Future of Public Media

Hundreds of documentary filmmakers have signed on to the open letter to PBS that Kartemquin Films posted only a week ago.  Among the signatories: Barbara Kopple, Bill Moyers, Alex Gibney, Michael Moore, Joan Churchill, Jennifer Fox, Chuck Workman and other major award-winners. (Signatures still are being accepted.) Filmmakers are, in the technical language that IndieWIRE employed, pissed. Read more...

PBS, the biggest of the programming services for public TV, has rescheduled two programs that showcase independent producers’ work from across the nation: Independent Lens and POV. The results could put the future of those programs at risk, because of declining viewership. Read more...

What standards do public broadcasters hold themselves to, in the era of foreclosure news beats, the Arab spring, and #DowntonAbbey? Or, to ask the question another way, what is public broadcasting's mission? Read more...

Today, the Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) announced the winners of the Localore competition, a $2 million initiative designed to expand public radio and TV stations' capacity to innovate and reach new publics.Read more...

Digital Media and Democracy Worldwide: Public Media 2.0

What are the implications for democracy in the digital media transformation worldwide? What policies can protect diversity of expression, and what kind of funding is possible? How does the situation differ in different regions? Read more...