PBS Chief Details Diversity Efforts, Promises Change In How It Recuits Filmmakers and ‘NewsHour’ Staff

variety.com:

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAmid numerous exits of top talent of color at fellow pubcaster NPR and ongoing backlash to the lack of diversity within its roster of filmmakers, PBS’ top exec revealed the service’s plan to make significant changes to its own operations and public broadcasting in general.“In engaging in conversations with filmmakers, it was very clear that there were filmmakers that were having difficulty bringing their work forward,” PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger told reporters Tuesday during her executive session at the the pubcaster’s first day of virtual Television Critics Association winter press tour. “Some of it is, in part, the structure of public broadcasting, which is very decentralized,” she said “We’re a federated system.

Our stations are all independent. There are many paths into public broadcasting, so it’s confusing sometimes for filmmakers figure out, ‘Do I come to PBS?

Do I go to a producing station? Do I go to my local station? Where there are opportunities? What about these series like “Independent Lens” and “POV”?'” PBS has been criticized for relying to often on the same filmmakers (notably, that includes Ken Burns).

Kerger says “deeper conversations” revealed that there are troubles for mid-career filmmakers in particular that PBS looked to focus on correcting.“This a conversation that I’ve had off and on with [filmmaker] Stanley Nelson now for a number of years, that many people can get first films funded,” the PBS chief said. “There are more opportunities for brand-new filmmakers, not to say that there isn’t need to do more, so we’re trying to address that in one of these new initiatives that we’re announcing.