A big controversy has been brewing about Alabama Public Television.
Recent personnel decisions at the network prompted a rash of resignations from APT's various foundation boards.
Since then, rumors have been flying around the state and the country, most notably, after commissioners voted 5-2 to fire the organization's Director, Allan Pizatto, and its Chief Financial Officer, Pauline Howland.
"All I know is that the commissioners are saying they want to go in a new direction," says Vanzetta McPherson.
Immediately after, seven of APT's foundation board members resigned, including McPherson.
"I resigned because there was absolutely no discussion that we knew of regarding any deficiencies that Mr. Pizatto and Mrs. Howland, the two people that were hired, were manifesting."
McPherson believes the commissioners fired the two because they didn't agree with the "new direction" the organization was taking.
She believes some APT commissioners want to promote pro-Christian ideology through new programming.
But commissioners say that was never the intention and not the reason for the firings.
They claim the firings were only the result of a desire for fresh, new leadership.
McPherson also claims because the organization has removed a pro-diversity portion of their mission statement, they have disregarded race, religious belief, sexual orientation, education and socioeconomic status as important aspects of APT.
"Diversity as a value at APT is gone," says McPherson.
When asked, commissioners told us the mission statement was recently updated, but it in no way diminishes APT's focus on diversity.
Some of the foundation board members who resigned said they weren't necessarily upset about the new leadership, but rather left simply because the old director recruited them.
The commission hired an interim director and they say the next step is to conduct a search for a permanent one as well as a new chief financial officer.
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