WLRN protests pubcasting cuts by ending state-funded legislative coverage

WLRN in Miami is dropping use of the Florida Public Radio Network in protest of Gov. Rick Scott's decision to end all funding to public broadcasters in the state — except to WFSU, which will still receive $1.8 million for the legislative-focused Florida Channel. John LaBonia, g.m. of WLRN, says the station will instead report on the state government by joining the combined bureau in Tallahassee created by the St. Petersburg Times and Miami Herald.

"The governor zeroed out public broadcasting because he's calling it a special interest," LaBonia told the Times. "When you single out one station and give to it but nobody else, that's the definition of a special interest."