Where is public broadcasting in sync with Obama's policy-makers? Are there disconnects?

[Steve Behrens]

Many of the president-elect's civil society and educational goals overlap with public broadcasting's. He has also seen the power of Web 2.0 technology, most intimately in his own campaign organizing and fundraising.

Will the new administration's model of "public media" involve public broadcasting to any great extent? Will he give much support, for instance, to the big Public Media Trust that a Democratic think tank has proposed? (Story about the trust fund proposal in Current, Nov. 24.)

What services and funding mechanism(s) should public stations and networks propose?

[Ann Alquist]

I feel a bit guilty about replying to this, because unfortunately, I don't have answers. I just have more questions!
I'm so torn on this. On one hand I worry about the institutional memory getting lost as people retire or pass away; on the other hand as a younger person I'm frustrated by the stagnation I see, and well, fear to do some of the things mentioned in Steve's article, like laying people off who are redundant.
I like the idea of a public media trust, but with a warning: I see a lot of non profits producing their own media to serve the public interest, to provide information services. Do they get consideration as public media? What about single radio and television licensees in the same market - a public radio station starts posting video to their website, or the television station distributes a podcast across mobile platforms - does the station with the best idea get more of this public media trust money to continue their public service mission? We have to be prepared that whatever gentleman's agreement single licensees may have had in the same market is going to be increasingly difficult to maintain. Perhaps some issues have already arisen that I'm not aware of. Or maybe radio and television licensees in the same market will embark on a new era of fruitful collaboration, or have already done so.
And my last parting question is: is public broadcasting the best institution to distribute information and entertainment with a public service goal in this ever changing digital landscape? And if we decide that we are, are we prepared to make the necessary changes to our respective organizations? Some of us already have - others are strapped by not enough personnel, or internal political struggles where making changes are next to near acts of God.
As I say over and over again to my friends about the future of public broadcasting: "I just don't know!"

[Ann Alquist]

I've had a little more time to think about the policy side of this.
I've always been impressed with how local libraries have transformed themselves as more than a place where people check out books - they really function as information hubs with information stewards (the librarians) to serve your information desires whether it be about jobs, or applying for benefits online, or taking web literacy classes (and checking out books too). And I don't know about where you live, but the youth demand for Internet access is sky high. Not only that, every time I go to my local library in a suburb of Minneapolis, it's like taking a trip to the United Nations.
I'd like to see a national policy (what the hell - let's think big here) where the homepage of library computers has some kind of public media presence. You could have RSS feeds set up from national public media, state, and local to feed into the library's website - maybe widgets on a navigation bar? Depending on the region, you could tailor the feeds to suit the demographics of your area. This is an area where I think public media and our great tradition of public libraries have mutually aligned interests and the librarians I know are big fans of public broadcasting and great advocates for information access.
Another policy area where public media ought to get involved is when cities sign wifi agreements with providers. They signed a community benefits agreement in Minneapolis - in exchange for a monopoly, the provider had to put some dollars towards media access and media literacy projects. One area where the FCC could step in is by regulating ISP's for these city wifi projects to make public media websites the first page you're directed to after you log on, or in my case in Minnesota, at least a list of sites, because we have so much public media!
I know this last one would no doubt face a mountain of political opposition - but I'm trying to think big.