Why isn't WFCR required to have a Community Advisory Board?

I, too, am mystified why public radio stations that are owned by a state are exempt from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's requirement that the station establish a Community Advisory Board that is empowered to

".review the programming goals established by the station, the service provided by the station, and the significant policy decisions rendered by the station. The board may also be delegated any other responsibilities, as determined by the governing body of the station. The board shall advise the governing body of the station with respect to whether the programming and other policies of such station are meeting the specialized educational and cultural needs of the communities served by the station, and may make such recommendations as it considers appropriate to meet such needs."

I would think that state-owned stations that are funded not only by the CPB but also by state tax dollars would call for more, not less, public oversight.

I tried to find a clue by looking up the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 which established the CPB. I haven't found the rationale, but did learn that the exemption wasn't added to the law until 1978.

The introduction to the Public Broadcasting Act (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode47/usc_sec_47_00000396----000-.html) is interesting reading. It presents a congressional declaration in 10 parts:

The Congress hereby finds and declares that-

(1) it is in the public interest to encourage the growth and development of public radio and television broadcasting, including the use of such media for instructional, educational, and cultural purposes;

(2) it is in the public interest to encourage the growth and development of nonbroadcast telecommunications technologies for the delivery of public telecommunications services;

(3) expansion and development of public telecommunications and of diversity of its programming depend on freedom, imagination, and initiative on both local and national levels;

(4) the encouragement and support of public telecommunications, while matters of importance for private and local development, are also of appropriate and important concern to the Federal Government;

(5) it furthers the general welfare to encourage public telecommunications services which will be responsive to the interests of people both in particular localities and throughout the United States, which will constitute an expression of diversity and excellence, and which will constitute a source of alternative telecommunications services for all the citizens of the Nation;

(6) it is in the public interest to encourage the development of programming that involves creative risks and that addresses the needs of unserved and underserved audiences, particularly children and minorities;

(7) it is necessary and appropriate for the Federal Government to complement, assist, and support a national policy that will most effectively make public telecommunications services available to all citizens of the United States;

(8) public television and radio stations and public telecommunications services constitute valuable local community resources for utilizing electronic media to address national concerns and solve local problems through community programs and outreach programs;

(9) it is in the public interest for the Federal Government to ensure that all citizens of the United States have access to public telecommunications services through all appropriate available telecommunications distribution technologies; and

(10) a private corporation should be created to facilitate the development of public telecommunications and to afford maximum protection from extraneous interference and control.

By my reckoning WFCR earns poor grades in at least 8 of the 10 mandates.

Jeff Lee.