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From the General Manager entry

APRIL GM LETTER

The Power of Public Media is Yours

Many of you have inquired where we stand on the issue of continued federal funding for public television and radio.

On March 17th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill which prohibits federal funding of National Public Radio (NPR) and the use of federal funds to acquire radio content. View voting results for HR 1076 here. You can read the story posted by the PBS NewsHour here.

A few powerful facts may help you make the call about the value of Arizona Public Media (AZPM) and public broadcasting:

• The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 and is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. CPB has no authority over PBS, NPR or AZPM editorial policy or operations.

• CPB distributes 73% of the Congressional allocation directly to local public television and radio stations in the form of Community Service Grants. Of the remaining balance, grants are made available to PBS and NPR to support content production, for special initiatives, and to national and independent program producers.

• PBS and NPR are independent national non-profit membership organizations. AZPM is a member of PBS and NPR and pays an annual member assessment in addition to programs fees for the programs acquired for local broadcast in Southern Arizona. PBS and NPR have no authority over AZPM editorial policy or operations.

• More than 170 million Americans and more than 2 million Arizonans watch or listen to public TV or radio weekly. Arizona public television stations frequently rank in the Top 5 most-watched PBS stations in the country. Half of all TV households in Southern Arizona tune to one of AZPM’s TV channels at least once a month. Radio listening on KUAT-FM and KUAZ-AM/FM provides additional audience reach.

• AZPM is financed through a public/private partnership consisting of federal support from CPB, state support from the University of Arizona, private and family foundations, and individual and business donors. Individual members comprise the largest segment of AZPM’s revenue (38%).

• Federal dollars received at AZPM from CPB support ongoing original local productions including: local radio news reporting, Arizona Illustrated, Arizona Spotlight, Arizona Week, The Desert Speaks, WaveLengths, and classical community concerts. In addition, federal support also helps to finance documentary specials like Tucson Remembers, Phoenix Mars Mission: Ashes to Ice/Onto the Ice, Unforgettable: The Korean War, and Secrets of the Divine, to name but a few.

• Each year, tens of thousands of viewers and listeners contribute to AZPM. Member dollars received during pledge campaigns and through annual gifts made by mail support the acquisition and broadcast of programming from PBS, NPR, BBC, and other distributors.

• The University of Arizona contributes to AZPM operations with facilities support services and by helping underwrite a portion of the costs associated with broadcast operations, including operation of the UA Channel.

• All public broadcasters are licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and have significant limits on the kind of announcements they can air between programs. AZPM and every public station are non-profit entities and are not permitted to sell commercial spots or commercial time in the way other broadcast and cable operators do to earn revenue.

• Public television stations for example, offer up to two minutes (one minute national; one minute local) of underwriting acknowledgment at the beginning and at the conclusion of a program. Commercial broadcasters sell 18+ minutes of time per hour for commercial spots, plus product placement and sponsorship revenue opportunities within programs.

• PBS has been ranked America’s most trusted institution by the independent polling organization, GfK Roper, for 8 years in a row.

• KUAZ 89.1FM has been voted Tucson's Best Radio Station for News for nine consecutive years by the Tucson Weekly/Best of Tucson.

• AZPM is everywhere you are: in your home, car, computer, and on your phone. More than 50,000 unique people visitors utilize azpm.org every month which hosts more than 3,000 community stories for viewing anytime, anywhere, at no cost.

• Public broadcasting provides a platform for the civil dialogue that Americans are demanding, especially in Arizona. The weekly television series Arizona Week, was launched earlier this year as a statewide effort to connect communities in a common dialogue with policy makers and each other.

• Public broadcasting’s format allows for in-depth, long-form interviews that are especially beneficial to local communities during political campaigns. In Arizona, no other broadcast service offers a comparable amount of local airtime to political candidates and elected officials to discuss the issues.

• AZPM has had a week-nightly public affairs series in production for more than 30 years. Arizona Illustrated interviewed 981 guests last year, providing audiences with in-depth features on community issues. Arizona Spotlight provided an additional 339 interviews for radio audiences.

• AZPM hosted 33 candidate forums during the last election season, including community debates for major races. AZPM also hosted several community forums to convene the community around an issue or ballot proposition — featuring a live audience on location as well as broadcasting to TV, radio and online audiences at home.

• In Southern Arizona, U.S. Homeland Security and local law enforcement officials depend on AZPM’s technical infrastructure to support emerging first-responder communication needs.

• Remote learning opportunities are supported through televised college lectures and classes for students, business and industry by AZPM, including the new Digital Learning Library for educators and students (fall 2011). In addition, AZPM radio stations support SunSounds, a radio reading service for the blind.

• AZPM’s public broadcast stations provide job training for dozens of students every year. Many go on to work in Arizona’s media industry and at media companies throughout the nation.

PBS Kids is a safe haven for our children, 24 hours a day. AZPM does not schedule any fundraising campaigns on the PBS Kids channel.

• While local commercial TV stations average 4 hours of children’s programming each week, PBS Kids provides educational children’s programs 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week.

I hope you will take the time to call or write to your members of Congress and let them know what you think. You can find their contact information here.

You can also visit 170 MillionAmericans.org and register to receive updates on this issue via email. Because the future of Arizona Public Media and public broadcasting is at stake, it is important that elected representatives hear directly from you — about whether or not funding for public broadcasting should be continued.

April Programming

For two decades, filmmaker Ken Burns has brought to American public television viewers a host of award-winning productions — Baseball, JAZZ, The War, The National Parks among them. This month, to mark the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the civil war, we are proud to present an April 3-7 rebroadcast of The Civil War, the first blockbuster film series created by Burns. Viewed by 40 million people, and the highest-rated film in the history of public television, this 1990 production remains the gold standard for modern documentary filmmaking.

The programs, airing over five consecutive nights, explore the fascinating and poignant story of the bloodiest war in American history — from which a divided collection of states emerged a nation. Finally for this month, Masterpiece presents Upstairs Downstairs, the sequel to the beloved, iconic 1970s drama of the same name.

Thank you for your continued support of Arizona Public Media.

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About From the General Manager

Thoughts and Letters from Jack Gibson.

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