WABE Calls for GPB Deal for WRAS to Change or End

Unhappiness over changes in the Atlanta public radio world went public yesterday, as WABE's board chairman took a swipe at Georgia Public Broadcasting and its agreement to take over WRAS.

WABE board Chairman Dr. Louis Sullivan slammed the change in a letter posted to the station's website, calling the change "bad public policy—fiscally, substantively, and procedurally" and said it needed to be changed or stopped.

Sullivan wrote:

"At its essence, this agreement involves GPB spending Georgia tax dollars to duplicate a public broadcasting service being provided by Public Broadcasting Atlanta (PBA), which operates radio station WABE to the metropolitan Atlanta listening audience since 1971.  In the process, the broadcast voice at WRAS—a valuable, well-regarded GSU student-run radio station with its diverse programming—is being silenced.

"GPB has announced its plans to broadcast on WRAS two widely listened to National Public Radio (NPR) shows, Morning Edition and All Things Considered, at exactly the same time that WABE airs these programs.  This is an unwarranted duplication of service.  It is a waste of Georgia’s tax dollars that could be better allocated elsewhere."

See the full text of Sullivan's letter.

Decaturish.com reports on the issue