PBS has new President

[wtbymark]

email from my CEO:

Yesterday, the PBS Board of Directors unanimously chose Paula Kerger as the next President and CEO of PBS. She will replace Pat Mitchell and begin work on March 13th.

Paula is currently the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of WNET - Channel 13 in New York City. She has been engaged in every aspect of our work – from executive management, editorial decision-making, programming, and educational services to fund-raising, communications, government affairs, and Board development. Her passion for public television’s mission and her optimism about its future are unconditional.

I have known Paula for many years, having served with her on a number of PBS and CPB Task Forces. Two years ago, Paula came to Vermont to work with our Board on Major Giving and Board Development at a retreat.

I am very pleased with the Board's selection.

[Armstead]

1. Did they dump the Bush campaign woman, or is this a different job?

[wtbymark]

2. yes, Pat Mitchell was a bushy

[KansDem]

3. Look at what she said about PBS cutbacks...

http://www.boycott-riaa.com/article/17297

"There definitely has been a period of demoralization," said John Lawson, president of the Assn. of Public Television Stations. "I think the actions of Ken Tomlinson have been quite damaging. The controversy around them has hurt us in the eyes of the public and it has been a huge distraction."

Tomlinson, former editor of Reader's Digest, has maintained that he is seeking only to bring more balance to public broadcasting, thereby expanding its viewership and strengthening it in the process.

Paradoxically, the upheaval has galvanized the usually sedate world of public television and given local radio stations additional ammunition in their fundraising appeals.

Marshaled by spots on their local stations, people have flooded their local congressional offices with phone calls protesting the cuts. MoveOn.org gathered more than 1 million signatures in a week from opponents of the measure. And members of the CPB board said they had received thousands of e-mails from viewers weighing in on Tomlinson's actions.

"The positive in all of this is it has provoked a public debate about public television, which I think is a healthy thing," said Paula Kerger, chief operating officer of Thirteen/WNET in New York.

Doesn't exactly inspire confidence...

[WePurrsevere]

6. PUBLIC debate about PUBLIC television is not a bad thing necessarily

I'd rather an issue that effects PBS, like budget cuts, debated and discussed by the public in public then kept quiet until PBS just disappears. Besides it may have helped boost their public donations and sponserships which is definately a good thing IMO.

Although perhaps a "dream", as a longtime supporter and viewer of PBS I'd rather see PBS truly independant and able to fully support themselves using public donations and business sponserships then reliant upon the whims of the gov playing power games with PBS's funding.

[WePurrsevere]

4. She can't be too bad. She backed up the Postcards From Buster with Lesbian

parents episode being aired...

Paula Kerger, executive vice president of WNET in New York, issued a statement that “Thirteen is pleased to air the series ‘Postcards From Buster.’” The show reflects “the reality of family life in 21st-century America,” she added.

“‘Postcards’ also features various family structures found in the United States today,” she added. “A significant number of children across the United States live in a similar family arrangement, with two parents of the same sex. We feel strongly that those children deserve to have their lives and their reality acknowledged and reflected in a series that celebrates diversity.”

Kerger concluded that WNET would never withdraw programs from the air simply because the situations portrayed might not be to the liking of some viewers. We seek to present programs that fairly represent reality, and we leave it up to our viewers to draw their own conclusions, using their own good judgment and intelligence.”

From here:
http://www.nyblade.com/2005/2-4/news/national/recruiting.cfm

[EFerrari]

5. This is good news. I hope it indicates a trend.

PBS has been a treasure.

[PATRICK]

7. The target, PBS

had been growing at the same time as Snidely Whiplash was rubbing his hands and getting ready to get his stooge in. It backfired instead of turning it into an easy CNN style walkover.

Which proves that public financed and backed news, even more easy going and moderate, has more journalistic stamina as an organization and in its listeners than any of the miserable failures in the private sector. The comparison is dramatic. ALL the funding comes from donations and government grants. Browbeating by Congress has real teeth. The private donors are still many GOP corporate entities.

This a couragEOUS PROOF that people and the concept of civic institutions not run by or for corporate profit is a stronger and healthier venue. All the more since we are talking about a moderate center who does not see the dangers or the false viewpoints that have seeped easily into content.

CNN caved on election day. Caved publicly with craven humiliation into a FOX wannabe. And the effect of this betrayal on its viewers and its standards has been equally stark. So much for corporate news networks.