False rumor about WQED quelled…
August 27, 2025In one of my sleepless-due-to-Parkinson’s nights/mornings, I found an article in the Google news feed about WQED. A short time later, one of our esteemed colleagues, Maureen Carney, had posted the same article to her Facebook page.
The writer: Foo Conner. (later changed to “Staff Writer”)
The paper: The Pittsburgh Reporter (apparently around since 1939)
The headline: “WQED considers closure after funding collapse.
The basic idea of the story is a WQED board member, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on station matters, said within hours of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would no longer receive government funding, discussions began on the possible closure of the local station.
A short time later Wednesday morning, WQED President and CEO Jason Jedlinski released the following message:
You may see or hear unfounded rumors suggesting that WQED’s Board of Directors is considering closure or a sale. That is simply not true. Those ideas have never been on the table.
As you know, our focus remains on increasing WQED’s impact and service across southwestern Pennsylvania. Even with the loss of federal funding, we are heartened by the growing support from neighbors and collaborators who value WQED’s role as a community champion.
If you’d like additional context, visit wqed.tv/future, where I’ve shared recent updates and conversations about our path forward. And if you have questions, I’d love to answer them. Simply reply to this message or call me at (412) 622-1314.
Most of all, thank you for your confidence. Your generous support ensures that WQED’s legacy will continue for generations to come.
With gratitude and resolve,
Jason Jedlinski
President and CEO
We just have to wait and see.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Eric.
That certainly does not square with your prior post about how they just boosted their signal. Why make that investment if you were just going to close-up shop? That being said, if there is ever another spectrum auction I would not rule this out, as it happened with numerous PBS stations in the first one.
WQED already benefited from spectrum auction money, when it gave up its high-VHF signal on RF 13 to move to low-VHF on RF 4.
Even if there’s another spectrum auction, it won’t do WQED any good. There’s no auction value to the channel 4 spectrum.