WSRE lays off five staffers, drops "Lawrence Welk Show" due to state cuts

The fallout from Florida Gov. Rick Scott's decision to end all state funding to public broadcasters continues. Five positions have been eliminated from WSRE's full-time state of 27, the Pensacola State College station said in a statement online. Some local productions will go on hiatus pending future funding. And the station is dropping what it calls a "longtime favorite" program, The Lawrence Welk Show, to help reduce programming costs. “The difficult decision to cancel programs and eliminate the jobs of valued WSRE employees was made after an exhaustive review of our entire organization, and with the greatest reluctance,” said G.M. Sandy Cesaretti Ray in the statement.