PRESIDENT'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS DIVERSITY IN DIGITAL TV

WASHINGTON, DC -- On December 18, the President's Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters sent its recommendations to Vice President Gore. In addition to educational programming for both children and adults on a new, commercial-free service, the Committee recommended greater diversity in broadcasting, community oriented programming, interactive services for schools, libraries and other community organizations, and serving the needs of individuals with disabilities.

Titled CHARTING THE DIGITAL BROADCASTING FUTURE, the report also calls for improving reporting requirements so that the public has a better sense of how broadcasters are serving their interests, and it asks for better campaign and candidate coverage.

"As this Nation's 1,600 television stations begin to convert to a digital television format, it is appropriate to reexamine the long-standing social compact between broadcasters and the American people," the report states. "The quality of governance, intelligence of political discourse, diversity of free expression, vitality of local communities, opportunities for education and instruction, and many other dimensions of American life will be affected profoundly by how digital television evolves."

Chairman Public Media Inc and the Benton Foundation, Charles Benton, who served on the Advisory Committee with 21 other representatives of the industry, labor unions, minority organizations, independent producers, children's advocates, and public advocates, explains (in an email communication about the report) that "the transition from today's analog TV system to DTV will give broadcasters, "the ability to offer a wide, new array of services: high-definition television (HDTV) with picture and sound quality that rivals a movie theater experience, multiple, simultaneous programming channels with a quality equal to or better than today's service, the ability to provide subscription and pay-per-view programming, as well as paging and wireless telephone service. Broadcasters could also use the technology to make television more interactive with a service called datacasting."

In the section on Improving Education Through Digital Broadcasting, the report calls for Congress "to create a trust fund to ensure enhanced and permanent funding for public broadcasting to help it fulfill its potential in the digital television environment and remove it from the vicissitudes of the political process," and it states that "When spectrum now used for analog broadcasting is returned to the government, Congress should reserve the equivalent of 6 MHz of spectrum for each viewing community in order to establish channels devoted specifically to noncommercial educational programming. Congress should establish an orderly process for allocating the new channels as well as provide adequate funding from appropriate revenue sources."

Emphasizing diversity as an important value in the new broadcasting environment, whether it is in programming, political discourse, hiring, promotion, or business opportunities within the industry, the report recommends that "broadcasters seize the opportunities inherent in digital television technology to substantially enhance the diversity available in the television marketplace."

In the belief that "hiring and promotion policies that result in significant representation of minorities and women in decision-making positions in broadcast management could tend to increase programming diversity," the report recommends that during the digital transition, broadcasters voluntarily redouble their efforts to encourage effective participation by minorities and women at all levels of the industry.

The report also asks that "the flexibility of digital technology be exploited by the use of newly available audio channels to help serve the needs of individuals with disabilities."

Stating that "Independent production is often a prime opportunity for the non-mainstream to be heard, including persons of color and cultural minorities, thereby adding to the plurality of voices represented in our mass communications, the report notes that "Therefore, our recommendations on diversity should serve to aid independent producers both in providing funding for programming and providing incentives for giving these voices access to the airwaves. Our recommendations should result in providing revenues to support the creation and promotion of programming from diverse and independent producers to air on noncommercial channels."

However, in PUBLIC INTEREST OBLIGATIONS OF DIGITAL BROADCASTERS: an Independent Perspective Prepared by the Independent Television Service, the Independent Television Service emphasizes that if revenue is generated to support public broadcasting, those funds should be designated primarily, and perhaps, solely for the creation of programming and programming services. "The need for quality programs from diverse perspectives cannot be overstated, particularly in a changing environment that will create more avenues for distribution of these programs," they state.

Noting that "It is important for the Committee to understand that funding PBS and CPB does not necessarily protect funding for diverse, independent programs," the Independent Television Service calls for a significant percentage of these revenues (one quarter or one third) to be set aside specifically for utilization by independent producers in the service of underserved audiences, including percentages for audience development initiatives; for providing technical assistance, training and distribution services; and for the oversight of an independent board.

The Benton Foundation has set up a website at http://www.benton.org/PIAC to track the debate on and progress of the Advisory Committees report and recommendations.

"Do you think you'd make a good television programmer?" Charles Benton asks. "Do you believe television is on the right track now? Would you like to see a reduction of the violence and sex and sensationalism on TV as we embark into the digital future? If you could control what's on TV, would you unlock the power of this educational tool on serving the needs of children, your community and our democracy?"

He continues: "I do not pose these as idle questions - the work of the President's Advisory are recommendations that will go to the new Congress and the Federal Communications Commission. Policymakers will have to hear from you if they are to chart the right course for the digital future. A window of opportunity exists over the next few months for you to leave your mark on how television stations will be licensed to serve you and your community. Don't miss the opportunity to have your say."

Sources/resources:

CHARTING THE DIGITAL BROADCASTING FUTURE, REPORT OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INTEREST OBLIGATIONS OF DIGITAL TELEVISION BROADCASTERS --

THE BENTON FOUNDATION website to track the debate on and progress of the Advisory Committees report and recommendations --

PUBLIC INTEREST OBLIGATIONS OF DIGITAL BROADCASTERS: AN INDEPENDENT PERSPECTIVE PREPARED BY THE INDEPENDENT TELEVISION SERVICE --

The National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC) --

01/05/99