India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC – America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) on November 14 announced the election of former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai to a three-year term as an at-large member of the APTS board of trustees, effective February 26, 2024. Pai, […]

Pai, who chaired the FCC from 2017 to 2021, during the Donald Trump administration and was often derided online mostly for undoing the net neutrality rules, is now a partner at Searchlight Capital Partners, a global investment firm.

”America’s Public Television Stations are honored and delighted to welcome Ajit Pai to the APTS board,” said APTS president and CEO Patrick Butler.

Fox in the henhouse, again.

  • thesmokingman@programming.dev
    3·
    1 year ago

    I can’t actually figure out what APTS does. I think it’s only a lobbying nonprofit. It’s not mentioned on the public television Wikipedia article and I’m struggling to find a good Google query that turns up something it’s done. Putting all of that together, it’s just a continuation of his regulatory capture.

    Edit: I should have looked at the 501©3 stuff first. This org collects money from public stations and spends it on its staff. It lobbies but doesn’t present much in the way of returns.

    https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521170071/202223429349300807/full

    • Socsa@sh.itjust.works
      1·
      11 months ago

      Ok, now I’m actually convinced that this is good, because it means this power hungry shitstain isn’t able to curate any real influence beyond a token lobbying job at a second rate firm.

    • money_loo@1337lemmy.com
      1·
      1 year ago

      They help fund some public stations around the country, and lobby to support them, allegedly.

      America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) is a nonprofit membership organization ensuring a strong and financially sound public television system and helping member stations provide essential public services in education, public safety and civic leadership to the American people.

      Its affiliate APTS Action, Inc. promotes the legislative and regulatory interests of noncommercial television stations at the national level through direct advocacy and through grasstops and grassroots campaigns designed to garner bipartisan political support. The public television system is comprised of 158 licensees operating 356 public television stations across America and serving more than 97 percent of the American people. About half of these licensees are nonprofit community foundations. The rest are State, university and local school district licensees. All are locally owned, locally operated and locally oriented in their programming and community services, and all share a mission of serving everyone, everywhere, every day for free – including in places where no model for commercial success exists.

      APTS is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in all forms to reflect the society that public television serves.

      Additionally, APTS is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We are continually working to improve the user experience for everyone, and applying the relevant accessibility standards.