"k k ☆ Channel 45, WTCl-TV, Turning ToPriyate Sector for Funding By Davc.Flcssner TIismBiuImim Writer '* • Ronald McDonald, Mr, Whipple and other television commerciarcharacters may never appear on WTCI-TV, but Channel 45 viewers will likely see more announcements from corporate spon sors in the future, as the Chattanooga public. TV station turns tb the', private sector tj> make up fob planned cutbacks In government funding.' Since WTCI first went-on the air a decade ago, the PBS -affiliate has de rived nearly all of ; its budget from the state Board of Education and the feder al Corporation for Public,Broadcasting (CPB). But plannod< reductions In the CPB budget and recent changes in* the state’s allocation of educational TV funds are forcing dhe state-owned sta tion to seek viewer contributions arid business! and foundation grants to'main tain existing programs. “By 1985, we projett that 47 percent of our budget .will .have. to. come .from pr.iYate, local sources,” said WTCI gen eral manager Walter Alley. • The Tennessee General Assembly cleared the way for WTCI and three oth er public television stations ,ln Tennqs- ,‘sce to sollcit private donations last year by approving legislation enabling state- owned public television to become com- , munity owned. In the’next three years, a recently formed,citizen? advisory group r- the Greater ChatUnooga~"Publlc Television Organisation will assumo WTCI’s license from the state education board-and wilt be responsible for . tho • station’s operations*. • “We hope to go before the state board (of .cducatioq) in the next month with our proposed charter and bylaws,” said Nancy Hale, chairman of the 30-mcm- ber panel.. The new local board will provide more community control oyer th^. sta*. tlon, Mrs. Hale said, but it will also shift more of the funding responsibility to the local level since the state's funding will now be distributed more evenly among Tennessee's six PBS affiliates. . Previously, stations In •Nashville and Memphis, received only limited state.fi- •' nancial support and most of the'public television money‘was divided between • Chattanooga and Knoxville. . However, the addition.of new PBS stations in Cookeville and Lexington, Torn, during the past two years, com bined with tho state's new allocation formula, “will mean that WTCI's state funding will go down'over the next few years even though 1 expect the total state contribution to public television will remain fairly oven," Alley said. -BuL- Lho__fclgg«t budget reduction -WTQI ond other public television sta tions will have to shoulder yrill come at the federal level, where more than half of CPB's current budget will’be slashed by 1985. The original federal appropria tion of f 172 million In lhe ; fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 has alrtady'been cut to $137 million and In the next three years that figure could dwindle to $85 million. Because WTCI's budget Is appropriat ed by the state legislature using federal funds from the previous fiscal year, WTCI has not yet experienced most of the recent cutback in federal financial support for public television. “But next year we will, so we're try ing to solicit private support now to at least maintain the programs we now have,” Alley said, “I don't feel like public TV bns ar.y right not lo be Included in the reduc tions being made In the federal budget,” U*e station manager said. “Cut' I'm afraid It's coming to*a point where sta tions in many communities, maybe even here in Chattanooga, won't be able to stand it and still Operate a public TV station.” „ Already, the popular Dick Cavctl show- has been Cancelled from ne'st years schedule and other programs, especially the most expensive which are not financed by private corpora lions. may also be cut out due to budget rcstr- "iejions. „ • ^Eventually;, a lot of programs will suffer asCPB has less money,to put inito its programmirigr^he saia. “I think you’re probably going'to^see fewer se ries produced.” Despite the reduced government-sup* • port for’ WTCI, however, Alley said he iS' “very optimistic" about the station’s fu- ture.' . “We’ve been very encouraged by the ^response we’Ve gotten, from; our view^ ers, even though our current "Festival ’82” fundraising campaign is still short of Its goal,” he said.- Organizers ‘ of ; tho - current 16-day pledge drive, .which ends-Sunday, ha<j hoped to sign up 3,000 Channel 45 mem bers (each of whom contributes at least $15) and collect $60,000 in donations. A similar call-in campaign last August Channel 45’s first such fundraising ef fort — netted tho station 1,100 new - members apd $27,000i **S^T6Lhas about a $700,000 budget tp support l£s"27;j)erson. staff. ( arid its".na tional and local programs./;•"\ '' i “We think we have a)0t of,support ip the grass roots of this comnpinlty," Al ley said. Continued From Cl open its probe into the incident in hopes that the. sworn, testimony to. be given in thr upcoming trial will produce,more information; ; . ‘‘S ‘ _’’ Kennedy declined to reveal tho names of] the “persons .who., lipve given infor- .matloh” in the internal affairs probe. ■ .' Asked if ‘those-persons feared phys- icsl harm from police officers Involved , In /U»8 probe, - Kennedy. Areplted, ”1 wouldn’t say either way,;I .wquld just say- Uyit. the. individual, or* individuals,' whether its tnnS’or not, certainly feels like they would be ai.least ln physical jeopardy.” Naiped defendants in Uie suit are the city, Smart., and Chattanooga police off icers Michael Carraher,-Randy .Wayne Dockery James.Luthqr Wilbanks Jr., Allen Cradc\l‘Chance,, and “other un- Students named Chattanooga city police offic- ers.“ •; In asking for dismissal of Smart, tho city noted he ,was not even at the scene of the incident which occured when Cok er and Ledfordwere arrested‘with ex plosives in the ^Whitehall Road areajrn July 26,198$. Ledford'was acqulted. on tho explosives 'charges but Coker.’ was convicted: i ‘ • j On Jan. 18 Coker was convicted of two counts of federal charges of posses sing firearms after being .convicted, of ft felony. * • The City- has declined to pay legal fees of officers named in Coker* anii Ledford's civil rights suits. City‘Attor ney Gene Collins said, however’, that tho city will pay reasonable attorneys feos of any officers that do not loso the civil case. I i • Continued From Cl Chattanooga State Technical,Communi ty College. , , • The board also cut or consolidated several programs at jti colleges pnd universities. Among those?terminated were the-assoc late of science degree for occupational therapy assistant and cer tificate programs in construction super vision and occupational safety- and health at CSTCC. Chancellor Roy Nicks termed the board's program of monitoring courses a significant step toward eliminating “duplication of programs and low pro ducing programs.” The board approved a program begun at Tennessee Tech to train professors in. courses with little demand to teach In study areas with a shortage of faculty. Nicks called It “an early start to a trend that wilt spread across the country." Other Items approved by the board In cluded authorization for Nicks to work with the governor to appoint a search committee to find a president for Shel by State Community College;-naming the basketball arena at Middle Tennes see State University for the late Monte Hale, sports broadcaster for the univer sity for 20 years; changed relirment po licies so university personnel will be covered without a previous 10-ycar waiting period; established guidelines for student use of computers at Middle Tennessee Slate and referred an appeal by n.".t Tcr.r.ccrco State phy?ie»l ©dila tion instructor Jean Frazier for tenure staiu3.to Nicks, who had denied tenure previously. * * • The bqard heard a report prepared at Memphis State University that universi ties and colleges In the system generate more than - $1.1 billion in- business throughout the stater The'report showed that $437 million of that amount repre sented expenditures by students, faculty and institutions in their local codritics.’. Board Chairman David White said he would like to see figures comparing tho- state's higher education system with (fie amount of money .generated by indus tries. / * ^ “Edcualton is an enormous cconorrftb base” for the state. White said. z While and Nicks urged college offi cials to contact their local state legisla tors to support capital outlay requests from the board. Current legislation, Nicks said, would eliminate plans for several new buildings and delay plans to renovate others. “I think there is still some hope (o gel some of these (capital outlay, projects) funded if you work with the legislators • in your region,” White told officials at tending the meeting. “To delay ret£ ovation Is a false economy.” The board's meeting was held ft Cleveland Slate Community College. The board regularly meets at one of tf5e 10 Junior colleges or six universities tri Reapportionment Jtieview Could Conclude in April Tl» Prm MONTGOMERY, Ala. -.The US. Justire Department's review of the Ala bama Legtsla lure's reapportionmenl plan could endin April — three months, before candidates must qualify to ran in the new legislative districts. i State Rep. Ride Manley of Demopolis and four other legislators who worked