**Remarks of**

**Commissioner Susan Ness**

**Federal Communications Commission**

**PBS Fall Planning Meeting & Annual Members Meeting**

**Arlington, Virginia**

## October 22, 2000

***Public Broadcasting:***

## *Bright Future, Cherished Birthright*

(As prepared for delivery)

I am honored and delighted to be here tonight \-- not only because I am
such a big fan of public television, but also because I am such a big
fan of Pat Mitchell.

As all of you have come to know, Pat is amazing. She has unrelenting
energy. She has enthusiasm, vision and creativity. She has access to the
most talented writers, directors, producers, and actors around the globe
-- as someone once said, a Rolodex to die for. And above all, she has an
extraordinary ability to get things done.

So when Pat asked me to speak at tonight's festivities, how could I say
no? May I see a show of hands of those of you here who have ever said
"no" to Pat Mitchell when she has asked you to do something?

Pat is terrific working with people. And she is working with terrific
people. I've had the pleasure of knowing Bob Coonrod of the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting for the past two years and he's doing a great
job. And so is Colin Campbell, your PBS board chairman.

I see the agenda for your Fall Planning Meeting is brimming with new
ideas and initiatives-- including a live demonstration of the next
generation of the Internet. Grand food for programming thought.

### The Unique Mission of Public Broadcasting 

This is a great moment for public television. The future holds boundless
potential. With Pat at the helm of PBS, with public broadcasters going
digital, and with so much talent at each of the public television
stations around the nation, public television is poised to produce great
things.

My optimism for the future of public broadcasting is grounded in my
belief that public broadcasting will succeed if it focuses on what it
does best. You must remain true to your core mission \-- to serve the
public with noncommercial, educational programming that captures the
imagination of audiences, that enlightens as it entertains, that
inspires as it informs.

This is your birthright.

Public broadcasting has been successful and will continue to be
successful when it clearly differentiates itself from commercial media.
In today's media cacophony \-- where seven broadcast networks, hundreds
of cable and DBS networks, terrestrial radio, soon-to-launch satellite
radio, and the Internet all compete for audiences \-- public
broadcasting must distinguish itself from the crowd.

As Pat has said, public broadcasting plays a unique role in our society.
Your goal is not to make money or sell products through advertising, but
rather to serve the public. You are differentiated by your mission: to
serve citizens, not aggregate them in order to sell them products.

At its most basic level, public television is different because it does
not operate for profit. That does not mean you cannot be aggressive
about serving your audience, however. Motivated by a desire to educate
or inspire, driven by a wish to capture the minds as well as the hearts
of your viewers, public broadcasters can and should take risks, be
provocative, and accept challenges. And you do.

I believe in the unique place public television holds in the media
landscape. That is why, when the Commission held a day-long hearing on
the public interest obligations of broadcasters, I insisted that public
broadcasting be front and center at the witness table. By including PBS
in our hearing, I wanted to make sure that the public recognized the
vital contributions that public broadcasting makes every day to our
nation's well being. And what are they?

Children's educational programming. Not three hours per week, but eleven
hours of non-violent, non-commercial curriculum-based programming for
kids every day! No need for excessive violence or gratuitous sex here.
Coverage of community issues? No problem! Election coverage? Plenty of
it!

This is your birthright \-- to serve the public.

There are several ways in which public broadcasting delivers on its
unique role: (1) with educational programming; (2) with local
programming; and (3) with creative use of its digital spectrum. Let me
highlight briefly each of these ways.

### Public Broadcasting Differentiates Itself Through Educational Programming

At our recent hearing, the Commission focused on how well broadcasters
are meeting their obligation to serve children.

I want to thank Patricia Nugent, Senior Director of Children's
Programming at PBS. She represented you with skill and grace, describing
the many innovative and successful children's programs on PBS, such as
*Dragon Tales* and *Between the Lions*, funded with assistance from the
Department of Education's "Ready to Learn" program.

She described the new PBS KIDS all digital, all educational channel. She
detailed the innovative work PBS is doing on the Internet, with
pbskids.org, a website free of banner advertising. And she previewed
some of the projects PBS has in the pipeline, including a new series
targeted to older children; interactive educational programs to
capitalize on the convergence of television and the Internet; and
partnerships with cable networks to develop new enhanced programming.

And as I noted before, public broadcasting delivers not just three hours
*per week* of educational programming for children, but rather, eleven
curriculum-based hours *per day.*

# [Public Broadcasting Differentiates Itself Through Localism]{.underline}

The unique place that public broadcasting occupies in the media
landscape is enhanced by the localism you bring to the nation through
your 347 member stations. I applaud the work of your PBS Executive Vice
President for Member Services, Wayne Godwin, for bringing together all
your member stations.

You serve a wide audience. Almost 100 million people in 55 million
households watch public TV each week. The member stations cover 99% of
the American population.

This vast national audience is served by local stations offering
community-oriented programming, in-depth local political coverage, and
educational programming in conjunction with state universities.

And these stations serve members. By close association with your
membership, you insure that your programming remains vital to your
community. Few, if any, commercial stations have such direct and
sustained contact with the public they serve.

Indeed, public television stations are uniquely positioned to address
the digital divide in their communities by bringing enhanced digital
services to viewers and to schools.

As the number of national programmers proliferates in the commercial
world, public broadcasters occupy a valuable space in the local
programming niche. Again, this is a part of your birthright. It is
fundamental to who you are, and why you will succeed.

# [Public Broadcasting Differentiates Itself Through Use of the Digital Spectrum]{.underline}

# 

My optimism for the future of public broadcasting also comes from the
innovation, bold risk-taking, and vision that you already have shown in
the digital realm, seizing the opportunity to turn a new technology into
new opportunities.

Here, too, remaining true to your mission is key to your success. And
here, too, is evidence that serving the public need not preclude taking
risks and aggressively pursuing a vision.

PBS and public broadcasters have led the way in the transition to
digital broadcasting through their example and their innovation.

Public broadcasters are way ahead of schedule in the DTV buildout. FCC
rules do not require public broadcasters to be on the air with a digital
signal until May, 2003. But rather than wait until the last minute to
invest in digital, you seized the opportunity of a new and promising
technology.

Today, there are 20 public television stations that have gone on the air
with digital, including WETA here in Washington, KCET in Los Angeles,
KQED in San Francisco, and KCTS in Seattle. The list also includes
smaller market stations, such as WGBY in Springfield, Massachusetts and
WLPB in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

PBS also is at the forefront of the broadcast industry in promoting
digital television. PBS and Harris Corporation launched the DTV express
in 1998 \-- an 18-wheeler showcasing DTV technology, that toured the
nation and informed legislators, broadcasters, and educators about the
technology and promise of DTV.

PBS also aired the first national program to inform audiences about
digital television called, "Digital TV---A Cringely Crash Course," out
of Oregon Public Broadcasting.

While commercial broadcasters are still searching for a profitable
business model for digital, you already are pursuing with gusto a viable
educational model.

PBS and member station WETA, here in Washington, broke new ground by
broadcasting the first enhanced television broadcast, "Frank Lloyd
Wright." Using an Interactive Companion delivered over the digital
bitstream, a viewer could take an interactive tour of Fallingwater or
view blueprints of Wright's buildings.

Last year, PBS and Intel announced the first enhanced DTV program for
children, Zoboomafoo, a wildlife series for preschoolers. The digital
broadcast stream included companion data transmitted to state-of-the-art
Intel-equipped personal computers capable of receiving digital signals.

And the use of multiple digital broadcast streams to provide an
educational programming channel for children and local news and public
affairs, once again demonstrates your ability to embrace the versatility
of this new medium.

So, just as public broadcasting over the years has been the wellspring
of new programming genres, such as the historical documentary, it is
proving to be the wellspring of new applications for the digital
bitstream in the future.

### A Commercial Interruption

And now for a commercial interruption.

As a policymaker, I ardently believe that if you steadfastly deliver on
your promise, then Congress and those of us at the Federal
Communications Commission and in other policy-making bodies have an
obligation to do everything in *our* power to give you the tools to
accomplish your mission. I am committed to do just that.

But it is not easy for you to stay focused when your viewers are
bombarded with so many different forms of new media. Or when you are
tempted to expand commercial messages or lease out a substantial portion
of your spectrum for non-educational purposes in exchange for money that
could help pay for all of the good things that public television
delivers.

Your birthright hangs in the balance.

Like the story of how Esau lost his birthright. You remember that story.

There once were two brothers, Esau and Jacob. As the first born male,
Esau had a birthright to inherit the family's property. One day, he came
home, hungry and tired, and saw Jacob making some lentil soup. The soup
looked and smelled so good that the hungry Esau decided he just had to
have some. So he asked Jacob for some soup. "Sure," said Jacob, "but
only if you give me your birthright." Esau thought about it for a
minute. It would be a long time before he could inherit the family
fortune. But the soup was right there, hot and ready to eat, and Esau
was starving. "OK," he said, "take the birthright. I hunger for that
bowl of soup!"

As public broadcasters, you hunger for new revenue streams to enable you
to do all of the wonderful -- but expensive -- things we expect of you
in serving the public. You especially need funds to convert to digital
broadcasting. That is understandable.

But if this parable has any meaning for us today, it is that we must be
careful *not* to trade in our birthright for short-term gains.

Public broadcasting has a precious birthright -- to serve the public
with free, over the air educational, noncommercial, programming. But if
you allow commercialism to permeate public broadcasting, the picture
becomes fuzzy. Your mission is clouded. And your support in your
community and in Washington wanes.

Public broadcasting is at a fork in the road. It can elect to be a
beacon of stimulating, thought-provoking, educational and entertaining
programming for the whole family. Or it can try to imitate its
commercial counterparts and lose its way.

**[Conclusion: Just Remember . . .]{.underline}**

I'd like to close by celebrating the contributions of another noble
lady, whose heart and soul were dedicated to public broadcasting and who
left us far too young. Diane Blair, former chair of CPB, was deeply
committed to your mission. She understood the potential of digital
television to catapult public broadcasting to the head of the class. She
shared your dreams and acted upon them every day. Even at the end, she
saved her remaining energy to participate by conference call in a CPB
meeting.

At her memorial service, President Clinton recalled Diane's final words
to them as he and Hillary were leaving her home. She said, \"Before I
go, I want to tell you \-- remember." "Remember what?" asked Hillary.
Answered Diane with a smile, "Just remember!"

Those parting words encapsulate my message to you:

When you are tempted to wander from your non-profit, educational roots
-- *just remember*.

When you feel great frustration in finding the funding for your digital
conversion -- *just remember*.

When you feel pressure to deliver numbers instead of impact -- *just
remember*.

Just remember -- what public broadcasting is capable of being and
capable of delivering to our Nation -- if only we rededicate ourselves
to its mission.

***Just remember**!*

Thank you.