Attention PBS Donors: KNME GM Makes $165K Per Year

NM Watchdog - For a non-profit organization dedicated to public service, KNME-TV pays its general manager more than its faithful supporters might imagine. Polly Anderson, the general manager of PBS New Mexico, receives $165,000 a year, plus benefits. Her non-profit salary is right up there with what for-profit corporations pay managers at far larger television stations. Though her staff is tiny in comparison, she makes significantly more than the people who manage the huge workforces of the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County.
“I’m offended,” said Bernalillo County Commissioner Wayne Johnson when he heard of Anderson’s salary. “What does she do? KNME has become basically a satellite repeater. They don’t do the level of original production they used to do. The station once was all about education and what was happening locally. That’s not what they’re doing now.”
Johnson knows the station’s history. His mother worked at KNME for fifteen years offering an educational program for children called “Kaleidoscope.”
Johnson compared Anderson’s salary and less demanding responsibilities to the duties of Thomas Zdunek, the Bernalillo County Manager. At $148,000, he receives the highest salary New Mexico Watchdog has found so far in its survey of the payrolls of local governments. Albuquerque’s City Manager makes $144,773 for overseeing an even larger City Hall workforce responsible for public health and safety, as well streets, roads, parks, vast real estate holdings and huge capital projects.
“The Bernalillo County manager oversees 2500 employees,” Johnson said. KNME employs 49 other than Anderson, according to data obtained from the University of New Mexico’s Sunshine Portal.

Attention PBS Donors: KNME GM Makes $165K Per Year