From: Michael j Strait <teach07@uc780.umd.edu>
Subject: Corporation for Public Broadcasting (long repost)
Originator: wdp@gagme
Organization: GAGME - Public Access UNIX of Chicago, Illinois, USA, Earth
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 09:38:53 GMT

[Moderator's Note: There has been so much traffic about public broadccasting,
I thought I would re-post this long article from Internet Radio Journal 116,
last spring. ]

Date: Thu, 28 May 1992 12:41:10 EDT

                      WHY AND HOW CPB WAS CREATED

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is a private, nonprofit
corporation, authorized by the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 to
promote the growth and development of public radio and television in
the United States.  The corporation was specifically created as an
independent corporation rather than a federal agency so that the
recipients of its money, engaged in First Amendment-protected
programming activities, could be free from the potential of editorial
interference that might come from direct federal funding.

Prior to CPB's formation, the educational television climate was full
of promise but lacking in resources.  The number of local stations was
increasing, but they lacked an adequate supply of high-quality
programming that could be made generally available throughout the
country.  This fact, and the tenuous financial condition of the local
stations, limited their potential service to the public.

In response to this problem, the Carnegie Corporation in 1965
established the Carnegie Commission, which was asked to review the
state of educational television in the United States and to recommend
solutions to any problems it discovered.

In January 1967, the Carnegie Commission presented its report, Public
Television: A Program for Action.  The principal conclusion of the
Commission was that a well financed and well directed educational
television system, substantially larger and far more pervasive and
effective than that which existed in the United States at the time,
must be brought into being if the full needs of the American public
were to be served.  The key to achieving this goal was the expansion
of federal funds available to educational broadcasting.

The dilemma: How could the federal government provide funds to public
broadcasting, engaged in a First Amendment-protected activity, without
running the risk of interfering with those First Amendment rights?
The solution: a private, independent organization that would not be a
part of the federal government and so could make program and other
funding decisions for educational broadcasters without the concern of
government interference in First Amendment-protected matters.

The new organization was conceived by the Commission as the
"Corporation for Public Television."  Legislation to implement a large
number of the Carnegie recommendations, amended to include radio,
moved through Congress.  On Nov. 7, 1967, President Lyndon Johnson
signed the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, establishing the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

When the Carnegie Commission recommended the creation of the
Corporation, the report emphasized "the long-standing American
tradition of fostering the expression of ideas and the communication
of information free from government control or oversight ..."  With
this in mind, Congress directed that CPB be organized as a private,
independent entity, which was not subject to the many requirements
that are imposed on federal agencies.  CPB was exempted from these
requirements to bolster its non-government status, the critical
component for federal support of public broadcasting.

In exempting CPB, Congress was not removing CPB from normal
requirements of accountability and responsibility for the funds it
managed.  In fact, those obligations are specifically imposed on CPB
through the Public Broadcasting Act.  CPB's non-government status is
intended to protect public broadcasters from governmental scrutiny of
the day-to-day programming operations of these broadcasters.  In
recommending the creation of the Corporation, the Carnegie Commission
stated that "Public television programming should free the creative
artist and technician to explore the full uses of the medium, allowing
them to give priority to the aesthetic motive, to the moral and
intellectual quest."

Although CPB's board is appointed by the President and confirmed by
the Senate, and CPB receives federal funds to fulfill its mandate, the
Public Broadcasting Act emphasized that the Corporation "will not be
an agency or establishment of the United States government." [47
U.S.C. 396(b)] CPB is to facilitate the development of public
telecommunications and to afford maximum protection from extraneous
interference and control.  [47 U.S.C. 396(a)(8)] The Corporation must
"carry out its purposes and functions and engage in its activities in
ways that will most effectively assure the maximum freedom of the
public telecommunications entities and systems from interference with,
or control of, program content or other activities."  [47 U.S.C.
396(g)(1)(D)] And the Public Broadcasting Act specifically does not
authorize any U.S. government official to exercise any direction,
supervision, or control over public telecommunications, CPB, any of
CPB's grantees, or any educational institution.  [47 USC 398(a)]

To further insulate CPB and public broadcasting from interference in
program content, Congress instituted a unique funding arrangement.
CPB is authorized to receive appropriations in three-year periods, and
the actual appropriations are made two years in advance of the current
fiscal year.  This funding technique not only gives public
broadcasters more time to plan and aggregate additional money needed
for program productions, but also prevents concerns about current
broadcasts from affecting current operating budgets and creating a
chilling effect on producers and stations.

CPB acts as a catalyst for the productions created by others.  The
Corporation's mandate in the Act included helping to ensure production
of high-quality programs from diverse sources; developing television
and radio systems that would reach and serve all Americans with
alternative programming; and providing training, instruction,
research, and development.  Today, CPB distributes direct grants for
operations and programming to 327 public radio stations and to 199
public television grantees operating 349 stations in the U.S. and its
territories.

The Public Broadcasting Act also directs CPB to strive for objectivity
and balance in controversial programs that it funds.  To this end, CPB
closely monitors the programs available in the national public
television and radio schedules and attempts to fill in gaps in the
wide range of issues and topics through its own program funding
decisions.  However, this provision of the Act has been interpreted by
the Courts to reserve to Congress the final determination of how CPB
executes this objectivity and balance obligation.  Congress has made
it clear that CPB is to emphasize maximum protection from interference
in program content to allow the greatest freedom for the expression of
ideas from diverse sources.

Although it shares certain similar interests with other national
organizations, CPB is distinctly different from the Public
Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR), both of
which are owned by their member stations.  CPB helped to establish
each.  CPB provides grants to qualified public television and radio
stations and also funds some television and radio program
production.
PBS buys programs and distributes them to public television stations,
and NPR produces and distributes programs to public radio stations.

The national commitment made in 1967 with the Public Broadcasting Act
has turned into a remarkably rich investment for the American
people.
Through the leadership and contributions of CPB, public broadcasting
has enriched the United States -- educationally, culturally, and
socially.  The distinctive voice of public broadcasting flows from its
public service orientation and its ability to be excellent without
dependence on market share.

3/2/92
Michael J. Strait, Ph.D.
Project Officer for Research and Evaluation
Annenberg/CPB Projects   Corporation for Public Broadcasting
901 E Street NW  Washington, DC   20004-2006
202-879-9649 (Voice)   202-783-1056 (Fax)  mstrait@linknet.com (Email)

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 28 May 1992 12:45:37 EDT
From: teach07@uc780.umd.edu
Subject: CPB 25th Anniversay Retrospective


FURTHER INFORMATION:         
Rozanne Weissman, 202/879-9689
Melissa Duprat, 202/879-9695
Joan Shaffer, 202/879-9687


Back to the Future ...

                FUTURISTS PREDICT MORE VITAL ROLE
                     FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

         Washington, D.C., May 7, 1992 -- Growing globalization.
Increasing individualization.  Complex events.  Fast-paced changes.
Dramatic diversification.  Overwhelming choices.  All further
accelerated by a revolution in telecommunications and broadcasting.

         These escalating trends will make public broadcasting even
more vital in the future than it was in its first 25 years, note two
leading futurists in a new publication, From Wasteland to Oasis: A
Quarter Century of Sterling Programming.  The 25-year retrospective by
the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) examines not only the
history and milestones of public broadcasting but also its future
potential through the eyes of futurists Alvin Toffler and John
Naisbitt.

         "We're a society starved for synthesis," says Alvin Toffler,
author with his wife Heidi of Future Shock, The Third Wave, and Power
Shift.  "We need more than sound bites.  We need interpretation and
analysis."  Adds Megatrends author Naisbitt, "It will become
increasingly important to be able to put events into broader and
deeper contexts."  Both futurists note public broadcasting's unique
strengths in these areas.

         "I'd hate to see the public broadcasting alternative
deteriorate," says Toffler, who foresees a faster pace of change
moving the world toward dramatic diversification--in family
structures, social structures, markets, and media.  In this dynamic
environment, he also urges public broadcasting to "experiment more and
invent more forms" as communications systems infuse our experience and
move increasingly to "interactivity, convertibility, ubiquity, and
mobility."

         To mark the Silver Anniversary of the Public Broadcasting Act
this year, the retrospective takes a dramatic look at what the public
might be missing without the farsighted statute in a section titled
What If Public Broadcasting Had Never Been?

         The answer:

         o no Sesame Street or Reading Rainbow, setting standards
           of creativity and excellence for children's television
           at home and in the classroom;

         o no NPR, bringing a renaissance to radio programming
           and radio news, with in-depth, intelligent, and
           engaging coverage of our complex world;

         o no PBS, delivering fresh, mind- and spirit-expanding
           television to America's living rooms;

         o no CPB, to fund and foster a steady and ambitious
           stream of imaginative, high-quality, alternative
           programming for public radio and television;

         o no closed captioning of television for people with
           hearing impairments nor descriptive video for people
           with visual impairments;

         o no school satellite services giving rural students a
           chance to learn the likes of Russian, Japanese, or
           calculus;

         o no development of radio and television as powerful
           forces to cope with social challenges through outreach
           programming;

         o no multicultural programming, addressing the diverse
           groups that make up the nation and creating bridges of
           understanding among people of different cultural
           heritage.

         With the flavor of Frank Capra's Christmas movie classic It's
A Wonderful Life, the section appropriately concludes with a
delightful photo of Big Bird and Mister Rogers hugging captioned:
"What if America's children didn't have their friends Big Bird and
Mister Rogers to comfort them?"

         From Wasteland to Oasis: A Quarter Century of Sterling
Programming opens 30 years ago with Newton Minow's famous "vast
wasteland" remark from his speech to commercial broadcasters about the
television landscape at that time.  The former FCC Chairman later in
the retrospective describes public broadcasting today as an "oasis"
and makes a forceful case for stable, adequate funding of public
broadcasting -- known for its "tin cup, begathon" image.

         "I've never understood why, when it comes to funding, we
distinguish public broadcasting from other public service institutions
like hospitals, libraries, and schools and universities which meet
essential needs and serve the public good," Minow says.  "Yet public
broadcasting is a stepchild, struggling to provide outstanding public
service while remaining in the role of perpetual beggar in the richest
country in the world."

         Minow concludes the retrospective with an optimism about
public broadcasting's future similar to that of the futurists: "Public
broadcasting has made enormous progress.  But it's only just
beginning."


Michael J. Strait, Ph.D.
Project Officer for Research and Evaluation
Annenberg/CPB Projects   Corporation for Public Broadcasting
901 E Street NW   Washington, DC   20004-2006
202-879-9649 (Voice)  202-783-1056 (Fax)   mstrait@linknet.com (Email)




-- 


Newsgroups: rec.radio.broadcasting