NBC affiliate KOMU-TV in Columbia, MO, which bills itself as the only university-owned commercial TV station in the U.S., has been sharply criticized by several Missouri lawmakers after its news director barred his staff from wearing American flags and red, white and blue ribbons while on the air.
Most of the staff are students at the University of Missouri.
In an email notice to the news staff on Sept. 17, news director Stacey Woelfel said in reference to the flags and ribbons: “Our news broadcasts are not the place for personal statements of support for any cause — no matter how deserving the cause seems to be.”
But, as reported by Thursday’s Columbia Missourian, Matt Bartle, a member of the state legislature, responded in an email to Woelfel, “I am going to be evaluating sate funding that goes to the School of Journalism. If this is what you are teaching the next generation of journalists, I question whether the taxpayers of this state will support it.”
A spokeswoman for the TV station said that it receives no funds from the state and is supported entirely by advertising.
