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Mitch Gelman is president and CEO at WCNY. Dorian Friedman is a Washington D.C.-based journalist and WCNY consultant. Public media, like our nation, sits at a moment of consequence. Despite the elimination of federal funding — or perhaps catalyzed by the recission of more than a billion dollars in previously allocated taxpayer support — stations are rethinking their roles and their purpose in communities across the country. Many are embracing a chance to connect with younger audiences, to engage new viewers and to stimulate a broader range of civil discourse than in the past. The party-line orthodoxy of the vote to claw back funding was equally frustrating and eye-opening. The results beckoned two possible reactions: Retrench and hope for a change of heart or hear the message that public media is falling short of reaching many Americans. By choosing to listen, WCNY, our local PBS station, is investing in a new show aimed to include more voices in its programming. The new series, “Balancing Act with John Katko,” is hosted by a former Republican congressman. The show aims to facilitate discussion that brings people together as it explores solutions to issues dividing the nation. It airs weekly on WCNY at 9 p.m. on Fridays and is distributed nationally on the WORLD channel to more than 80% of the United States’ television viewing audience. The series host served four terms in Congress representing Central New York, and accumulated the scars inflicted on any representative willing to cross the aisle. Katko, a former federal prosecutor, voted to impeach President Donald Trump for his actions related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Given that New York is largely a blue state, Syracuse may seem an odd place to produce a show geared at striking consensus. But Central New York and the Mohawk Valley provide a unique vantage from which to observe some of the country’s concerns. The area covered by WCNY is split among party preference. During the 2024 presidential election, the more than 2 million votes counted in the counties that stretch from the Finger Lakes to the Thousand Islands were almost equally cast between the Republican and Democratic candidates. Our region is a microcosm of America. It is a place that has learned that listening is as necessary to communicate as it is to legislate. Syracuse has an independent mayor. Its impoverished inner-city neighborhoods are surrounded by farms and suburban subdivisions. The area’s residents have displayed a desire to foster conversation that can solve problems, develop infrastructure and catalyze economic development. With Katko bringing in national voices, including some of his former congressional colleagues, “Balancing Act” facilitates serious discussion that illuminates issues generally addressed in a superficial or biased way. One of the show’s early guests, former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer noted, President John F. Kennedy famously said: “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer but the right answer.” In that spirit, “Balancing Act” aims to ease the tensions of our current era of divisive politics and — to borrow a phrase — to try to make compromise cool, again. The show comes at a time when public media stations are struggling to adapt to a reduction in staff and, in some cases, are delivering fewer shows. Still, the stations remain steadfast in a shared commitment to continue to provide viable educational, arts and public affairs programming. Of particular concern is how to frame public affairs shows in a way that recognizes and respects the views that people with different perspectives bring to national politics, and to create a safe place for thoughtful discussion and underwriting support. Many stations are serving splintered communities across a nation divided by fractured priorities. Whether exploring the implementation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, tariffs, redistricting, or deploying the National Guard, “Balancing Act” provides historical context and contemporary insight followed by a discussion between liberal and conservative leaders that seeks to inform rather than incite. The show is built on research that suggests there are many eager to align around the Reagan-Clinton center that once defined the pivot of power in U.S. politics. “The Perception Gap: How False Impressions are Pulling Americans Apart,” a study by More in Common, a nonprofit organization, found that “even on the most controversial issues in our national debates, Americans are less divided than most of us think.” By embracing views that some media has been more willing to exploit, “Balancing Act” strives to put the public back in public media.
