It's time to expand the realm of possibilities for public media. Real reform means going beyond short-term fixes for a system that is perpetually underfunded and under assault by partisan opponents.

The operating model of public broadcasting must be recast to fulfill its founding mission to serve as "a forum for debate and controversy" and "a voice for groups that may otherwise be unheard."

Free Press is assembling a coalition of policymakers, reform-minded public TV and radio stations, and local citizen activists to advocate for a public broadcasting system that offers more independent programming, harder-hitting journalism, and the educational, ad-free content that is missing from commercial media.

Any reforms of public broadcasting must not only take into account the flagship programming at PBS and NPR, but the broad universe of community radio stations, Low Power FM stations, and other noncommercial community outlets. We need to build a sustainable and vibrant public broadcasting system that truly serves the needs of local communities over the air and online. If you're interested in joining our fight to put the public back in public broadcasting, please sign up as a Free Press e-activist.

Policy Proposals

Several policy remedies have been proposed over the years, all of which merit serious consideration to assess their viability in the current political climate. Free Press is working with the public to help identify the most viable of these proposals before we take our advocacy work to Congress.

Funding for Public Broadcasting

Spectrum Trust Fund: A percentage of funds received from auctions, fees or licenses could be placed in a trust for public broadcasting. The Digital Opportunities Investment Trust, or DO IT, is legislation that would support a broad range of nonprofit institutions. The proposal would earmark a percentage of monies for public broadcasting. For more information, visit Digital Promise [1].

Annual Spectrum Fee: As commercial stations complete the transition from analog to digital-only broadcasting, they will be able to "multicast" as many as eight separate digital channels instead of just one analog channel. As profits increase as a result of these new revenue streams, some have proposed an annual spectrum fee to be paid by commercial broadcasters that would guarantee independent funds for public broadcasting. New America Foundation [2] has a wealth of information on spectrum policy.

Transfer Fee on the Sale of Broadcast Licenses: Transactions of television and radio licenses are a multibillion-dollar business. A small fee on the transfer of commercial broadcast licenses could provide substantial revenue for public broadcasting. Based on the $23 billion in station sales in 1997, a two percent tax on the sale price (to be paid by the seller) on the transfer of television and radio licenses would have generated $460 million. That is more money than public broadcasting gets from Congress each year. This idea is not new. A similar proposal was introduced by Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) in 1987 but ultimately defeated, and again by others in 1995 with similar results.

Tax on Advertising: A one percent tax on broadcast advertising could generate hundreds of millions of dollars for a public broadcasting fund; this amount would likely grow by at least 5 percent annually. Expanded Federal Appropriations: Although Congress has not embraced significant increases in the funds it provides to public broadcasting each year, this is a policy proposal that deserves vigorous support. By comparison with other items in the federal budget, this allocation is a high-quality investment that yields tremendous social dividends.

Capacity

Other policy proposals move beyond funding of public broadcasting alone to expand nonprofit and noncommercial media. Each has a natural constituency already organizing to push for change. All of these changes would have an immediately positive impact on the health and vigor of our nonprofit and noncommercial media sector:

LPFM: Low Power FM radio refers to community-based, nonprofit radio stations that operate at 100 watts or less and have a broadcast reach of only a few miles. Because LPFM stations are local and noncommercial, they provide information and perspectives often ignored by mainstream radio and are uniquely positioned to meet community needs. There are currently more than 800 LPFM stations in the United States, and Congress is now considering a bill that would expand the number of LPFM licensees. To learn more about radio opportunities, visit Prometheus Radio Project [3].

PEG Channels: When cable television was first developed, typically three out of the roughly 30 channels (10 percent) on each system were administered by local governments for public, educational and governmental (PEG) use. As cable switches to digital, the system capacity is now 600 channels or more. Yet the number of PEG channels has rarely increased. This means that the amount of noncommercial, nonprofit, local and independent content that should be on cable systems is vastly underrepresented. Localities that engage in franchise renewal negotiations with cable operators should demand, as a condition for the renewed contract, a 5 to 10 percent capacity set-aside for public channels. To learn more about PEG channels, visit the Alliance for Community Media. [4]

Satellite TV: For over a decade, satellite operators have been required to set aside four percent of their system capacity for noncommercial and nonprofit channels. This policy is the reason satellite television offers nonprofit networks like Link TV and Free Speech TV. Expanding this set-aside from four percent to seven percent could exponentially increase the reach of noncommercial media. Visit Link TV [5] and Free Speech TV [6] to learn more.

Community Media Centers: Increased state and local financial support for such centers would offer citizens the opportunity to create audio, video and print media for their neighborhoods, towns and cities. Not only are community media centers an excellent source of local news and culture, they serve as a nexus for civic life, a public meeting place that fosters social capital.

Community Internet: Allowing local communities to deploy their own high-speed "broadband" networks can bring the benefits of the Internet to rural and urban areas that aren't adequately served by the major providers. Community Internet increases the number of voices in the public sphere. Using local networks, communities can offer citizens numerous advanced media services for everything from public safety and political forums to church services and Internet radio stations. For more information, visit our Community Internet [6] pages.