Legislation calling for reconstituting the makeup of Kentucky Educational Television’s board is on its way to the Kentucky House. The Senate easily approved the measure Wednesday. It calls for representation from each political party. Bill Sponsor Stephen Meredith said the aim is to ensure polarization doesn’t occur in the future.
“We’re recognizing race. We’re recognizing gender. We’re recognizing geographic dispersion on this thing. It is truly representative of the state of Kentucky as a whole,” said Meredith.
Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer said the governor had made two appointments tied to his office. Opponents argued KET has operated for 60 years with a diverse and geographically well-represented board. Lexington Senator Reggie Thomas spoke out against the bill.
“We’re making KET a more polarizing industry by saying we’re going to put Democrats and Republicans on your governing board and the fear behind that is they’re going to make Democrat and Republican decisions that’s going to make KET more polarizing,” said Thomas.
Louisville Senator Karen Berg said an effort is being made to politicize institutions that should not be politicized.
**In a sea of partisan news, WEKU is your source for public service, fact-based journalism. Monthly sustaining donors are the top source of funding for this growing nonprofit news organization. Please join others in your community who support WEKU by making your donation.
