Ideal of Public TV Destined to Endure

Will the real public television please stand up?

The endless analysis of this unique American institution over the years has always reminded me of the old story of blind people examining an elephant. As each explorer puts forth as universal the one part he or she can grasp, what emerges is a tangle of half-truths and misunderstandings.

And now, public television is once again under scrutiny with reports of budget cuts and staff layoffs at major stations such as Thirteen/WNET in New York, WGBH in Boston and KCET in Los Angeles (Calendar, June 20).

Cab drivers, television critics, friends and relatives--everyone seems to have a different idea about public television’s image. Some cite its programming triumphs, its important contributions to America’s educational and cultural life, its willingness to reflect the multitude of experiences that make up our nation. Others see fiscal woes, midlife crisis, conservatism, obsolescence, lack of direction, confusion of mission, loss of identity.

Public TV has been characterized as the tool of the Establishment, the servant of the under-served, the foil of the liberal left, the shill of corporations, the darling of the elite. It’s boring, it’s exhilarating. It’s too commercial, it’s too sacrosanct. Much has been written about fiscal inefficiency, bloated and ineffective bureaucracy, concessions made to commercialism. And there are even those who maintain that none of this makes a difference, because nobody’s watching anyway.

But public television--the idea of public television--has always been bigger than the sum of its parts. And I think that’s the very reason why it has been the subject of such constant debate--and why it will endure.

The concept of public television--an institution that is committed to public service, that is not driven by commercial concerns, that exists in its purest form to do the right thing--is irresistible. It appeals to the better part of our nature, the part of us that, despite the evidence to the contrary that we see around us every day, still wants to believe in something noble and idealistic.

That’s why public television is held to such high standards--people expect it to be better, and are disappointed when they perceive it is not. And no matter how much they do or do not watch it, they all have an idea of what it should be.

As someone who has worked in public television for 20 years, my view of it may be different from that of the average viewer. But I know the passion I feel for it and the pride I take in it are commonly shared.

I came to Thirteen/WNET in New York, public television’s largest and most prolific station, in 1971 just in time for the birth of “An American Family.” I was a witness to history when public television mobilized to present the Watergate hearings, and helped to celebrate America’s Bicentennial as a publicist for “The Adams Chronicles.” And I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I was entrusted with publicizing “Bill Moyers’ Journal.”

Why did this make me so happy? Because I believed wholeheartedly that this program, like the others shown on public TV, was television that made a difference. This was television that dealt with complex issues, that sparked the imagination, that stimulated the mind and touched the heart.

And after years of working on scores of other programs--from “Live From Lincoln Center” and “Dance in America” to “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” and “The Mind” to the documentaries of Fred Wiseman, Bill Miles and Jon Alpert--I have never lost that sense of enthusiasm and purpose, the belief that I was part of something bigger than myself.

Public television became my Peace Corps, my way of working for civil and human rights, my way of helping to provide more for those with less. It has been my way of helping to put forth new ideas, big ideas. Yes, folks, public television became my way of helping to make a difference.

Public television has gone through enormous changes in the 20 years I’ve been part of it. Public and private support has waxed and waned, the bureaucratic structure has become more (or less) unwieldy, the media environment has expanded and become much more competitive. And now, with reports of budget and staff cuts at its major stations, public television is perceived as an idea in jeopardy.

Not so. Like any other good idea, public television will keep changing in response to its environment. But it doesn’t matter that the public television of tomorrow may not resemble the public TV of today in schedule or structure. What does matter--and what will never change--is the ideal of public television. And that ideal will continue to inspire us.

There are millions of people out there who need to belong to something bigger than themselves, who want to make a difference, who care about keeping a good idea alive. And it is their commitment that will help shape the future of public television.