By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | S.C. Educational Television (SCETV) has backed off an exploratory leadership proposal to lease space in its Columbia studio to a private broadcaster following pushback by staff.
The proposal to generate new revenue comes two years after a former board chairman and two others resigned after months of drama to try to get more money from SCETV’s nonprofit endowment that has pumped millions of dollars into the network to ensure South Carolinians get high-quality public programming.
This week, sources said the agency’s news and content staff members were edgy about a potential deal with WOLO-TV, an ABC affiliate, because it would put a news competitor in the same building with the public broadcaster. Additionally, they said the deal could threaten state funding if state lawmakers withheld money in the future.
Deal shared with staff
SCETV President and CEO Anthony Padgett announced the proposal to staff in a long Sept. 3 email that outlined what could happen in the short-term and long-term:
Short-term facility rental: “This appears to be an appropriate revenue-generating opportunity for SCETV. We will continue our conversations and are evaluating this opportunity with the hope of making a final determination in the next few days. If the short-term rental proves to be feasible and beneficial, we expect the WOLO team will begin using the studio on or about October 1,” the email said.
Long-term facility rental: “Exploratory conversations are also taking place around the WOLO team occupying space in the building on a long-term basis. At this time, these are preliminary conversations; nothing around this topic has been finalized.”
As of Wednesday morning, the state agency that provides fiscal oversight, such as approving leasing deals, did not know about the proposal, according to Grant Gillespie, executive director of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority (SFAA).
“I have not heard of this to date and to my knowledge, there are no plans to discuss today” at the authority’s Sept. 8 board meeting, he said.
Proposal called off
Late Wednesday, Padgett, through an agency spokesman, said the deal was off: “This has been a recent exploratory conversation, as we explained in the email to staff. Based on our review of the situation, including staff feedback, we will not be proceeding in this direction.”
When asked about keeping SFAA or the state Department of Administration in the loop, Padgett said, “We have been consulting with and following guidance from the Department of Administration throughout this exploratory process. Had there been a decision to move forward, we would have navigated the appropriate approval processes with state entities.”
SCETV commissioners reportedly also did not know about the proposal for WOLO to move into the agency’s space.
“We have kept our Commission Chairman informed of the conversations taking place as we explored this opportunity,” Padgett said. “This was intended to be a topic for discussion at the upcoming Commission meeting. Again, this was an exploratory conversation, and we would not have proceeded before discussing with our full Commission.
Finally, when asked about why there was a need to rent space to a private broadcaster, Padgett explained, “We were approached by a local broadcaster about the potential for renting space in our facility — an opportunity which held the potential to benefit our agency and create additional industry-specific partnerships. If another state agency (or another entity) would have approached us, we would have explored that opportunity as well. We will always explore opportunities that present a potential benefit or allow us to maximize the use and effectiveness of state resources.”
Jeff West, vice president and general manager of WOLO, said Thursday that the station’s lease of office space in a building across from the Statehouse was finished in six months. When asked where its news team would go after then, he said, “You’ll just have to stay tuned and see. That’s all I’ve got to say about it.”
- First published in the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to feedback@statehousereport.com
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!