Deleted Comments

Just to let people know, you'll see that there have been some comments deleted below; these were test comments that I made to try and fix a bug in the blog. Want to make sure people know that we don't have any type of censorship occurring on this open blog!

Thanks,
Scott McCrea
University of Alaska Fairbanks

Comments on report

Please use this section for making comments on the Livingston report or anything else related to the future of public broadcasting in Alaska. Your voice is important! We want to hear what you have to say.

Public broadcasting stations explore statewide transformation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 23, 2009

 

KUAC-Fairbanks, KTOO-Juneau and APTI-Anchorage (KAKM) today released the results of a study on the feasibility of a unified statewide public broadcasting organization.

The stations’ three general managers, with input from station staff members and other stakeholders, have been working for several months with Livingston Associates, a national firm specializing in public broadcasting. The final report from Livingston Associates is available for review.

Such a consolidation would require numerous steps and include multiple opportunities for public participation and comment.

 The report notes opportunities offered under a unified public broadcasting model:

• A statewide, cross-platform production team

• An increase in public broadcasting’s reach in rural communities

• A unified voice in support of public broadcasting statewide

• The ability to invest in emerging media for content delivery

• The continuation of high-quality PBS and NPR programming throughout the state

 All three of the station’s general managers noted a commitment to continuing to be responsive to local needs, should the unified model be adopted.

The report does not outline any recommendations for staffing, central office location or budget. Those details will be explored in the next phase, as the stations develop an implementation plan. The general managers will continue to meet over the summer and collect feedback and comments through the blog and other forums. The group hopes to present a resolution supporting the implementation planning to the boards of directors of KTOO and APTI and to the University of Alaska Board of Regents in September. If each approves the resolution, the implementation planning should be completed in the spring. The boards will then make a final decision on the unification. If approved, the transformation could begin as soon as July 2010.

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CONTACT: Jake Poole, interim general manager, KUAC, 907-474-2600 or jcpoole@alaska.edu. Bill Legere, general manager, KTOO, 907-586-1670 or bill@ktoo.org. Steve Lindbeck, general manager, APTI, 907-550-8411 or slindbeck@alaskapublic.org.

Transforming public media in Alaska

Three of Alaska’s public broadcasters, including KTOO-Juneau, KUAC-Fairbanks and APTI-Anchorage have been discussing emerging needs and pressures in public media and imaging better futures. These wide-ranging discussions settled upon the view by late spring 2009 that nothing short of transformation is required for public broadcasting and its core values to survive and flourish in our communities in a transformed media environment. This site presents what belongs in a new entity we propose to call Alaska Public Media. This vision is distilled from dozens of hours of brainstorming and conversation, and is our shared proposal for how public media should evolve in our communities.