Recode Decode: PBS CEO Paula Kerger

Decoder with Nilay Patel

Vox Media Podcast Network

Technology, Business

4.3 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2019

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Paula Kerger, the president and CEO of PBS, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the state of public media as President Trump is trying to cut its federal funding. In this episode: How Kerger got to PBS 13 years ago; why running it is more like running a co-op than a normal company; the decline of local media; how public media is funded; bringing PBS into the digital age; why it’s backed off of Netflix in favor of competitors like Amazon; YouTube isn’t just a stepping-stone to TV; the commercial cable channels that gave up on PBS-style content; how important is broadcast for PBS’ future?; how it builds for mobile streaming; investigative journalism in VR; has content changed in the digital era?; kids’ shows like Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood; Trump’s proposal to close the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; why that would hurt rural communities the most; why PBS is not “liberal”; and where will PBS be in 20 years? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for this show comes from Into the Mix, a Ben and Jerry's podcast about joy and justice produced with Fox Creative.
0:07.0	As state legislatures consider more than 500 anti-trans bills, the latest episode of Into the Mix asks,
0:13.0	how best to support and protect transgender youth.
0:16.0	Like Olioski, a young man who, despite growing up in a loving and supportive home,
0:20.0	felt the need for friendship with other trans and queer kids.
0:23.0	At just seven years old, he took initiative and built a lasting community.
0:27.0	That story, on Into the Mix, subscribe now.
0:36.0	When you drive a Chevy electric vehicle, you're getting more than a way to get from point A to point B.
0:40.0	You're saying goodbye to gas stations and how low to open roads.
0:44.0	With the growing network of public charging stations, you'll be able to charge your EV while you shop, work, or do whatever you want to be doing with your time.
0:51.0	Chevy is making EVs for everyone, everywhere.
0:55.0	Go to chevrelay.com slash electric to learn more.
1:03.0	Hi, I'm Cara Swisher, Editor at Large of Recode.
1:05.0	You may know me as the new host of the Antiques Road Show spin-off where we appraise the value of old internet memes,
1:11.0	but in my spare time I talk tech and you're listening to Recode Decode from the Vox Media Podcast Network.
1:16.0	Today in the red chair is Paula Kerger, the president and CEO of PBS.
1:20.0	She's been in that role for more than 13 years, but recently PBS has been in the news a lot more than usual.
1:25.0	We're recording this in mid-March shortly after President Trump proposed a federal budget that would close down the corporation for public broadcasting.
1:33.0	Paula defines the corporation for public broadcasting as a quasi-governmental organization that gets federal funding to the 355 PBS stations across the country,
1:43.0	but that money is not distributed equally.
1:46.0	That was the whole idea when Lyndon Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act and had this idea of this public-private partnership.
1:53.0	In a city like Washington, a city like New York, some government funding would help, but cities like Cookville, Tennessee,
	...

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