Penn State pubcasting loses employees in university cutbacks

The equivalent of nine full-time positions at Penn State Public Broadcasting are being eliminated in a realignment due to larger university cutbacks. WPSU General Manager Ted Krichels told the Centre Daily Times in a story today (June 22) that the $2 million budget reduction to the school's Outreach unit means a drop in the station's budget of about $500,000. “Having to eliminate their jobs is painful,” Krichels said. “It’s painful for our organization. ... At the same time, we have a very strong staff and a lot of ambitions about creating more content and programming.”

In a press release, the station said the staff reductions affected about 10 percent of total employees. But while the overall staff number is down, three new positions will focus on public service media project development, project management and new media production. "We have to streamline, and we have to reengineer our business to meet evolving demands," Krichels said in the statement.