public affairs television programming

Origins

Although public affairs television programming gained legal status in the United States in 1967, its history is much older. The first broadcast in the sense of noncommercial content production began under an experimental license in 1917 at the radio station at the University of Wisconsin. It was a piano recital where the piece Narcissus was performed. According to reports from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in the mid-1930s the number of stations broadcasting noncommercial content reached 202. In 1934, the FCC was established to supervise the interstate and international radio and television communications of the United States and to ensure a place for public broadcasting on the radio waves.

In 1952, the FCC provided 242 broadcast frequencies on television for nonprofit educational programming. The first public programming on television had little variety and lacked high-quality content. It included programs on how to draw or paint pictures or make handicrafts and broadcasts of sports competitions and studio concerts. In the following years, the content changed as each station began to broadcast in its area of interest.

During the 1960s, as many foundations shifted support to particular programs and away from providing general support for stations, public TV stations struggled financially, although the Ford Foundation continued to provide significant support. In 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower proposed federal support for public television, and the National Defense Education Act was passed. The aim was the development of the U.S. education system by providing American schools with funding, but the main reason why this act appeared was competition with the Soviet Union. The Sputnik 1 satellite was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, and development in science and technology became an important competitive and national defense issue.

Funds for public affairs programming are provided by the federal government and audited by the FCC. PBS is defined as an independent TV channel that creates and broadcasts television content of public interest. The primary mission of PBS is to produce high-quality national broadcasts directed at both adults and children. PBS broadcasts political, educational, and cultural programming; adult learning programs through the Adult Learning Service in collaboration with higher education institutions; and educational broadcasts for children.

Later Developments

In 1979, Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN) was established. C-SPAN, which started out by broadcasting live sessions of the U.S. House of Representatives, is a private nonprofit organization that is independent of the federal government. It does not run advertising but does not request donations, and the government is not allowed to have a say in the production of content. It is a private nonprofit company that is funded by fees from cable and satellite affiliates.

In 1983, the prime-time documentary series Frontline began airing on PBS stations. In 1990, the documentary The Civil War, created by Ken Burns, attracted around 40 million viewers and was the most watched series on public television of its time. Surveys have found a high degree of trust in PBS and its affiliate stations, including trust in PBS news programs. However, local news programs can be costly to produce, and there is a significant gap in local news programming. According to a U.S. FCC survey conducted in 2011, in a period of three weeks, 68 percent of the noncommercial TV broadcasting stations did not offer any local news, and 94 percent of local news broadcasts were below 30 minutes.

Funding

Public broadcasting financing in the United States relies on a public-private partnership. According to financial statements from 2005 and 2009, public broadcasting donations, which were around $650 million annually, declined over the years and decreased to around $620 million. As of 2019, federal funding made up about 15 percent of local public television stations’ budgets.

Public TV broadcasters also rely on the support of donors. While for large projects with national reach, donations are usually made by large companies, foundations, or affluent people, small stations’ programs on local issues receive financial support from institutions, organizations, and individual viewers. Well-known supporters of public programming include Google, Microsoft, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Sprint, Ralph Lauren Corporation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

PBS does not allow donors to make additions to program content. In order to make a donation, a donor must pass two important tests: (1) the editorial influence test and (2) the perception test. According to these tests, a donor cannot intervene in any way in the content of the program. If the main content of the program is overshadowed by the commercial services of the donor and if it is judged that this may be noticed by the viewer, this program and therefore the donor cannot pass the test.

Germany

Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Öffentlich (ARD) and Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen are public television stations in Germany. Radio and television stations from all over Germany’s states are combined under the roof of ARD (Collaboration Community of German Radio and Television Institutions Under Public Law). ARD, launched in 1950, produced and broadcast noncommercial television programs known as the First Program (das Erste). In 1991, the second German TV channel, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, was established. Broadcasting activities in Germany are carried out with a high degree of independence. The content produced by these channels is governed by strict rules that stipulate it must be for public benefit. Public television stations produce programs with educational, cultural, and historical content, including documentaries, films, and discussion programs.

Italy

Radiotelevisione Italiana, the public television broadcaster owned by the state, was founded in 1924 as URI (later Radiotelevisione Italiana Spa). Public broadcasting in Italy is not as independent as in Germany, since in Italy government and political parties intervene in public affairs programming. In 1975 Radiotelevisione Italiana’s dependence on government increased with the passage of a constitutional amendment that transferred control of the organization to a parliamentary commission of 40 people. It is funded by advertising revenues and license fees of private broadcasting institutions.

France

France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5, and France Ô channels are public state channels produced by France Télévisions (France Télévision was established in 1992, and in 2000 became France Télévisions). Television broadcasting in France began in 1964 by governance of Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (French Television Broadcasting Office). This monopolistic system continued until 1974. In 1975, this organization was divided into three television stations: (1) TF1, (2) Antenne 2, and (3) FR3. Although each of them operated by themselves, they were still owned by state. The French government made TF1 a private station in 1987.

In 1992 France Télévision was founded and the other two channels continued their broadcasting activity under the control of France Télévision. The same year, channel names were changed to France 2 (Antenne 2) and France 3 (FR3). Later, France 4, France 5, and France Ô were founded and became part of France Télévision as new public television channels. Financing is provided by license fees of private broadcasting institutions as well as through commercial advertising.

The original version of this article was published by SAGE Publications in The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society.