Washington State Educational Television Commission

The Washington State Educational Television Commission was created by the executive order of Gov. Albert Rosellini on 18 May 1962. The Commission was established in response to the passage of the Educational Television Facilities Act on 1 May 1962 by the U.S. Congress. The Congressional act made available thirty-two million dollars in matching funds to be distributed over a five-year period. The funds were designated for the establishment of new public broadcasting stations and the extension of existing public broadcasting systems. The new Washington State Educational Television Commission's primary purpose was to help public broadcasting organizations qualify for the newly available form of federal funding. The Commission reviewed grant applications made by Washington's non-commercial broadcasting stations and advised the U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare on the allocation of the state's share of the federal matching funds. Several million dollars in federal public broadcasting grants were awarded within the state during the eighteen-year existence of the Commission. While the Commission never originated a grant request, it did play a coordinating role in helping to obtain these funds. Throughout the life of the Commission its original goal remained the same: to expand public television coverage to reach all residents of the state efficiently, to avoid duplication of programming, and to maintain a focus on instructional broadcasts. Additional goals of the Commission were the extension of its authority over public broadcasting stations and the legislative approval of state tax-funded support of public broadcasting. The Commission was never successful in achieving either of these additional goals. It remained an advisory body with no regulatory power or funding authority. The responsibility of the Commission was broadened in 1969 to include educational radio. A plan for educational radio was adopted in 1970 and updated in 1974 and 1976. In 1975, the Commission accepted responsibility for screening cable television system applications to ensure that exemption from F.C.C. requirements that public broadcasting programs be carried that were not requested. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s the primary activity of the Commission remained the review of federal grant applications. The Commission also took part in and initiated a number of studies of technical, financial, programming, and funding aspects of public broadcasting and telecommunications. The primary thrust of the Commission from the mid-1970s was to create a full-time authority responsible for public broadcasting in the state that would replace the Commission. Legislation was introduced during the 1977 legislative session to achieve this goal, but it failed. The Commission, expecting to be replaced, had not requested a budget appropriation to meet its operating expenses beyond 1977. The failure of the 1977 bill left the Commission without funds to operate. This problem further decreased the effectiveness of the Commission. The number of Commission meetings were reduced and attendance by the Commissioners became less regular. The Commission's primary function of grant application review suffered as a result. To attempt to resolve these problems the 1977 legislation was revised and reintroduced during the 1979 session of the legislature. On 29 March 1980, the bill was approved by the legislature. The Educational Television Commission was abolished effective 12 June 1980, and replaced by the Public Broadcasting Commission led by a full-time executive director.

From the description of Records of the Washington State Educational Television Commission, 1961-1980. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 154690415