Eyeing 'painful' cuts ahead, Maine pubcasters convene town hall meeting

The Maine Public Broadcasting Network, which provides public television and radio services to the state, closed last fiscal year with a $2 million deficit and is convening town hall meetings to gather public input about its future. Cuts in state funding, reductions in federal aid from CPB and declining member contributions have taken a toll on the state network's bottom line, according to this news account of last night's public forum. MPBN President Jim Dowe told attendees that it's premature to talk about staff or programming cuts, but "MPBN will cut wherever necessary and some of it will be 'painful,'" the Morning Sentinel reported.