James and Susan Shincovich were getting ready to watch Weather Word on WPSU-TV recently, like they do most evenings.
Before it started, Susan Shincovich ticked off some of the other programs the State College couple have watched on WPSU over the years: children’s shows, Rick Steves travel, Ken Burns documentaries, Julia Child and This Old House.
"We used to watch that religiously every Saturday morning and we ended up remodeling or renovating five houses," Susan Shincovich said. "And I'm sure we would not have had the courage had we not seen that show."
Penn State plans to shut down WPSU and its operations by June 30, 2026, but many in the community are urging the university to reconsider the closure while they look for a ‘Plan B’ for keeping public television and radio in central Pennsylvania.
James and Susan Shincovich are among the fans of WPSU TV and radio who were stunned by Penn State’s announcement that it plans to shut down its longtime public broadcasting outlet.
“They've got all those board of trustees members that are movers and shakers in all kinds of fields, and those people can't figure out a way to keep WPSU on the air? That's just absolutely ridiculous," Susan Shincovich said.
The Penn State board of trustees’ finance committee voted in September against a plan to transfer WPSU to WHYY, a public media station in the Philadelphia area. The $17 million cost to the university and the lack of job guarantees for employees were two of the issues trustees raised before the vote.
Penn State has a general education budget of about $3 billion. The university provides WPSU with more than $3 million a year. While the university had included that allocation in its 2026-27 budget, officials now say it’s no longer feasible to continue funding the public media outlet.
But WPSU supporters question that, and they wonder whether the university could offer more time to find an alternative to shutting the station down completely.
One online petition to save WPSU has gathered more than 20,000 signatures so far. And groups in the community are coming together in hopes of putting the brakes on Penn State’s plans and finding another option.
“I can tell you that we have a dedicated group of volunteers who are committed to looking to ensure and preserve public media for central and northern Pennsylvania," said Greg Petersen, who worked at WPSU for nearly three decades, including as director of broadcasting.
Petersen is a member of WPSU's advisory board, and he’s now part of the group setting up a fund with the Centre Foundation that’s separate from the university to collect donations. He said they’re still working out the details.
Petersen said he was initially heartened that Penn State was willing to support WPSU for five years in the proposed transition to WHYY. But then the trustees' committee voted against it.
“I think a lot of people just sat back after the proposal was shot down and said, ‘OK, what next?’ And there wasn't anything for what next," Petersen said. "So we're trying to come up with what next.’”
They’re also hoping the university will be a partner in helping them figure that out.
A Penn State spokesman did not directly address the question of whether the university would consider transferring WPSU’s licenses to a community operator.
The spokesman said in an email that the university is “beginning to work on a wind down plan and will be sharing information, including the status of the station’s license, as soon as it is available.”
Tom Songer is a local businessman and a donor to Penn State and WPSU. His wife, Sara Songer, is on the WPSU board, and they’re both fans of public television and radio.
“It's a part of our continuing education, actually, to learn from all the programs that are on WPSU," Tom Songer said. "And we've even encouraged our family to watch WPSU. Personally, I watch very little commercial television at all."
When he learned about Penn State’s decision, he said he could not believe it was made by a committee, not the full board. He thinks the community could have stepped up, if given the chance.
Songer said his family is Penn State “through and through.”
“I think Sara and I and a lot of people I've talked to, we just want to slow down a bit, take a deep breath, and let's work to find a way to keep this organization together and keep doing the great things they've always done for 60 years," he said.
State Rep. Paul Takac, a Democrat whose district includes WPSU’s headquarters, also wants Penn State trustees to take another look at the committee’s decision.
“I think that we need to involve the community," Takac said. "And I think the board of trustees has to take, frankly, responsibility for their stewardship of the land-grant mission of the university. And I think this goes totally contrary to that.”
He said the board of trustees needs to hear from the public.
“This is going to really hurt the rural communities and counties in central Pennsylvania, folks who may not have the internet services or the options that (other) folks have," he said. "Public broadcasting is essential for news, weather, information, education in so many communities.”
WPSU TV reaches 24 counties and radio reaches 13 across central and northern Pennsylvania. Penn State's decision to close WPSU follows the Trump administration and Congress pulling back all federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Amy Kristin Sanders, the John and Ann Curley Chair in First Amendment Studies in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State, said the United States is in an “information crisis” with local news having been gutted over the past 20 years.
“Closing WPSU not only takes trusted information out of the market, it will be replaced by less trusted sources of information," she said. "And so I think we're seeing all around the country, particularly in rural communities, that residents are really being hit kind of with a one-two punch.”
Sanders said as someone who grew up in rural Missouri, she’s particularly sensitive to the need for free, reliable media including educational programming for children and adults.
Penn State’s trustees are the holders of WPSU’s licenses from the Federal Communications Commission. The university spokesman did not directly address the question of whether a vote by the board on transferring those licenses or shutting WPSU down will happen. Instead, he said, the university's bylaws "govern whether any action would need to be taken by the board."
