Salary and funding woes hit WLIU's new owner

Peconic Public Broadcasting, the new owner of WLIU 88.3 in Southampton, N.Y., could not pay most employees this month. And despite an impressive list of supporters for the station, large donations previously promised have not yet materialized, reports the Southampton Press. Station manager Wally Smith said Peconic didn't expect to have to cover payroll this month as per its transfer agreement with former owner Long Island University. Smith expects the station will meet full payroll for its 13-person staff after the new year. “There’s nothing unusual about the fact that there are rough patches,” Smith told the paper, which referred to the "complicated transfer of the station" that is expected to be completed in early January. As for the hefty anticipated donations, "we had couple of disappointments," Smith admits. "Some [gifts] didn’t come through at the level we anticipated based on the suggestions we had gotten from supporters.” He also says he's confident things will work out.