Arkansas PBS broadcasting hearings on PBS WORLD, not main channel

Arkansas PBS is broadcasting hearings held by the Jan. 6 committee, though not on its main channel. Julie Thomas, director of marketing and engagement, said the hearings of the Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the United States Capitol are being broadcast on the Arkansas PBS WORLD Channel.

The channel is available over the air on ARFPBS-4 and on many cable systems. She said the PBS WORLD Channel is the preferred channel for programming of this nature. Arkansas PBS operates four channels, with the WORLD Channel used for public affairs programming such as Arkansas House of Representatives proceedings.

“Also, these daytime hearings may potentially be extended for weeks, and we need to preserve this time in our schedule when PBS KIDS programming airs that Arkansas families depend on – including our essential ‘Rise and Shine’ summer learning programming for Arkansas students that starts July 5,” she said in an email.

Thomas said Arkansas PBS wanted to stay consistent with the national PBS network, which is broadcasting the hearings on the WORLD Channel. Not all states moved the hearing to a channel consumers would have to find. Arizona, Georgia, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and the Austin, Texas-based PBS station were some of the state PBS affiliates who aired the June 9 hearing on a primary channel.

Thomas said the hearings can be watched online at myarpbs.org/watch and are being livestreamed on the Arkansas PBS Facebook page and the Engage Arkansas PBS app. They are also being livestreamed on the PBS NewsHour Facebook page and the PBS NewsHour YouTube channel.

The hearings were broadcast in primetime Jan. 9 and covered on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and MSNBC. Fox News did not cover the hearings live, but they were broadcast on Fox Business.

Grant Tennille, Democratic Party of Arkansas chairman, suggested the AETN decision was more about politics than programming.

“Republican legislators have been pretty clear about their desire to decimate the Arkansas PBS budget, so I guess it’s not surprising that the station is trying to avoid any controversy that might draw more ire. It’s disappointing because PBS’s dispassionate and non-partisan coverage provides a critical option for Arkansans seeking greater understanding of these important issues,” he said.

On Thursday, June 9, Arkansas PBS ran “Dairy Bars: Neat Eats and Cool Treats” from 7 to 9 p.m. It was followed by “The Land is Your Land,” which is billed as “a musical journey through the evolution of modern American folk music” on the PBS website.

The next hearing will be at 9 a.m. CST June 13. Other hearings have been scheduled for 9 a.m. CST June 15 and noon CST June 16.