CPB PRESIDENT ROBERT COONROD

July 20, 1999
		Testimony of Robert T. Coonrod, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Production.

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I welcome this opportunity to appear again before the Subcommittee and to participate in today's discussion. I understand that Members of the Subcommittee are concerned about recent press accounts of the trading or renting of several public broadcasting station membership lists with political organizations. With the Subcommittee's permission, I would like to use my oral statement to address that issue in detail. However, because I know the Subcommittee is asking questions as well about the continuing relevance of public broadcasting in a cable and direct broadcast satellite environment, I would like to use my brief written statement to highlight, in particular, why the services and programs public television provides are more important today than ever. I could just as easily focus these comments on the great strides being made by public radio, but will today address the issue of the relevance of public television in relation to programming being produced for distribution by cable and by commercial television networks. American public broadcasting is not, and never has been, government broadcasting. It is a quintessential grassroots enterprise, made up of 353 television and 694 radio stations, each of which is governed by its own local board of directors. The federal appropriation accounts for 13.5 percent of public broadcasting's annual revenues. This translates into an annual federal grant to public radio stations, television stations, and a diverse variety of television and radio producers. The federal grant is not only essential for their operations, it is a crucial element of their identity and mission. Public broadcasting is, in fact, one of the most successful public/private partnerships in operation today. Each of our partners is important to the continued health of this system, but the federal government is perhaps the most important. The loss of any one partner jeopardizes the enterprise. Recognizing your key role in making this enterprise possible, let me address the variety of Americans for whom public broadcasting remains relevant. Public broadcasting is relevant to minorities. At a time when the NAACP is threatening to sue commercial broadcasters about the lack of African-American faces on commercial television, public broadcasters are celebrating award winning programming by and about African-Americans. I Must Keep Fighting: The Art of Paul Robeson; NPR coverage of Africa; African's in America: America's Journey Through Slavery, and When Good Men Do Nothing are just a few recent examples. Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders are also seeing and hearing their faces and voices on public radio and television. Public broadcasting is relevant to young people who are increasingly confronted by violent images in a variety of media. Public broadcasting is not only a safe haven from violent programming, it promotes safe havens in a literal sense. On June 5, 1999, over 2,000 communities held "safe night" events. "Safe night" is an ongoing annual national event designed to teach youth ways to avoid violence. Public broadcasters are helping organize and promote the events. PBS aired a live one-hour special, also shown on Black Entertainment Network (BET), that connected safe night events around the country. Public broadcasting is relevant to individuals who cannot access the many available cable or satellite channels, either for financial reasons, due to remote location, or because not all channels or services are available to them. More than 30 million homes, or an estimated 90 million people, do not receive cable, either by choice or because they cannot afford it Essentially all Americans have access to public broadcasting, delivered for free over the air. Public broadcasting is also relevant to high school dropouts. More than 2 million Americans have earned their high school diplomas through GED programs offered by public television stations. It is relevant to American teachers. In a survey conducted by Cable in the Classroom last summer, PBS materials topped the field of classroom choices, with 70 percent of teachers reporting they use video materials from PBS in the classroom. The PBS Adult Learning Service delivers distance-learning telecourses by satellite to two-thirds of the nation's college campuses, where 360,000 students are enrolled in these courses for college credit. The Annenberg/CPB Channel provides free, detailed teacher training in math and science to anyone in the country, free of charge. We are expanding this service to include teacher training in English, History and Literature. Finally, public broadcasting continues to be very relevant to the youngest among us. Most of us already know that from observing the viewing habits of our own children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, friends and neighbors. Our programming consistently earns the respect of our professional peers. Our educational contribution to children's viewing has been validated over and over, and public opinion research repeatedly shows that the American people appreciate the service we provide and consider it a good use of taxpayers' money. As I mentioned to this Subcommittee on June 30, programs airing on PBS and NPR recently received 12 of 33 George Foster Peabody Awards for Broadcast and Cable Excellence, out of nearly 1,300 entries. A few days later, Fred Rogers, Sesame Street, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and Arthur all won daytime Emmys. Earlier that year, a CPB/National Asian American Telecommunications Association-funded documentary Regret to Inform was nominated for an Oscar. Our children's programming is consistently singled out for its excellence. Last month, in its 1999 State of Children's Television Report, the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania noted that the number of programs airing for children has risen (up 12 percent over the previous year), with the largest increase on basic cable venues. Yet the report adds, "Programs with clear and salient lessons tend to appear most frequently on PBS… High-quality programs are still most likely to appear on PBS stations and least likely to air on broadcast weblet and independent stations." This is simply further evidence of why American families regard public broadcasting as a safe haven for children and a wise investment for taxpayers. You will hear from Amy Jordon of the Annenberg Public Policy Center later today about this study. Taxpayers, too, value our programming and services. In a 1997 poll by Roper Starch Worldwide, Inc., American rated public radio and public television as the second and third best values in return for tax dollars spent. Only national defense rated higher. This outstanding record of programming and service will improve exponentially when digital broadcasting becomes the new standard. By 2003, digital broadcasting will permit us to deliver more content in exciting new ways that expand our educational depth and reach. Digital will provide not only expanded capacity, but also the means to make a television set function more like a computer. As I've said before, we are extremely excited about this because the technology has finally caught up with our mission. Eventually, digital technology and the new media it will spawn are going to be an important and powerful new tool for learning among all age levels, and at all economic levels. We know that the people value this institution. It is the support and participation of the Congress that makes public broadcasting "public," and we look forward to continuing the partnership for many decades to come. We believe public broadcasting is poised to enter an era in which we will offer new services even more effectively to more and more Americans. I will be pleased to answer your questions.

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