, quotes WQLN Public Media President Dwight Miller that if Rogers Cable in London, Ontario drops the Q in favor of a Detroit PBS station, it would put a 20% dent in the public station’s donation base.
Rogers is complaining about the quality of the WQLN digital signal, which is received over the air. The Detroit station comes in on a cable evidently from Windsor. The cost of getting a fiber-optic signal from Erie to the Rogers headend would be costly.
Meanwhile QLN is dealing with the loss of $800K from state funding, Miller said to the paper that this could be the last straw, forcing the station to cancel all local programming or even merge with another PBS entity. More layoffs would be inevitable.
How much more bad news can a non-profit take?
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I’m very sorry to hear about the problems that are happening at WQLN. The station has a rich, local heritage and it would be a shame if the station had to merge with another PBS station.
Many questions: If WQLN has no choice to merge with another PBS station, which market would it be in? Buffalo? Cleveland? or Pittsburgh? and would the FCC allow that to happen?
If the FCC allowed WQLN to merge with an out of town station would they allow a commercial station (12/35, 24/66) to do the same? I know it will never happen but the thought did cross my mind, so I thought I would just play devils advocate.
With all the recent troubles they have had, I wonder if WQLN feels like Rodney Dangerfield? They just can’t get any respect!
My bet is that they’d merge with the State College PBS station since, if I understand it correctly, they’re the oines calling the programming shots for QLN now.
My question is where would that leave WQLN-FM?
Thanks Jim, I never considered State College. That would be the logical choice.
I would hope WQLN-FM would continue? I have to get my NPR fix!
Why not used some of the leftover restricted gaming funds to help WQLN? Clearly it is a community asset and, given the current funding crunch, WQLN is in need of assistance. Let’s hope that the people in charge give it some consideration.
Only when Q and PBS balance their national news and public affairs programming should they get another dime of public funding.