Members of the Alabama Educational Television Foundation Authority (AETFA) voted Wednesday to fund a statewide survey of residents on Alabama Public Television (APT) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) programming. The decision to move forward with the survey, which will cost $39,500 and be conducted by a Republican-leaning polling group, was met with disputes over its purpose and the funding source.
The AETFA members passed the resolution to fund the survey on a 5-2 vote. Commissioners Pete Conroy and Tijuanna Adetunj voted against the measure. According to a resolution read aloud by AETFA member Ferris Stephens, the survey will poll 600 people across the state and draw its funds from APT’s rainy day fund.
The polling firm selected for the survey is Cygnal, a company primarily known for working with Republican candidates, including U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s gubernatorial campaign. After the meeting, Ferris Stephens stated that Cygnal was chosen because it is a “very reputable company,” adding that the questions provided by the company “speak for themselves.” Messages seeking comment were left with Cygnal Wednesday afternoon.
Concerns about the survey’s nature emerged from a draft script reported by Alabama Daily News on Tuesday. This draft included questions regarding APT’s political ideology and the potential for the station to end its relationship with PBS.
This survey follows previous attempts by some authority members to disaffiliate Alabama Public Television from PBS. In October, two APT commissioners suggested dropping PBS after the Trump administration cut funding to the Center for Public Broadcasting. However, the following month, members of the Alabama Educational Television Commission (AETC) voted to maintain PBS programming. This decision came amid a public backlash and after Gov. Kay Ivey recommended a survey before proceeding with any changes.
In April, the AETC had previously voted to survey Alabamians on their feelings about the station’s programming. That survey was slated to be conducted by McLaughlin & Associates, a national survey company that has also worked with several Republican candidates, including former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville. However, the contract with McLaughlin fell through in late August. Commissioner Conroy stated during the meeting that the cancellation was due to “negative public opinion and news coverage concerning APT have reached an unprecedented level in Alabama.”
Before the recent vote, Conroy said he sent an email to all board members urging them to reconsider conducting the poll. He reported being met with negativity from some board members. Conroy quoted AETFA Chairman William Green from an email, saying Green “asked me what was I afraid of, insinuating that somehow or another I was afraid of the answers to the questions that were being posed by this survey.” Conroy expressed his own fears, stating, “I’m afraid that we’re losing public trust. I’m afraid that this whole process, Tijuanna, has been rushed. I don’t understand that. That’s never been explained.”
Members of the public also voiced concerns about the survey. Jim Vickery, a former president of the University of Montevallo, questioned, “Why endanger one of Alabama’s most cost-effective agencies with a no-bid political survey some of us fear the objectivity of?” He added that the process “plays right into the perceptions that we already have that you’re doing this for political reasons, and that’s another reason why it’s outrageous.”
Elaine Witt, a retired APT donor from Birmingham, specifically raised concerns about using the rainy day fund for the survey. Witt stated that the money in the fund came from donations, not budgeted or legislative appropriations. She also criticized the board for approving a nearly $40,000 expenditure, noting that the foundation has conducted surveys in the past for less. Witt highlighted that past surveys were done for around $6,000, and stated that the chairman of the commission was choosing the company instead of professional staff.
Alabama Public Television’s last survey, conducted in 2023 through Troy University, Samford University, and the University of Alabama, cost less than $10,000.
After the meeting, Commissioner Conroy shared his view that conducting the survey is “headed in a direction of polarizing public media.” He emphasized, “I don’t think we need to politicize our public media. We need to stay in the middle as best we can and just report the facts as they are. Allow PBS to do what PBS does best, and that’s educate kids.”