An Op-Ed piece in the Washington Post by Steve Coll calls for commercial broadcasters and cable outlets, like Fox News, to fund public broadcasting. The idea is not new. I've heard the idea discussed since the early 8o's when I was studying Mass Communications. The idea is, a set aside from commercial broadcasters would be the best way to fund public broadcasting. This would help ensure Public Broadcasting's future and help it fulfill its mission to serve under-served communities.
Public Radio is grappling with this issue. Despite growth to about 30 million listeners in the past decade, public radio stations are looking for ways to increase diversity in its audience. Steve Coll included in his article the BBC's handling of criticism that its coverage was left leaning. BBC managers studied their coverage and did not find they leaned in any particular direction but, did find they were not covering stories that appealed to conservatives. According to Coll, the BBC solved their problem by broadening their coverage. Coll recommends a similar self-examination for NPR.
At the recent PRPD Conference in Denver, a panel that included representatives from the CBC talked about how they broadened their coverage to be more inclusive. (Panel: The Next Step Up: Inclusiveness - Farai Chideya (Moderator); Keith Woods, NPR; Kashmir Birk, Bioss; Susanne Marjetti, CBC) The CBC deliberately became more inclusive in their coverage to reflect the diversity of their communities served. The panel members from the CBC their audience grew. Not just numbers, but also in diversity.
I strongly recommend this piece. There are many more ideas that can be drawn on to build a stronger Public Broadcasting system.
Steve Coll, a former managing editor of The Washington Post and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, is president of the New America Foundation.
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