Doc Distro Lit Review: Public Media

Person wearing red standing and speaking from behind a podium that says PBS.

NPR and PBS Push Back Against Trump’s Order to Cut Funding: ‘This Could Be Devastating’

The Guardian reporter Edward Helmore details media responses from PBS’s chief executive, Paula Kerger, and NPR’s chief executive, Katherine Maher, following efforts by the Trump administration to cut off taxpayer funding to PBS and NPR.
A television screen with columns of different colors running vertically across the screen, and the text: Please Stand By

PBS Pulled a Film for Political Reasons, Then Changed Its Mind

Senior Editor Daniel Engber writes in the Atlantic about PBS's long-running series POV, as it navigates public media threats from the Trump administration, focusing on filmmaker Jane M. Wagner's account of the repositioning of her film Break the Game within POV programming. *Please note: This article is behind a paywall.
Chart depicting Public Media: Per Capita Spend, with Germany at the top with $142.42, then Norway with $110.73, Finland with $101.29, Denmark with $93.16, the UK with $81.30, France with $75.89, Spain with $58.70, Japan with $53.15, Australia with $35.78, Lithuania with $32.71, New Zealand with $26.86, Canada with $26.51, Botswana with $18.38, Cabo Verde with $15.22, South Korea with $14.93, then the US with $3.16

Public Announcement: How Media Failed America

Evan Shapiro reports on the weakened state of public service media in the US and its implications for democracy.
Photograph showing the backs of two people walking in the cold wearing jackets

A Distinct Chill in the Air

Strategic brand consultant and independent film producer Brian Newman assesses the state of censorship in independent filmmaking—at film festivals, as well as with funding, streaming distribution, online promotional opportunities, and more.
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What’s at Risk in the Streaming Media Age

Walter Shorenstein fellow Keri Putnam explores the risks and challenges associated with the streaming media age, discussing implications for content creators, platforms, and consumers in an evolving digital landscape.
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Action in Three Acts: Camden International Film Festival Remarks

President and CEO of Independent Television Service (ITVS), Carrie Lozano spoke at the 2023 Camden International Film Festival on the potential opportunities to be found from perceived threats to the industry, looking at the creation of ITVS in the late 1980s as an example.
The Center for Media & Social Impact logo

The Lens Reflected: What Stories & Storytellers Get the Green Light in Documentary’s Streaming Age?

A study by the Center for Media and Social Impact (CMSI) exposes a lack of diversity among documentary filmmakers, emphasizing the dominance of white men and revealing disparities in acknowledging racism, particularly in the representation of BIPOC and women of color across major platforms, including streamers, cable, and public television.
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The State of Journalism on the Documentary Filmmaking Scene

Documentary filmmaking lacks internal standards for accuracy and ethics. As a key resource for public knowledge, documentary film deserves increased journalistic scrutiny, enriched by diverse perspectives, to strengthen both criticism and reporting.
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ITVS: Keeping the “Public” in Public Television

In 2001, the Independent Television Service (ITVS) was a decade into supporting independent TV creators, and navigating challenges like funding risks and criticism for constraints, while staying committed to thought-provoking programming beyond traditional documentary roles.