Paula Kerger, President and CEO at PBS speaks at the executive session during the PBS Winter 2020 TCA Press Tour at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, in Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Public Broadcasting Service executives knew their day on the hot seat was coming for all of America to see. Since Republicans took control in January, the organization’s $553 million in funding this year from the federal government — as well as numerous other agencies — has been under the microscope.

Making the matter even more contentious was the questioning being done Wednesday by U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia during the House Oversight committee hearing she labeled as “Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the Heads of NPR and PBS Accountable.” Not to be confused with Sesame Street icon Oscar the Grouch, much of Greene’s comments were littered with criticism — calling both PBS and National Public Radio a vehicle for “propaganda” and other Republicans saying the networks offer a “communist agenda.”

According to the Associated Press, Greene said the systems “can hate us on your own dime,” echoing a sentiment from President Donald Trump. He also has been vocal for ending federal funding in what represents the most serious threat to the system in many years.

Though the broadcasting leaders acknowledged some mistakes — NPR chief Katharine Maher said they should have offered more coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop — they said the organization works hard to present viewpoints of all Americans.

“There’s nothing more American than PBS,” said Paula Kerger, the chief executive of PBS, according to The New York Times.

In Western New York and Warren County, Pa., there are four stations in the PBS and NPR system that residents can listen to and view. WNED is based in Buffalo and transmits programming to an audience that includes Canada via the nation’s largest city of Toronto. In addition, it oversees WBFO, which is the NPR affiliate, and operates WNJA from Jamestown. WQLN operates out of Erie through radio and TV with a Warren translator of 98.9 FM.

Internal Revenue Service 990 filings note that WNED says its mission is a “binational public broadcasting association operating locally programmed TV and radio stations.” WQLN says it aims “to stimulate, enrich, educate and entertain the public.”

Viewpoints and news coverage aside, the IRS documents reveal two traditional media outlets that are flourishing and stable in an era when some private-sector stations are struggling to stay afloat. In recent weeks, radio stations in both New York state and Pennsylvania have suddenly gone silent.

In Plattsburgh, WIRY-AM announced on its Facebook page on March 13 that after 75 years of service “the challenges of an evolving media landscape have made it increasingly difficult to continue operations. … Coupled with rising music royalty costs, a shrinking media sales force, and decreasing profit margins, we have reached a point where it is no longer viable to continue broadcasting.”

That same week, Erie lost WRIE-AM. It began broadcasting in 1949.

Western New York Public Broadcasting, which is the organization that oversees WNED, appears much less troubled than those entities. It reported revenues of $15.2 million in the most recent available filings from 2022. Those include $5.9 million in membership dues; $14,365 from fundraising events and $1.4 million from government grants.

Its expenses of $14.3 million include a generous payroll at more than $5.6 million. Its President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Calderone was compensated $416,417 for the year. Seven other executives at the station earned between $100,920 and $293,573. Programming was listed as the second highest cost at $2.47 million that year.

Overall, WNED had a surplus of $902,822 and total assets of $24.1 million.

WQLN, which goes by Public Broadcasting of Northwest Pennsylvania, runs a much leaner outfit. In 2022, it had revenues of $4 million that include $1.3 million in membership dues and another nearly $1.1 million in government grants.

Expenses that year were $6,744 more than its earnings but included a payroll that was more in line with a private-sector model. Its top executive earned $110,125 and another administrator was compensated $95,967. Overall, salaries at the stations made up $1.5 million with programming and production costing $677,163.

IRS documents also reported total assets of $6.2 million.

It also must be noted that while WQLN was in the red in 2022, it had a $1.5 million surplus in 2021. That total is more than the federal dollars contributed to the station.

Do the two area PBS and NPR stations continue to deserve taxpayer funds, especially when they also rely on members — or subscribers — for programming? Its model, much like the current for-profit media entities, has evolved. Stay tuned.

John D’Agostino is the editor of the Times Observer, The Post-Journal and OBSERVER in Dunkirk, N.Y. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 814-723-8200, ext. 253.