Despite this week's vote by Congress to roll back $1.1 billion in previously appropriated funding for public broadcasting, President and CEO Rick Schneider says Maine Public will continue to serve as the backbone of the state's emergency alert system.
Maine Public partners with the Maine Emergency Management Agency to distribute alerts to the public. Those messages are generated from the National Weather Service, or sometimes the Maine State Police.
Schneider said the $2.5 million that Maine Public received from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting each year primarily paid for the cost of maintaining 21 radio transmitters, five full-power television transmitters and three television translators across the state.
"We have a big hole to fill. We'll find other ways to fill it," he said. "But emergency alerting is not going to go away."
Commercial broadcasters also pick up emergency alerts from the Maine Public network, distributing them to their own audiences. And Maine Public transmitters help carry signals that distribute emergency alerts directly to people's cell phones, Schneider said.
Since Thursday night's vote in the U.S. House, Schneider said Maine Public has received an outpouring of calls and messages from listeners, asking what they can do to help.
"Really the way to help is to support your local station, whether you're here in Maine or wherever you are," he said. "Supporting your local public radio and public television station is how you can ensure this service is possible."
