Remarks given by Patricia C. Simon, President & CEO at the Grand Opening celebration on September 9th, 2011:
“A few months ago I was visiting my daughter in London and we were in the theater district. She knows that I am a history buff so she always takes a few moments to research some interesting facts about the area we are visiting and she told me found that in Shakespeare’s time with London having a population of only 75,000 people, Elizabethan Theatre in London produced more than more than 2500 plays in 17 London playhouses in a relatively short number of years.
Thirty years later, for a variety of reasons the theatres were destroyed, actors disbanded, and the dramatists in exile, the era of which John Maynard Keynes described as: We were in a position to embrace Shakespeare at the moment when he presented himself.
It was a similar sort of providence that lead to the establishment of public broadcasting in 1967, its brilliant inaugural era, when consensus prevailed about the necessity of public broadcasting, about the value it added to the national culture.
In taking stock today, I am alert to the many challenges that we face in the world of public broadcasting. I’d like to focus on some of the opportunities we are dealing with.
I make these remarks against the background noise you know very well – the steady tattoo of bad news about our economy, our nation and our nations future and for us at PBS39 the the threats to public broadcasting, threats that were once a distant possibility. Those possibilities have been realized and now we now deal daily with:
Total loss of state dollars, dramatically increasing program costs and the threat of federal funding cuts.
But nothing concentrates the mind quite like a threat – and here at PBS39 we’ve given a good deal of thought as to how threats might be turned to opportunities. There is literally so much at stake, so much depends on us acting to get it right and to do nothing is not an option. I and our board have, during the last 2 years, focused on our identity, on the importance of the unique values that distinguish us in the market and what we bring to our local community, as well as what will distinguish us in the future.
Can last century’s mission, to inform, educate and entertain, abide as a principle for the 21st century? Or is the understanding that public broadcasting is essential
to the preservation of our culture – now dead?
The struggle of our time, the ones we public broadcasters engage in each working day, is to attach tangible value to intangible ideals and results, ideals such as informed citizenry, objective cultural diversity and preschool children more ready to start school.
We believe our work matters for the spiritual, creative and cultural health of our nation. Public broadcasting delivers public good; we believe the pursuit of an informed, educated citizenry is a good and valuable cause.
In that vein we embrace the responsibility to set benchmarks for quality in the various genres, to set the pace.
Public broadcasters prove our worth even more when the scarcity is not only spectrum, but quality content – when so often the latest success is copycat programming of a past success, or a market pandering to the lowest common denominator.
In comprehensiveness, diversity, independence, innovation and depth – where the
market fails to deliver,public broadcasting delivers.
In the past, we have pioneered programs and genres that were subsequently adopted by the commercial sector. Think Riverdance, Josh Groban, , Il Divo, Antiques Roadshow, History Detectives, Sesame Street and more. We don’t borrow from them, but they do from us and that’s fine – we’re determined to be original.
Others were never adopted and if not for Public Television would never be seen on commercial television – this year we brought you the Peabody award winning Mac Beth,
Vienna Philharmonic in the summer of 2011, Placido Domingo with my favorite roles and Capriccio to name a few – and always in the best seat in the house.
We explore interests more deeply. We are dedicated to creating landmark programming that is visionary, authoritative and original both nationally and locally.
We bring our local history to life with Emmy award winning programs such as Bethlehem Steel, Hess’s and our upcoming “Fantastic” a documentary on the Iron Pigs and its fans coming out next April.
We are also documenting the evolution of the site that we stand on today – the largest
brownfield development in the United States that will air next February.
Our childrens’ after school and summer programs such as Ready to Learn, financial fitness and Production U last year touched over 1200 kids and hundreds of parents in the Lehigh Valley.
Which leads me to something David Kleeman President for the American Center for Children and Media wrote just last week“ Imagine if Sesame Street had never pioneered its research methods that are adopted as the educational underpinning of virtually every preschool program today.
Imagine if Barney had never proven that — in preschool especially — it’s possible to do well by doing good. What if Fred Rogers had never stood up to Senator John Pastore and convinced him that TV need not be a vast wasteland?
Think about that folks, think about what you see when you flip thorough your dial in the next few days.
Virtually everyone creating media for small children in particular, has benefited from the leadership, risk and innovation of PBS, CPB and the local public service media outlets. Now-iconic TV series, games, websites, and the growing plethora of mobile apps for kids all bear traces in their DNA of a service created in the 1960s to be deeply educational, highly engaging, socially equitable, and cost-effective (Public television today, is still
delivered for less than the cost of a cup of coffee per American per year).
And David continues – For over 20 years, I have traveled the world looking for best practices in children’s media. I’ve reached two conclusions. First, a country that doesn’t get children’s media right seldom uses media wisely for anyone; and second, the countries that get it right for kids are almost always those with the strongest and best-resourced public service media (e.g., the UK, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Japan).
Thank you David Kleeman for your thoughts.
In 2010 for the 7th consecutive year Public Television has been voted the most trusted institution in America. The Roper poll tells us that PBS remains the network with the most trusted news and public affairs programming and of course the #1 source for quality children’s programming.
About 80 percent of respondents, across all age groups, ethnicity, income and education levels measured, believe funding for PBS is money “well spent.” Respondents also found PBS an “excellent” use of tax dollars, second only to military defense and ahead of public schools.
So the question is “Was it just a magical time in history when public television was created in 1967? Is now the time that we are facing its demise as the theater did in
London in the 1600’s?
The threats we face today are that serious.
More than once I have been asked “In this time of national financial upheaval and turbulence do you think you shouldbe building a new building?”. For PBS39 the real risk is complacency and doing nothing. This new building is our future. It brings us into the heart of the valley. It allows us to touch our citizens in ways we have never been able to before. But most importantly it allows us to generate revenue with production services and take more control of our future rather than be at the mercy of others.
We can’t afford to go quietly about our business, or turn away from the commitment to serve our audiences and here at PBS39 we won’t.
So I would like to thank those that supported our vision for a new future in the valley. Those who contributed to make this building and our future a reality:
Air Products – who with their support have made the valley a much better place The
Citizens of the County of Northampton - a remarkable gift!
Lehigh Gas – Major support for our educational programs.
Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem and their parent company Las Vegas Sands Corp. for the donation of the land.
Bethworks Now LLC also for the donation of the land.
PNC Bank –PNC always a strong supporter in whatever city
in which it does business.
Bank of America – whose slogan is” think what we can do for you” and then they do it.
Keystone Nazareth Charitable Foundation – Stepping up to
the plate once again –thank you!
Lutron Electronics – they shade our world.
The Century fund – a wonderful partner.
Redevelopment Authority of the City of Bethlehem
The citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Project program.
And of course the folks who made the tax credits available which were the main funding source for this building:
NEW MARKETS PARTNERS
JP Morgan Chase
City First Bank of Washington DC
Urban Development Fund
