I. Local Services and Content
Strengthen the value and viability of local stations as essential community institutions by improving their operational effectiveness and fiscal stability, and increasing their capacity to invest in and create sustainable services and content that will advance their local mission.
To achieve this Goal, CPB will pursue the following objectives:
A. Measure the value of local service as perceived by the intended beneficiaries-Conduct research to understand how various media are used by the audiences stations serve or hope to serve in the future, and how the pattern of use is changing as new platforms and media emerge. Create mechanisms that can be used to evaluate the success of local content and services, and inform the local/national conversation.
B. Improve station practices and institutional effectiveness-Assess the performance of individual stations and station cohort groups within public broadcasting to identify opportunities to increase stations’ income-earning capabilities and reduce the cost of current operations through improved practices and new operating and service models.
C. Support the development of community-based public-interest partnership-Identify organizations and institutions that share public broadcasting’s public-service ambitions and foster the development of local relationships and partnerships and the creation of leverageable content and service resources to address community needs and increase civic engagement.
D. Inform station investment in new technologies and platforms for the delivery of public-interest content and services-Research the attributes of emerging distribution platforms and technologies, assist in the development of a common technical framework and shared standards within public broadcasting, and develop policy positions with respect to legal, regulatory and rights-related issues arising from the digital, multimedia environment.
II. National Content and Services
Development of economically sustainable, high-quality, noncommercial programming that inspires, enlightens and entertains with a particular emphasis on children’s programming with high educational value and programming that creates better-informed citizens on the national and local level.
To achieve this Goal, CPB will pursue the following objectives:
A. Identify Needs and Opportunities through Research and Outreach-Using research and ongoing dialog with national organizations and producers as well as local stations and viewers and listeners, identify needs and opportunities for programming consistent with this goal. Develop and advocate innovative approaches to outreach that lead to successful national/local initiatives and inform the dialog regarding needs and opportunities.
B. Assure Programming Represents Public Interest and Need-Take steps to facilitate the development and presentation of programming about important national and local issues in a manner that is fair and balanced.
C. Develop High-Impact Initiatives-Spearhead the development of select high-impact programming initiatives that support this goal, consistent with identified needs and opportunities.
D. Improve Production and Distribution Options-Identify and develop new production and distribution partners and options that offer the potential of increased breadth of creative talent, new sources of funding and the possibility of lower costs. Continue to develop and enhance work underway with existing partners.
E. Initiate New Media-Spearhead selected new media projects designed to explore and exploit future applications of new platforms.
III. Support for Public Broadcasting
Bolster support for public broadcasting with opinion leaders, funders and the public.
To achieve this Goal, CPB will pursue the following objectives:
A. Raise Public Awareness-Explore and develop a broad-based, long-term, public education effort to raise awareness of, and appreciation for, public broadcasting’s contribution to American life. A successful effort can result in enhancing our support and funding from the public; federal, state and local governments; corporations and foundations.
IV. Long-term Systemwide Planning
Understand and begin to address the significant economic, technological and media environment which places our system at an inflection point that challenges our long-term sustainability.
To achieve this Goal, in concert with system leaders CPB will pursue the following objectives:
A. Articulate Challenges-Objectively articulate public broadcasting’s current performance, its underlying drivers and trends in the overall financial health of the public broadcasting system in the context of industry-wide dynamics. Articulate key obstacles to change within public broadcasting that must be overcome in order to implement any significant new initiative.
B. Identify and Evaluate Opportunities-Identify leading opportunities to enhance revenue, reduce costs and/or strengthen service to the public. Conduct analysis of the potential financial impact of these opportunities, their implementation requirements and their long-term strategic importance to public broadcasting. Assess the potential of these opportunities to strengthen the prospects for long-term sustainability of public broadcasting.
C. Build a consensus-Involve public broadcasting leadership in discussions of potential opportunities and solutions that will help address long-term sustainability concerns. Share analysis of the challenges in order to help build commonly shared views on the problems confronting public broadcasting. Build consensus within public broadcasting, and more broadly, for any significant, system-wide changes required to preserve the long-term health of the system.