Thursday, May 22, 2003 - Page updated at 12:00 a.m.
 

Burnie Clark What's next for Seattle's troubled public-TV station? The president of Seattle's public-television station abruptly announced his retirement April 17, noting "others may not believe I'm the one to lead the station" through its profound financial problems. [April 18, 2003]

	MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES Nickolas Vassily tells the KCTS Board that they should all resign during an emotional public meeting at the station April 25. The station has piled up millions in operating deficits and owes more than $2.8 million to the Public Broadcasting System.

KCTS-TV board gets an earful
Nearly 70 people jammed a quarterly meeting yesterday, demanding vibrant local programs, a board reflecting the community and an end to concealing problems. The board also decided to bring in an outsider to run the station temporarily. [April 25, 2003]

DOCUMENTS ·  E-mail from Burnill Clark to board members, April 2003 [207K PDF] ·  KCTS rental agreement, March 2003 [416K PDF] ·  Excerpt from KCTS budget review by Andersen Consulting [351K PDF] ·  KCTS Consolidated Statement of Financial Position, June 2002 [207K PDF] ·  Letter to the KCTS board from "A Concerned Employee," January 2001 [84K PDF] ·  Timeline: The changing fortunes of KCTS [1.2MB PDF]

KCTS board to consider station chief's early exit
The board of Seattle's financially troubled public-television station will decide in a closed session today whether president Burnie Clark will leave within weeks. [April 24, 2003]

Watching other stations might help KCTS recover
Seattle's public-television station is in crisis: deep debt, secretive management, a lack of creative vision and frayed local ties. But crisis also can foster reinvention and revival. [April 20, 2003]

Readers' comments about KCTS
A sampling of readers' opinions about what they want from a public television station and what the KCTS board of directors should do next. [April 20, 2003]

Mike Fancher / Times executive editor
Investigative team already had its eye on troubles at KCTS
KCTS-TV: Who needs it? Seattle Times TV critic Kay McFadden posed the provocative question in a 1999 column. [April 20, 2003]

KCTS Board of Directors
KCTS is governed by an unpaid board of directors who have a fiduciary duty to oversee the station. The board also is charged with representing the public interest. [April 18, 2003]

How public TV works
Congress created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 1967 with a purpose: to be "educational, innovative, locally relevant and reflective of America's common values and cultural diversity." [April 18, 2003]