The public media powerhouse in our backyard

Shohola. A fundraiser to help support WVIA offered a chance for the people behind the area station to meet their Pike County audience.

| 12 Aug 2025 | 07:42

For almost 60 years, WVIA - a public media station based in Pittston in Luzerne County - has delivered radio and television, and now - important local news.

“Our mission is to inform, educate, and inspire the people of [North Eastern] and Central Pennsylvania,” Carla McCabe, WVIA’s President and CEO said.

Their audience spreads far and wide across 22 counties, more than 26% of the state’s geographical area. Their TV signals reach more than 2 million households across the region, the radio signal covers 1.2 million people, and their digital content reaches more than 2.8 million a year.

On Aug. 3, Bob and Amy Litzenberger held a fundraiser in their home WVIA.

So what’s the problem?

Congress recently cut public media funding and the station lost $1.2 million, which is 20% of their operating budged for essential services.

The fundraiser was not only to raise money so programs and essential services could continue, but also to introduce WVIA to people in Pike County - for while Pike is included in the communities of WVIA’s reach, it is not very well known here.

“It is important for us to get to know WVIA, to understand some of their important programs and to get to know them as people and what they do,” Amy Litzenberger said about the motivation for the fundraiser. “Bob and I are trying to increase awareness of their radio and TV coverage and now, especially with their middle of the road, unbiased news coverage, which is so rare these days.”

And since one of their goals is expanding their exposure to Pike County, the WVIA folks were delighted to meet the assembled guests. They are excited to be able to bring programs from PBS and NPR with their own local twist. Among the WVIA people were President Carla MCCabe, who was lauded for bringing the company to its present incarnation; Board Chair, Robert Kelly, Jr.; Chief Development Officer, Kate Sickora; Managing Editor for News, Faith Golay, and Julie Sidoni, Director of Outreach and Support.

“Now, more than ever, our communities need engagement and a voice, so the time is right for WVIA’s commitment to nonprofit journalism to become the most trusted source for local news,” said Golay, who manages the news team of 11 journalists, many of whom were from the Tribune and have specialty areas of knowledge.

One very special and well-known WVIA person is Erika Funke, who has been at WVIA for more than 40 years, capturing audiences with her reporting on the arts and classical music. When others at WVIA mention her, it usually is with a prefix “the great.” She has a daily arts program featuring creatives throughout the region, and has produced many documentaries about the history of Northeastern Pennsylvania, as well as an Emmy nominated documentary on Mozart. She has interviewed many people in Pike County, including Yosef Feigelson, Artistic Director of Kindred Spirits.

Although he wasn’t at the event, George Graham was one of the first staff members at WVIA and hosts a jazz program every weekday evening on WVIA (FM 89.9).

The WVIA.org website is like a behemoth of several moving parts, each one offering another program, another set of a events, music, newsletters, and numerous educational programs. There is the “Passport” program, which is a membership benefit program that gives donors access to more exclusive shows and local programs with a minimum contribution of $60 per year or an ongoing monthly minimum contribution of $5.

The “Keystone Edition” is WVIA’s signature weekly public affairs program. The four pillars to the series are Arts, Business, Health, and Keystone Edition Reports (timely issues like distracted driving, standardized testing, etc., are produced by the journalism team).

WVIA’s commitment to education is often overlooked. Vicki Austin heads up the team and they are in more than 40 schools and provide state-aligned educational materials as well as professional development materials for teachers. Reference to children’s programming is also on the website - as are the watching and listening schedules for streaming.

One of the programs they established is WVIA listening tours where they go into a community and ask people about what their needs are, what stories they want to know about and more.

There is also the WVIA App that coordinates with their website and can be accessed from anywhere.

It is clear that with the $1.2 Million federal cuts in their budget, WVIA is determined to continue with the help of volunteers, individual giving, corporate support, foundation grants, and additional outreach programming. And they will prevail.

WVIA reaches major cities in area counties such as:
Bloomsburg (Columbia County)
Scranton, Pittston (Lackawanna County)
Wilkes-Barre (Luzerne County)
Stroudsburg (Monroe County)
Milford (Pike County)
Honesdale (Wayne County)