Rewind: The Roots of Public Media

Under two visionary directors, New York’s WNYC became an incubator of pubmedia innovation

Seymour N. Siegel and Morris S. Novik oversaw advances in technology and aired programs that faced social problems head on.

NPR’s audio archive is not a history book, but history is “etched in the voices that gave these decades their vitality.”

From its origins, NPR emphasized contributions from women at a time when they were rarely heard in positions of authority in broadcasting.

Judith Waller, an educational director for NBC radio, urged her colleagues to look to commercial broadcasters for ideas and collaborations.

A century-old progressive philosophy in the state has withstood decades of attacks from state leaders.

The progressive “Wisconsin Idea” gave purpose to early educational broadcasting.

The media reformer and scholar urged listeners to remember that the “wavelengths of the air belong to the people of America.”

In the late ’60s, a short-lived WTTW series told a police officer’s story with blunt language and authentic detail.

Approaching its 50th anniversary, the Public Broadcasting Act is arguably the most significant piece of communication policy legislation since 1950.