The Future of Public Television
 
March 6, 1998, Media Studies Center, Freedom Forum.
Sponsored by the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, in collaboration with the Bertlesmann Foundation. Hosted by the Media Studies Center, Freedom Forum.

RealAudio Broadcast Summary Program

About the Conference
Fifty years ago, American public television was created with the mission of presenting high quality as well as public interest programming to its viewership. Over time, the American broadcasting environment has changed considerably. Funding pressures, internal structure issues, and the emergence of technologies such as cable television, DBS, and the Internet, have all had a profound impact.  

9:00am Welcome
Eli Noam, Columbia University
Ingrid Hamm, Bertlesmann Foundation
Robert Giles, Media Studies Center

9:15am-9:30am The PBS Perspective on the Future
John Hollar, Executive Vice President, PBS

9:30am-10:40am Institutions of American Public Television
Chair:
James Carey, Columbia Journalism School
Paper:
William Rowland, Dean of Communications, University of Colorado
Panelists:

  • Jeff Chester, Center for Media Education
  • Solving Bernstein Singleton, Cato Institute
  • Jack Willis, Foundation for Open Society

10:50am-12:00pm Public Interest Programming by American Commercial Television
Chair:
Zoe Baird, Markle Foundation
Paper:
Eli Noam, Columbia University
Panelists:

  • Eleanor Applewaite, WNET
  • Bill Squadron, SporTVision
  • Andrew Schwartzmann, Media Access Project

12:00pm-1:30pm Keynote:
Hon Larry Pressler, former U.S. Senator

1:30pm-2:40pm Public Television and the Impact of New Technologies
Chair:
Chloe W. Aaron, Twentieth Century Fund
Paper:
Monroe Price, Professor Cardozo School of Law
Panelists:

2:40pm-3:50pm Program Offerings
Chair:
A. Michael Noll, University of Southern California
Paper:
Richard Somerset-Ward, Author Twentieth Century Fund Commission Report On Public Television
Panelists:

  • James Fellows, Central Education Network
  • Gigi Sohn, Media Access Project
  • Mark Thalhimer, RTNDF

4:00pm-5:10pm Funding and Economics of American Television
Chair:
Richard Marks, Vinson & Elkins
Panelists:

5:10pm-5:40pm Public Television in International Comparison
Chair:
Ingrid Hamm, Bertlesmann Foundation
Panelists:

5:40pm-6:00pm Concluding Remarks
Eli Noam, Columbia University

Organized by

Eli Noam, Professor and Director
Hedahne Chung, Assistant Director