(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
KENOSHA, Wis. — David “Cole” Kollath (D), 70, who for unknown reasons goes by “David Cole” professionally, is the general manager of WGTD, an NPR affiliate owned by Gateway Technical College and funded by taxpayers. Despite repeated inquiries, he has not explained why he uses an alias in his public role.
Kollath makes about $110,000 per year plus government benefits. He recently told CBS58 that public funding for WGTD should be protected, before Congress passed a bill that slashed billions from public broadcasting. “It goes back to how important it is to have these local voices,” Kollath told CBS58, defending his taxpayer-funded salary.
(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
Promoting Democrats, Attacking Republicans
WGTD claims to serve listeners in Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth Counties. But in practice, Kollath spends most of his time in Kenosha, microphone in hand, producing stories that often favor Democrats and disparage Republicans.
- In one story about “vandalism” at the Kenosha County Democratic booth at this year’s Fair, he quoted party officials vowing to remain strong: “We’re not going to let a few stickers discourage us from engaging with the community.” Critics note the “crime” was nothing more than a few Trump stickers placed on a sign — a minor incident inflated into sympathetic coverage.
- During the last election, WGTD aired a segment that served as a campaign platform for the Democratic candidate for district attorney. In the broadcast, the Democrat was given uninterrupted time to describe her priorities and attack her opponent.
- Since Xavier Solis became Kenosha County’s first Republican DA in more than 100 years, WGTD has churned out a series of critical stories. In one article headlined “Kenosha County’s Next D.A. Has No Experience As Prosecutor,” Kollath opened by highlighting Solis’s inexperience while quoting political opponents. In another, he reassured readers that “there’s no need to panic” about staffing under Solis, language many saw as condescending and dismissive.
- Just yesterday, WGTD published a courthouse centennial feature but inexplicably dragged Trump into it: “a topic that has received renewed attention during the Trump administration.” Trump was not mentioned by anyone at the event, making the partisan jab all the more gratuitous.
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Meanwhile, Kollath has been noticeably gentle with Democrats. For example, when Kenosha County Democrats were criticized for divisive conduct, WGTD coverage emphasized their “commitment to fairness and community outreach,” while leaving out Republican viewpoints entirely.
Lack of Credibility
Although WGTD has been on the air for more than 50 years, its reach is small. The station has only about 11,000 followers on Facebook. By comparison, Kenosha County Eye — not even five years old — has nearly 17,000 followers. Many in the community do not view WGTD or Kollath as a legitimate news source, instead seeing the station as a taxpayer-subsidized megaphone for partisan politics.
Looking the Other Way
Kollath’s leadership was also questioned after WGTD employee Tyrone Jackson publicly called for rioting and looting during the 2020 unrest. Despite outrage from the community, Jackson was never disciplined. Many believe this revealed a double standard — one that would not have been tolerated at a truly neutral public station.
Public Radio, Private Agenda
To this day, Kollath has declined to answer questions from Kenosha County Eye about his use of the alias “Cole,” his political slant, or why WGTD frequently provides Democrats with free platforms while holding Republicans to a different standard.
Critics argue that Kollath has transformed a taxpayer-funded college radio station into a partisan soapbox. While Congress considers billions in cuts to public broadcasting, the question in Kenosha County is simple: Should taxpayers continue paying a six-figure salary and benefits for a manager whose reporting serves one political party more than the public?
28 Responses
Just another Democrat freeloader totally daft in denial to emerging reality and the public’s rejection of their recycled repeat retrograde garbage.
Get rid of this waste of taxpayers money.
I highly doubt he brings in $110,000 of revenue for WGTD. It’s whiny liberal old men and classical music. WIPZ was much better when it was still around some of the student-run programming was amusing to listen to.
If memory is correct, WGTD began when Gateway created a radio broadcasting program. The station was programmed and funded locally. Eventually Gateway wound down that curriculum as well as most local programming and affiliated with Wisconsin Public Radio with a reduction in staff and Gateway support when it became part of WPR.
$110,000 Is his wage plus benefits. Its a state position
And still about $50,000 too high and extreme government waste.
I think WGTD has several revenue streams. Obviously Gateway Technical College funding but it would be interesting to see the breakdown.
To be accurate, Xavier refused to participate in a candidate interview on WGTD.
… then they should be able to sell it on the open market.
WGTD should be able to support themselves just like any other Radio Station around.
Produce a good product and advertisers will pay to put on commercials.
Simple.
Government subsidies probably were what was needed way back when public radio was first conceived but it’s not needed anymore.
Sink or swim. I shouldn’t have my tax dollars going to pay for something that by technological advances isn’t needed anymore.
Commercials on a noncommercial station are against the law.
But there’s no law saying it can’t be shut down and if desired, restarted a a for profit entity. Face, the programs always end up being the problems. They start out seemingly innocent, and eventually devolve into partisan soapboxes or create a financial dependency that buys partisan votes. The stupid NGOs are a perfect example.
The frequency is one reserved for noncommercial radio. In order to start a station from scratch there has to be an available frequency for the class of station proposed in the application. 91.1 mHz is in the portion of the band reserved for noncommercial radio. In the United States, the frequencies between 88.1 MHz and 91.9 MHz are reserved exclusively for noncommercial educational (NCE) FM radio stations. This part of the FM band, often called the “reserved band,” does not permit any commercial advertising, though both noncommercial and commercial operations can occur on other parts of the FM band.
So the main point of this thread is, if these “people” Mr. Cole and the like, feel they have a good product, then take it elsewhere. Plenty of radio stations looking for new talent and ideas.
Oh yeah !?! This isn’t a new idea.
Just good old propaganda. Paid by unwilling participants
“Plenty of radio stations looking for new talent and ideas.”
I think the radio people who lost their jobs in one of the many recent waves of staff reductions at hundreds of radio stations might not agree. The industry may not be dead but it certainly isn’t growing.
If a Radio Personality that is popular and in demand becomes available to the highest bidder then they would displace an existing personality in any job.
So if Mr.Cole can draw advertisers to pay for his show then he could take it anywhere. Even a podcast. Radio and TV personalities move to podcasting is rampant. He should go there. Make millions !
The purest form of supply and demand.
Apples and oranges. Being on the air is incidental to duties as station manager so not an “air personality” per se.
Please do a public records request to see how much it’s costing us taxpayers.
Gateway Technical College wastes too much taxpayers money all around.
The news director retired. Maybe Kevin should apply.
“This is Kevin Mathewson and that’s the news from W-G-T-D…We Got Them Dems”…. 🙂
Not sure all of the items on Kevin’s grievance list are examples of biased reporting but certainly there’s a dearth of conservative voices and opinions on WGTD.
Half of his listeners are shocked. The other six couldn’t care less.
I really do not want my tax money going to fund this liberal grifter.
Kevin doesn’t miss a step bringing the cockroaches out into the light.
Ehhhh. Not the “chosen” ones!
Dealt with him as part of job responsibilities years ago, unfortunately. Arrogant, know-nothing POS, i.e. low-intellect/low info liberal.
Appears nothing has changed.
There’s a little bit of Catch-22 irony here. When Gateway cut its support of WGTD and hitched its wagon to Wisconsin Public Radio the availability of local programming was reduced drastically. Increasing local programming would require more local support. Nonetheless I agree that more effort should be made to present a more balanced view of local issues.
Just remember folks, NPR does donation begging drives…..AND they are federally funded. I’m thrilled they got funding cut…
The question I had was whether his salary was out of line. I was trying to find an apples-to-apples comparison (or as close as possible). KCCK is owned by Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. WGTD by Gateway Technical College. Both have station managers with considerable broadcasting experience. The 2023 salary for Dennis Green, KCCK’s manager, was $115,567.
I’m curious what government benefits he gets when making 108K a year?