Public media executive urges tripling of federal funds for non-profit broadcasting

Congress needs to triple rather than cut the $450 million non-profit media receive annually, Bill Kling, CEO of American Public Media, said at an April 26 National Press Club event on the future of broadcasting.

Congress received "500,000 letters, e-mails and phone calls opposed to the cuts threatened by the House and supported by some members of the Senate," Kling said. The cuts were not made, but media leaders fear they still might be.

Joyce Slocum, interim president and CEO of NPR, said the public radio network "gets little of its funding from the federal government."

But she said federal funds are vital for local stations around the country. She called attention to one in West Texas that was "vital" in keeping listeners informed about the fires there.

"These are the kinds of stations for which federal funds are critical," Slocum said.

Executives from a wide range of non-commercial media agreed the American people support and need NPR, PBS and the thousands of non-profit stations across the country. The event was sponsored by the Missouri School of Journalism and featured one of its alumni, Jim Lehrer, as a lead-off speaker.

"Serious journalism is in trouble," said Lehrer, anchor of what for many years was called the Lehrer News Hour but is now the PBS News Hour.

"We are hurting," Lehrer said. "There is a major role for public media. It must fill the gap" left by the diminished coverage by newspapers and other media of stories integral to democracy. Rather than shrinking the role of public media, Lehrer said it needs to be expanded.

One thing the PBS News Hour isn't is "entertainment," Lehrer said.

Lehrer and other panelists agreed on the need for more co-operation and collaboration by non-commercial media.

"The PBS News Hour is prepared to challenge all we do to improve its serious journalism," Lehrer said.

Hari Sreenivasan, correspondent and director of digital partnerships for the PBS News Hour, emphasized many ways that is happening. The number of viewers of the PBS News Hour online was up 11 percent in February and 16 percent in March compared to the same months of last year, he said.

He outlined ways the online news hour provides content for and receives content from PBS stations across the nation.

Federal grants are important to WAMU-FM, the American University station in Washington, according to station General Manager Caryn Mathes. She also warned non-profit stations face "a battle to keep their federal tax deductions in the 2012 budget."

Patrick Butler, president and CEO of the Association of Public Television Stations, said, "We must make sure people understand the essential role we play. We are the representatives of the public."

Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, said studies show 77 percent of NPR's content is "objective reporting." He also said 31 percent of the news on PBS stations is foreign.

Panelists discussed the importance of local news, especially in stations in small cities. But Sreenivasasan said he thought "geography is becoming less and less important for many people."