Expanding Community Outreach and Education
In public television, we believe our commitment to our viewers doesn’t end when the credits roll at the conclusion of our programs. This is why PBS is working to help its member stations reach out to the communities they serve. For example, the new PBS Kids Health Initiative strives to strengthen public television’s commitment to children’s health and combat obesity. It includes on-air and online content, as well as community outreach programs that are designed to foster healthier lifestyles.

Similarly, PBS offers a range of educational services for children, parents, teachers, and caregivers. PBS TeacherLine is an acclaimed professional development service that helps teachers meet No Child Left Behind requirements in key subjects such as reading, math, and science. Meanwhile, the PBS Kids Raising Readers initiative offers resources to help children ages two to eight learn to read.

In the years to come, PBS wants to partner with experts in early learning to develop a comprehensive, standards-based preschool curriculum and professional development for preschool educators and child care providers. We’re also eager to partner with universities and other academic organizations to create a network of virtual labs to conduct extensive testing and research of preschool content and to serve as an incubator for the next generation’s Sesame Street or Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Putting Technology to Work for Stations
PBS has always been on the leading edge of technology. In the 1970s, for example, we pioneered the use of closed-captioning, winning an Emmy for our efforts. We also were the first major broadcasting organization to distribute programming to stations using a satellite, and we were one of the first broadcasters to recognize the power of the Internet.

Our commitment to new technology continues in the 21st century. Today you can visit your local PBS station’s Web site to stream episodes of The NewsHour, Frontline, and many other series. You can also go to YouTube to watch hundreds of PBS video clips, from Tavis Smiley Show interviews to full-length reports from David Brancaccio’s Now. Meanwhile, iTunes allows you to download episodes of shows like Nova and Teletubbies to your desktop, iPod, or iPhone.

We also offer PBS Kids Play, an online service that features educational games for children, and soon we’ll introduce PBS Kids Go, a broadband service that will help stations serve school-aged children.

In addition, we’re continuing to build PBS Engage, an online social media initiative that helps citizens foster a stronger connection to PBS content. Another project in development—the Educational Digital Content Asset Repository (EDCAR)—will be a digital archive that links the tremendous resources developed by PBS stations and producers throughout the public television system. These new platforms are helping our stations reach younger Americans who might not otherwise discover PBS on television. These projects are critical toward our work to help our member stations cultivate a new generation of public television consumers.

Of course, we recognize that many citizens—especially the elderly, the poor, and minorities—lack access to the Internet and other new technology. Every home in this country may not have a computer, but virtually every one has a TV. This is why we’re working so hard to ensure the success of America’s transition to digital television on Feb. 17, 2009. PBS and its member stations have joined other organizations in a national grassroots campaign to educate viewers about the DTV transition and ensure they have the resources they need to make the switch.

But when the transition is complete, public television will have more ways than ever to serve citizens. Not only will our stations be able to offer viewers superior picture and sound quality, “multicasting” will allow stations to offer a main channel and separate channels that can be tailored to individual genres such as public affairs, children, and lifelong learning.

As one of my colleagues likes to say, technology has finally caught up with public broadcasting’s mission.

Expanding Resources
PBS’s efforts to strengthen its work in the areas of content, community outreach and education, and technology will go a long way toward helping our member stations serve citizens across the United States. But we recognize our ambitions will take us only so far. Individual donors remain the largest single source of financial contribution to public television, and we continue to rely on federal funding and philanthropic foundations for additional support. But I am also working to identify new resources for a new generation.

We remain committed to our public service mission, but we also recognize the opportunities to move beyond an analog model to one better suited for the Digital Age. This means not only honoring our commitment to education, but also thoughtfully developing some new revenue-generating models to support our core mission.

I am also enthusiastic about the PBS Foundation, which works in partnership with member stations to bring new revenue into the public television system. Since its formation in 2004, the foundation has raised about $20 million, including a recent $1 million gift from the Adobe Foundation, the philanthropic arm of software giant Adobe Systems Inc. The Adobe grant sends an important signal to Silicon Valley, which is home to so many entrepreneurs and philanthropists who are eager to invest in public service organizations like PBS and its member stations.

Conclusion
In March 2008, for the fifth consecutive year, PBS and its member stations were named America’s most trusted institution in a poll by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Media Partners. In this same survey, PBS ranked second only to the U.S. military as the best use of taxpayer dollars. It would be easy to rest on our laurels, but that isn’t my way—and it isn’t public television’s, either.

As PBS’s president and chief executive officer, my top priority is serving our member stations, which are dedicated to keeping alive the cherished values of localism and community service. By providing our stations with stronger content, community outreach, education and technological services, we will ensure a bright future for public television and the citizens we are so proud to serve.

Paula Kerger
President, Public Broadcasting Service