Renewing public broadcasting is the mission of the newly organized Citizens for Independent Public Broadcasting, which on November 16 launched a new organizing and educational initiative to "put the public back into public broadcasting." The launch took place at a Washington, D.C. press conference held at the offices of the Benton Foundation, a public-policy organization focusing on the media. Joined by former FCC commissioner Nicholas Johnson on the phone and in person by long time PBS public affairs producer Al Perlmutter, media critic Janine Jackson, and media scholar George Gerbner, the group indicted public broadcasting for abandoning its public service mandate and diluting the diversity of its public affairs offerings.
CIPB Executive Director Jerry Starr, a Media Channel advisor, is leading the national effort to mobilize pressure for more accountability and viewer participation at PBS. Starr, a professor of sociology at West Virginia University, has been active for years in his hometown of Pittsburgh, battling over programming issues with local PBS outlet WQED. On the eve of his organization's launch, Starr outlined his critique and campaign.
The American people need and deserve space in our vast system of communications that is not controlled by the imperatives of power or profit. This would be space in which controversial issues can be explored without censorship; space in which programs are not designed around product placement and commercial interruptions; space in which program ideas are not driven by selling audiences to advertisers; space in which the needs of minorities can be served without concern for ratings.
This was the mission envisioned for public broadcasting when it was founded in the late '50s: to serve as "a forum for controversy and debate" and "a voice for groups in the community that may otherwise be unheard so that we could see America whole, in all of its diversity," according to a report issued by the Carnegie Commission, which outlined its mandate. Over the years, public broadcasting has made many distinguished contributions to fulfilling this mission. Unfortunately, political and commercial constraints have prevented a good service from becoming great. Public broadcasting in other industrial democracies is supported, typically, by an independent source of revenue and enjoys considerably higher levels of funding, more money for production, a broader schedule of programs, and bigger audiences.
In contrast, public broadcasting in the U.S. must depend on a broad mix of Congressional and legislative appropriations, subscriber donations, and corporate and foundation underwriting. This fragmented funding structure brings with it pervasive pressures to restrict grant support and air time to programs that will appeal to those who control the purse strings. Even Oscar-winning documentaries have been subject to such restraints. Consequently, public broadcasting in America has learned to play it safe and cheap. The typical schedule features an abundance of "how to" and exotic nature programs. Theater consists typically of British imports and commercial reruns. There is a paucity of public affairs programming. PBS's one nightly news program duplicates the same reliance on government and corporate voices as network commercial programming. Local news and public affairs programs are few and far between.
There are nightly and weekly programs for those interested in big business and Wall Street investing, but no regular programs for those interested in issues related to the workplace, consumer affairs, environmental protection, or human rights. In recent years, the very non-commercial basis of the service has been under assault. There are more co-production deals with commercial partners looking for marketing spin-offs. There are e-commerce services and partnerships with retail outlets. Before she quit recently, PBS Program Director Kathy Quattrone complained, "Many program decisions are being based not on the program value they bring but what kind of deal it can bring."
Five-second underwriting acknowledgements have evolved into 30-second commercials, including pitches on children's programs for canned food, pizza parlors and theme parks. Former PBS head Bruce Christensen has warned that, unless the funding problems can be solved, public broadcasting "will become a commercial medium in the next century."
The time has come to restructure the public broadcasting service as an independently funded public trust, comparable to the Red Cross, U.S. International Olympic Committee or Little league Baseball. This would take it off the federal dole, remove corporate advertising, stop the desperate search for money, and free public broadcasting to pursue its mission with editorial integrity.
To support innovative, diverse, noncommercial programming for both national and local audiences, an independent public broadcasting service would require at least $1 billion in insulated annual program funds, in addition to current levels of operational support from state governments, individual subscribers, and foundations. Corporate donations would be briefly acknowledged and restricted to general system support. New measures are needed to ensure that boards are truly diverse, have a clear sense of mission, and recruit and reward station managers for measurable public service, rather than profit-making ventures.
It is against this background that media activists, critics, and many PBS viewers are forming Citizens for Independent Public broadcasting (CIPB) to lobby for reforms inside PBS and more public accountability by PBS. We intend to mount a nationwide educational and organizing effort directed to PBS viewers and the public at large.
Citizens for Independent Public Broadcasting has developed a proposal to create a Public Broadcasting Trust that is independently funded and publicly accountable, details of which will be released soon. CIPB is dedicated to creating a national coalition to build grassroots support for this proposal. We will reach out to work with organizations and individuals, in communities, unions, and educational organizations with forums and public meetings as well as media appearances. At the same time, CIPB local chapters will work to democratize the governance and programming of their communities' public broadcasting stations by encouraging more viewer involvement in community boards and decisionmaking. CIPB will act as a clearinghouse for the activities and accomplishments of these local chapters and by encouraging the production of programs to discuss these issues for airing both nationally and locally.
CIPB is developing a training manual, instructional video, workshops, Web page, and a national network to promote its goal of re-energizing PBS for the next millennium.
CONTACT INFO: To learn more about CIPB, write or phone us at: 1029 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 638-6880; fax (202) 638-6885. E-mail: Karen L. Conner
- Jerold Starr is Executive Director of Citizens for Independent Public Broadcasting. A professor of sociology at West Virginia University and longtime social activist, he has been co-chair of the Save Pittsburgh Public Television campaign. He is the author of five books and numerous articles, including the forthcoming "Air Wars---The Fight to Reclaim Public Broadcasting" (Beacon Press, 2000).
