JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021
NEWS FOR PEOPLE IN PUBLIC MEDIA
‘Pictures on the Radio’ showcases David Gilkey’s photojournalism PAGE 18
Partnership unveils vision for pubmedia’s ‘anti-racist future’ BY TYLER FALK
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(Illustration: Jon Krause)
SPECIAL COVERAGE
Tech transitions:
Engineering new paths for public media
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igital technology continues to transform public media’s services to audiences and communities. The next wave of change for television — rollout of the ATSC 3.0 transmission standard — opens enormous possibilities for mission-centered applications and new revenue models. Public TV’s early adopters are moving into the next phase of experimentation, navigating new partnerships and applications that may (or may not) get consumers excited about buying a NextGen-enabled TV. Public radio placed similar bets on HD Radio multicasts a decade ago. The technology’s promises
of exceptional sound quality and capacity to add subchannels of specialized program streams enabled stations to preserve music programming while streamlining their formats. But as audiences migrated instead to digital streams, some stations have decided their HD Radio channels are not sustainable. Current’s special coverage of tech transitions in public media also looks at efforts to train and recruit the next generation of broadcast engineers. Many of the technicians who built and maintained public media’s broadcast infrastructure are ready to retire, and stations are struggling to hire their successors. SEE PAGE 10
s current and former public radio staffers took to social media this summer to share stories of racism in the industry, Celeste Headlee wanted to create a safe space where people could discuss their experiences. What started as conversations quickly turned into an initiative to get public radio stations to make systemic DEI changes in their workplace and newsroom practices. The group, which adopted the name Public Media Anti-Racist Partnership, recently published the product of those efforts — an open letter that details concrete steps for public radio leaders to implement the reforms. “An AntiRacist Future: A Vision and Plan for the Transformation of Public Media,” published Jan. 18 on Medium and on Current’s website, had been signed by more than 449 individuals and endorsed by seven organizations by Jan. 22. Headlee, who wrote a book about having better conversations, began convening the talks because she wanted to use her expertise in moderating discussions to bring together people throughout the disparate public radio system. “Our industry is so spread out that, between stations, people don’t talk to one another, and they may not realize that someone else is doing the exact same thing one state over,” said Headlee, who co-hosts PBS’ Retro Report and has also hosted public radio programs. “I just wanted to create a safe place in which people could just share their own experiences and talk about what they want to see happen, ideally.” The first Zoom meeting in July drew 200 people and more who were turned away because of the platform’s capacity limits. Headlee said she saw “passion and energy” from the attendees and thought, “Let’s use it to try to bring about the changes that we have not seen.” That first call also revealed that current and former public radio employees of color shared “alarmingly similar” experiences, Headlee said. Participants told stories about managers who had casually made racist remarks; when they complained, they were told that the comments weren’t racist or were jokes. “A number of people talked about patContinued on page 7
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