WETA Gets $1 Million Gift

Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein has given noncommercial WETA-TV Washington $1 million to fund programming that "celebrates American culture, history and public affairs."

WETA is one of the anchor PBS programmers.

The gift comes as noncommercial programmers face budget cuts and a potential government payout for turning in spectrum for auction.

"I hope that my gift will serve as a beacon to others, recognizing the unique role public media plays in our society," Rubenstein said in announcing the gift. 

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.