Finding the Future of Public Television

Finding the Future of Public Television

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Cinema Foundation (ACF) will present a series of workshops on Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15, 2005 that aim to encourage a diversity of ideas in public television. The event is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and will be hosted by the American Film Institute in the Mark Goodson Screening Room, 2021 N. Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027. Admission is free, seating is limited. Reservations are advised and can be made at: reservations@cinemafoundation.com or (310) 364-2002. Additional information can also be found at www.cinemafoundation.com.

Workshop panelists and guests include a diverse variety of television creators, executives, and journalists, including Lionel Chetwynd, Frank Price, Harry Shearer, Mel Stuart, Rob Long, Matt Welch, Cathy Seipp, Ray Richmond, and others (see complete listing below).

For more than 40 years, public television broadcasting has been one of the most visible expressions of our society's sense of the common good in arts and education. Today however, there is growing concern that this sense of a shared culture may have become lost in our politically partisan environment. The workshops consist of a series of panels which will focus on identifying cultural biases that might limit public television's ability to carry out its mandate to represent American culture in all its diversity. The panelists hold a variety of viewpoints, some of which are not often expressed publicly. Each panel will attempt to identify an area of consensus about the future of the public television system.

The workshop panels and participants are as follows:

Friday, October 14, 8:00 p.m.

Welcome addresses

Nick De Martino, Senior Vice President for Information and Technology, American Film Institute Michael Pack, Senior Vice President, Television Programming, Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Program introduction Gary McVey, Executive Director, American Cinema Foundation

Opening panel

A gaggle of imaginative producer/writers consider why they and others like them don't produce more for public television. Why do shows that take on the hot topics of the day (from Bill Maher to Dennis Miller), and shows whose genres originated on public TV, end up on cable? What part does politics play? How can public broadcasting hold its ground?

Moderator:

Rob Long (writer/producer, "Cheers," "George and Leo;" columnist, National Review; commentator, "Martini Shot" on KCRW)

Panelists:

Kevin Bleyer (writer/producer, "Politically Incorrect," "The Dennis Miller Show")

Luca Bentivoglio (executive director, Latino Public Broadcasting) Harry Shearer (writer/performer, "The Simpsons," "This Is Spinal Tap")

Peter Robinson (presidential speechwriter; Hoover Inst. research fellow; host of public TV's "Uncommon Knowledge")

Saturday, October 15, 2:00 p.m.

"Will You, Won't You Join the Dance: The Experience of Producing for Public Television"

We hear from veteran producers who feel that their programming has been marginalized because they hold viewpoints that fall outside the mainstream of current public television culture. How should stewards of a national trust go about the business of funding and distributing programs that represent a wide spectrum of positions, while maintaining their own personal and political views?

Moderator:

Cathy Seipp (journalist, Independent Women's Forum, National Review Online)

Panelists:

Lionel Chetwynd (writer/director/producer, "Ike: Countdown to D-Day," "Varian's War" "National Desk")

Frank Price (former studio chief of Universal, Columbia; producer, "The Tuskegee Airmen" etc.)

Ted Steinberg (co-executive producer, "Reverse Angle," "National Desk")

Michael Pack, Sr. Vice President, Television Programming, Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Saturday, October 15, 4:00 p.m.

New Formats/New Thinking from the AFI Digital Content Lab

PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are technological innovators, who have often led the commercial TV industry-from satellite distribution in the '70s, to added content in the '90s. Over seven years, the AFI Digital Content Lab, funded in part by CPB, has produced more than 50 prototypes -- from wireless, to set-top boxes, to game consoles. This session showcases examples created for PBS programs, suppliers and stations, including KCET, POV and ITVS.

Host:

Anna Marie Piersimoni, Director, Internet Communications, Media and Technology, AFI

Special guest: Jackie Kain, Vice President, New Media, KCET

Saturday, October 15, 8:00 p.m.

Public Television Confidential: A Look at Basic Premises

The question is whether publicly funded programming meets its own high standards, and whether we ask enough of the system that spends our dollars. Are Sesame Street and Nova the ultimate in quality educational programming? Is it fair to ask producers to treat more of the country's widely held values as legitimate?

Introduction:

John Prizer, Vice President, Television Program Development, Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Moderator:

Cathy Seipp (journalist, Independent Women's Forum, National Review Online)

Panelists: Ray Richmond (television critic, The Hollywood Reporter)

Mel Stuart (director, "The Hobart Shakespeareans," "American Masters: Billy Wilder," "The Making of the President 1960")

Matt Welch (associate editor, Reason Magazine; columnist for Canada's National Post; blogger, mattwelch.com)

Each of the four 90-minute panels is followed by a question-and-answer session and an informal reception. Some discussions will have live web-logging. Questions and input are being solicited on the web, as well as from the attending audience.

Finding ways to remedy this situation will take much public involvement, and this is the first of a continuing series of presentations that seek to improve the future of public television broadcasting in a way that fully represents American culture in all its diversity.

The American Cinema Foundation (ACF) is a non-profit arts organization. Its film and television presentations seek to connect today's audience with idealistic visions of America's common culture-past, present, and future.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967. The mission of CPB is to facilitate the development of, and ensure universal access to, non-commercial high-quality programming and telecommunications services. It does this in conjunction with non-commercial educational telecommunications licensees across America.

AFI is a national institute providing leadership in screen education and the recognition and celebration of excellence in the art of film, television and digital media.

Source: American Cinema Foundation

CONTACT: Sarah Cheaure, +1-310-849-2578, scheaure@earthlink.net, for American Cinema Foundation; or Nancy Oppenheim of American Cinema Foundation, +1-310-914-0159, publicity@cinemafoundation.com

Web site: http://www.cinemafoundation.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: The venue is equipped with WIFI technology to allow for live blogging during the event if desired.

------- Profile: Ent