Virginia Heffernan’s recent column in the New York Times (thanks IHT!) 
puts an important spin on how public television, and broadcasters in general, should be asking themselves what is good, forward-leaning, and appropriate about their content…and points out the forces to help it improve. I heard this question being bantered about hundreds of times during the last few days during the INPUT 2011 Conference in Seoul. It was my first time spending so much time with public broadcasters, and I found out that they happily broke every stereotype and challenged every idea about what public television is “supposed” to be.
The creativity and vitality of the programming and ideas were an excellent reminder to me of why we need public broadcasting and how we, as the public, should be participating in the feedback loop. I didn’t meet a single representative of a national public broadcaster who wasn’t anxious to find out how to enliven and improve the proverbial “conversation with the viewer” that everyone says is at the core of their mission. From social media to collaborative content to finding new sources of content, I found people from Australia to Austria to the U.S. who want public broadcasting not simply to survive, but to be at the cutting edge of what is happening on TV.
I grew up in a house where “PBS” were holy letters. My parents continue to be big supporters…and I don’t see anything changing in that cycle anytime soon. Take a minute to read what Virginia has to say on the topic, and take a minute to tell your local public television station what you think of what they are doing. One thing is for sure: things will continue to evolve…so we may as well be part of the trajectory.