Before the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, U.S House Committee on Appropriations
May 22, 2006
Chairman Regula, Ranking Member Obey, and distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you for allowing me to submit this testimony on behalf of our nation's public service media system.
The federal investment in this system ensures that Americans, whatever their age, ethnicity or economic status, will have access to quality television and radio programs for themselves and their families. Public broadcasting delivers programs that educate, entertain, and inform; programs that move us to do more for our communities and country; and programs that serve as a bridge to community and inspire us to be citizens, not just consumers.
In my nearly year-long tenure as President and CEO of CPB, I continue to visit stations throughout the country and see first-hand what public broadcasting provides to communities, both urban and rural, beyond the broadcast. For example, the documentary Country Boys, about youth at risk in Appalachia, stands on its own as an example of the best in thoughtful filmmaking, but it also inspires the viewer to become engaged, to make a difference at a local level on behalf of young people.
Where else but public television, uninterrupted by commercials, could the heartbreaking story of children's cancer be treated in a way that provides both hope and information to families dealing with the disease. A Lion in the House -- a partnership between public television, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Cancer Society and others -- underscores how important it is to have community support for those cancer-stricken families whose resources are limited. This support can mean the difference between life and death for a child who has cancer.
Public radio offers thoughtful programs which are sometimes the only link to the outside world for Americans aged, infirmed and living in rural areas. For example, KJZZ-FM in Tempe provides the "Sun Sounds" Radio Reading Service for the blind and print disabled, which reaches 32,000 people in Arizona. In Wisconsin, the statewide public broadcasting network provides distribution services for the Amber Alert system.
Only public broadcasting engages and connects to community at so many different levels, enabling adults to get their GED, helping families understand and cope with Alzheimer's, and serving as the trusted voice of the community in good times and in emergencies.
The promise of public broadcasting is a better educated and informed civil society. In every community in the United States, people turn to more than 1,150 public television and radio stations for programs and services that educate, help, and inspire. Wherever viewers and listeners are -- at home, in their cars, in their classrooms or workplaces -- the programs and services public broadcasters deliver make a difference in their lives. That is why, each week, more than 80 million Americans view public television and more than 27 million listen to public radio.
In a 500-channel world, public broadcasting is more relevant than ever before. The fact that technology has delivered more channels than we could possibly watch is not, in and of itself, a good or bad thing. The value lies in what we have to choose from. A steady diet of American Idol or Desperate Housewives will not strengthen our civil society. Public broadcasting is delivering to viewers and listeners the best content when, where and how they want it.
Public broadcasting matters more than ever at a time when people are yearning for a sense of community engagement and connection to one another. And public broadcasting benefits because it is the trusted place for in-depth information beyond the sound bite with programs that inform, illuminate, entertain and, in the process, help viewers and listeners fulfill their responsibilities as citizens.
Public broadcasting is especially relevant now, where there are few truly safe places for children in the media environment. Mr. Chairman, we provide a space for them, where regardless of their race or heritage or economic status, they can begin to see that learning is a lifelong adventure down Sesame Street and into the world. This is our trust.
Public broadcasting, radio and television, is a national treasure worthy of our federal investment. From a federal investment amounting to $1.54 per American a year, public broadcasting serves as America's community connection. By leveraging $2.3 billion in non-federal funds, public broadcasting brings the neighborhood to us, not only our own, but the myriad neighborhoods that comprise our great country.
CPB is requesting a $430 million advance appropriation for FY 2009. CPB's request is the same as our request for FY 2008. The advance appropriation ensures that public broadcasters will have adequate time to plan for programming and to raise the 85 percent of their revenues that comes from non-federal sources. Recognizing the need for budgetary restraint, CPB continues to help stations to leverage the federal investment as effectively as possible. Funding at the level requested will allow public broadcasting to continue to build on its strong record of locally-based community service.
For FY2007, CPB is requesting $40 million for public broadcasting's continuing conversion to digital technology, and $36 million as the final installment of funding for replacement of public television's current interconnection system.
The digital transition funds are needed so that we can continue to meet the substantial costs associated with the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) requirement that television stations transition to digital broadcasting, and continue the investment in research and development of digital multicast and datacast content and services. In addition, the public radio system needs equipment funding to ensure the success of radio's digital transition and to deliver enhanced digital services to the public.
The Public Broadcasting Act requires CPB to fund interconnection systems for both public television and radio. The requested interconnection funds will be used to pay for development and capital costs of the Next Generation Interconnection System, through which the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and others distribute programs to public television stations. The scheduled expiration of public television's current satellite leases necessitates a replacement and provides an opportunity for public broadcasters to develop a system that will be more efficient and will allow full use of stations' digital capabilities.
Education is the cornerstone of public broadcasting. CPB is requesting $32 million for the Department of Education's Ready To Learn program, whose central mission is to equip young children to enter school prepared to become successful learners and achievers. In August 2005, CPB, together with PBS, was awarded a Ready To Learn contract to develop and distribute scientifically-researched programming and other content geared to low-income children aged 2-8, their parents, and their caregivers. Additional funding in FY 2007 will enable programming and materials to be created and tested on a faster timeline, and will enable more communities to become involved in the significant, community-based outreach activities.
For more than 25 years, public broadcasting has served the educational needs of America. Public broadcasters have always been the leaders in children's educational programming -- showing the way with research-based, age-appropriate content that has been proven to help children learn. While most Americans are familiar with our offerings for young children -- shows like Sesame Street or today's Maya and Miguel -- public broadcasting's educational offerings go far beyond that. For example:
- In Kentucky, Kentucky Educational Television (KET) pioneered the GED-on-TV concept, through which more than 1,000,000 adults worldwide have earned their high school equivalency certificates.
- In Nebraska, Nebraska Educational Television (NET) makes college courses up to the Ph.D. level available through broadcast.
- In Ohio, WGUC-FM in Cincinnati opens the world of classical music to children through Classics for Kids, a music education curriculum available in the classroom and at home.
- PBS offers teachers throughout the nation more than 3,000 free lesson plans and activities -- as well as online professional development courses.
Now, CPB is reinventing its educational service to reflect current research on young children -- which consistently points to the absolute importance of early learning -- and to take into account the needs of a new generation of American children whose diverse backgrounds and technological sophistication present us, and all educators, with a new set of challenges.
We are implementing a five-year plan that will both increase the use of public television content in formal education settings such as schools, and improve its learning benefit to viewers who watch or use this content in informal settings like homes or childcare facilities.
Our dedication to educational content is not limited to young children. Our American History and Civics Initiative represents a major commitment by CPB to increasing the knowledge that middle and high school students have of American history, our political system, and civil society.
CPB's general appropriation is allocated according to a congressionally-set formula that ensures the funds go directly to creating and delivering highly-valued programs and services. Public broadcasting is not centered in Washington, D.C.; it's in local stations from Ketchikan, Alaska, to Ketchum, Idaho, and Keene, New Hampshire.
CPB assists the public broadcasting system as it serves the public with television and radio programs, web-based content, and services that reach deep into local communities. Relying on research and first-hand knowledge of the system, CPB seeks first to identify the programs and other services that really matter most to people and to spot the best emerging opportunities for broadcasters and producers to enhance and expand what they offer. We find ways to reinforce both the best existing services and the most promising emerging opportunities.
Public broadcasters are an essential part of their local communities, but perhaps never more essential than when they provide vital services during times of emergency.
In September 2004, the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) signed an agreement to work cooperatively with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to demonstrate how datacasting over a public television station's digital transmission can enhance the effectiveness of the Emergency Alert System. Since then, two pilot phases have demonstrated proof of performance of datacasting using public television's digital transmission. Phase I was a successful "proof of concept" that alerts sent by local stations could be received and re-transmitted over cell phone, cable, satellite, radio, and other networks. Phase II, initiated in early 2006, expanded the pilot nationally to include 19 local stations in diverse regions of the country. The success of this phase helped to develop a set of best practices for emergency communications.
In the months after Hurricane Katrina, public broadcasters throughout the region and across the country worked to serve not only the population of their own communities, but also tens of thousands of people displaced by the storm. Public broadcasting leaders provided books, DVD players, and educational television programming to young evacuees and their parents housed in Red Cross shelters in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and in other states. They have also been working to provide more extensive, longer-term services to schools and libraries that are and will be struggling to serve new populations in the months and years ahead.
Even before the hurricane, local stations were serving their communities with technical facilities and services specifically dedicated to enhancing the safety and security of their neighbors. For example:
- In Tennessee, Nashville Public Television (NPT) launched the state's first digital television datacasting system for education, homeland security and public service. Together with the Metropolitan Nashville Government, NPT will provide alert, training, and emergency management capabilities to Nashville's Office of Emergency Management, including NPT MetroCast -- a one-way, wireless broadband network that transmits streamed video, still-image, and data files to computers and networks throughout middle Tennessee. NPT MetroCast will send emergency alerts, Amber alerts, weather alerts, and other emergency information to other broadcasters throughout the area for redistribution. It will also provide emergency-services personnel in the field with the latest available data about the risks and potential effects of, as well as optimal response measures to hazards natural and man-made; accidental and intentional.
- In New York, WXXI-TV in Rochester has partnered with the city's Fire Department to allow an encrypted Emergency Training and Information Network to broadcast on WXXI's digital frequency and be transmitted to firehouses, police stations, ambulance corps, and hospitals in and around Monroe County. Fire Department officials believe that this initiative could be used by public-safety agencies across the country.
- In New Hampshire, the state's public television network, in conjunction with the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, the New Hampshire Library Association, and Volunteer NH, is helping citizens address their emergency preparedness concerns through its "Partnership for a Safe New Hampshire" forums.
- Public television stations are also working with state and local emergency managers on ways in which their digital datacasting technology can be used to securely and reliably send emergency and other information to the general public, as well as to sites including government offices, schools and hospitals. Utilizing this technology, officials can transmit alerts in text, audio and video formats, accompanied by data files and other emergency information. The systems being tested can literally provide fire fighters blueprints to buildings as they respond to a fire, or give first responders a map of the latest estimate of where a toxic plume is heading.
Public broadcasters have long been a "beacon of quality" in terms of the enduring value of the award-winning, nationally-distributed programs that they produce, acquire, and broadcast year in and year out. At CPB, we have developed what we consider to be the next milestone in that long history -- America at a Crossroads.
Airing in the spring of 2007, America at a Crossroads will examine the challenges and opportunities facing America and the world in the wake of the September 11 attacks. We believe these broadcasts will be a significant moment in American television history and raise the level of national debate on this important subject.
Increasingly, public broadcasters are using their skills and resources to help people other than professional television and radio program producers to tell their own stories, to create and record their own content, and to make what they have to say or to show accessible to interested people.
StoryCorps is a groundbreaking national initiative designed to inspire and enable Americans to record one another's stories in sound. The project uses a fixed location at the World Trade Center in New York and two mobile StoryBooths that crisscross the country. Stopping in communities along the way, StoryCorps features mothers interviewing daughters, husbands interviewing wives, grandsons interviewing grandfathers -- capturing for posterity the ordinary and extraordinary stories that comprise the fabric of American life.
Mr. Chairman, this is only part of the story of our public service media system in America. This is the national treasure that is available and accessible to all Americans, working every day to strengthen our civil society. I thank you for allowing me to submit this testimony and urge you to consider our request for funding.
Thank you.