CPB, WGBH, LOC Form Public Bcasting Archive

On Feb. 10, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting together with WGBH Boston and the Library of Congress will celebrate the American Archive of Public Broadcasting at the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress.

Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), a long-time supporter of public media, is the featured speaker. He will be joined by Librarian of Congress Dr. James H. Billington, CPB Board President Patricia Cahill, CPB Board member Bruce Ramer, WGBH Boston President-CEO Jon Abbott, and CPB President-CEO Patricia Harrison.

The American Archive preserves some of public media’s best reporting as well as rare footage that might otherwise have been lost. This unique record of U.S. history includes local and national programs, raw footage, unedited interviews, recorded speeches, scripts and photos including:

• The announcement and audience reaction to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination during a concert recording.
• News reports of the attack on Oregon’s shores during WWII.
• An announcement about the launch of WNET in New York by Edward R. Murrow.
• The full collection of This American Life from Chicago Public Media.
• Rare in-studio performances of Nirvana and Soundgarden by KEXP Seattle.

 A preview of the Archive’s content will be shown at the event. The American Archive project located and identified more than 2.5 million items from 120 stations and is preserving audio and video from 100 of those stations.

Funding for the American Archive was originally provided by CPB. WGBH is leading the effort to digitize and catalogue more than 40,000 hours of content.