I have lived in this community for 41 years, and I came before the Alabama Educational Television Commission as president of Empowering Women's Causes, speaking not just for myself but for more than 700 members in Madison County. What happened with NPR being removed from WLRH felt arbitrary. There was no public hearing, no real chance for this community to be heard, and no respect for the people who rely on this station every day.

This is bigger than one programming choice. When you take NPR off WLRH, you create what I called an education desert. You cut people off from news, learning, public affairs, and the kind of programming that helps a community stay informed and engaged. That affects seniors, working families, students, and everyone who depends on public radio to stay connected to the world around them.

I am asking the Alabama Educational Television Commission to reverse this policy and restore NPR programming to WLRH. Our community has already shown that we are willing to step up. We have proven before that people here can raise the roughly $150,000 to $200,000 needed to keep the station funded, so this should not be treated like an impossible problem. If funding is the concern, then work with the public instead of shutting the public out.

I am asking everyone who believes public media matters to sign this petition. Help us send a clear message that our community deserves to be heard, deserves transparency, and deserves to have NPR brought back to WLRH.