Inside PBS and KQED: The Role and Future of Public Media

More than 50 years after the establishment of the Public Broadcasting Act, which set the foundation for PBS and NPR, the media landscape has changed in ways that advocates for these services never could have imagined. Yet their vision for a noncommercial broadcasting system that takes risks and addresses the needs of the public has endured. Paula Kerger, PBS CEO and president, joins Michael Isip, KQED president and CEO, and John Boland, KQED president emeritus, to discuss the future of public media amidst great technological, political and environmental upheaval. With much of the traditional local news space shrinking and with trust in news at an all-time low, how are PBS and public media affiliates such as KQED adapting to serve communities? How can stations and audiences respond to attacks on the free press? And how are these organizations changing with their audiences and the ways they consume media?

Speakers
Image - Kerger

Paula Kerger

President and CEO, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Image - Isip

Michael Isip

President and CEO, KQED

Image - Boland

John Boland

President Emeritus, KQED; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors

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Carrie Lozano

Journalist and Filmmaker—Moderator