Paula Kerger

President Donald Trump’s newly unveiled 2019 budget again proposes the elimination of funding for the three major entities that award federal funding for public broadcasting and the arts: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts. (AP photo/Susan Walsh)

PBS President Paula Kerger told journalists Tuesday at the annual TV critics’ winter press tour that the network has tightened its policies for preventing and reporting sexual harassment. In addition, PBS announced a five-part series starting Feb. 2 that will consider changes that need to be made in every American workplace. Meanwhile, Kerger said, PBS will take a long look at possible programs to fill the time slots previously held by Charlie Rose and Tavis Smiley. No deadline has been set for a decision, she said, but options include retaining Christiane Amanpour.

“PBS itself will not go away, but a number of our stations will,” says PBS President Paula Kerger, cautioning the press about what’s on the line if federal funding is truly yanked. “There Isn’t a Plan B.”

Given that change always presents uncertainty, said PBS’s Paula Kerger, and “in this case, more uncertainty,” PBS and its member stations are conducting a vigorous effort to remind lawmakers about public television’s value.

This year’s auction to shift public airwaves from carrying TV signals to delivering wireless services for mobile devices has PBS President Paula Kerger concerned a “great deal.” Kerger, speaking Thursday during the PBS portion of the Television Critics Association media tour, said that FCC rules prevent her from discussing individual stations. But she stressed the potential impact of stations going dark.

This year’s auction of broadcast spectrum could deprive viewers of access to public TV, a matter that concerns PBS President Paula Kerger. Kerger said that FCC rules preclude her from discussing individual stations. But she noted the threat of some stations going dark if their licensees choose to auction off their spectrum. “To be candid, I am concerned, as this moves forward, to make sure that the entire country is covered and able to receive television over the air,” she said.

The Republican presidential candidate reiterates his desire to eliminate funding for the Public Broadcasting Service if he wins the election in November. He also says that some business regulations are essential. “You can’t have a free market work if you don’t have regulation,” he said.

Paula Derger: “Elimination of funding would have almost no impact on the nation’s debt. Yet the loss to the American public would be devastating.”

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — PBS President Paula Kerger said Saturday the decision to remove Fred Willard as narrator of the new public TV series “Market Warriors” had to be […]

PBS President Paula Kerger said Wednesday that she recognizes the United States has to make tough budget decisions but defended PBS as an effective public-private partnership. She said viewers should oppose Mitt Romney’s call to end funding of the noncommercial programmer.

PBS is eliminating 13 current staff positions and eight vacancies, PBS President Paula Kerger said in a letter to the system Wednesday.