Comments on: Alaska public media falling apart

By: John Proffitt

John Proffitt — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 05:26:30 +0000

Well, thank you CJ — a wonderful compliment (your check is in the mail – ha!). I’d like to write more, and perhaps I will, but I find myself drifting away, since I’m not in the thick of it every day right now. I worry for public media — there’s such a need, such an unrealized demand for a quality, trustworthy public service like it.

I’ve met so many people in public media, across the country, that are innovative, hard-working and smart as whips but their creativity suffers in organizations stuck, sometimes for good reasons, sometimes not, in the old ways of thinking. They stick with the comfortable and the familiar. They’re unwilling to risk outright failure or admit weaknesses to the public, to their supporters. Outreach is so often limited to asking for money, and on public TV, it’s almost always via “lite” informercials and new age booksellers.

It’s ironic, really. We stand at the edge of a new world, yet so many in public media (and private, too) are desperately trying to make this new world feel like the old world. We’re fighting the flow of history.

History typically wins. I hope some pubmedia leaders switch sides before it’s too late.

By: CJ

CJ — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 04:53:29 +0000

John, I worked in the ptv system for 18 years and through it all — I can honestly say that you’ve been one of the few people to clearly articulate the issues and, most importantly, opportunities for ptv’s future. We’ve never met but your blog posts have been so refreshing and RIGHT ON about how the system should respond to the challenges of changing media.

To discover that you were let go is a sad chapter as the story unfolds. You gave many of us hope and you’re the kind of talent the public media system needs. Thanks for all you did and please know that you have many fans out here.

By: John Proffitt

John Proffitt — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:15:33 +0000

Ken, you are too kind. I don’t really think of myself as a “visionary.” More like a person that’s paying attention. No different than you.

Well, there is ONE difference… You’re in a more enlightened organization! WBUR is now and has been doing some great stuff. I’m a huge fan of The ConverStation, in no small part because I want to steal the blog name!

Keep doing that great work you do. Maybe someday I will once again be a public media colleague. There are certainly pockets of fantastic innovation out there. Something good will come from all of this, I’m sure.

By: Ken George

Ken George — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:03:46 +0000

Sorry to learn of the sad state of APTI and of your situation in particular. Visionaries always make such tempting targets.

A brutal biz indeed.

A new, more exiting media infrastructure is emerging. Just a matter of time before it replaces the increasingly failing current order….

By: Rob Paterson

Rob Paterson — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:10:38 +0000

My time was never wasted – I met you Duncan and Karen

By: John Proffitt

John Proffitt — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:14:31 +0000

Rob, we were SO fortunate to have had some of your time. Your valiant efforts to help were deeply appreciated. But if a Board and a GM don’t want the advice to stick, it won’t. Really, we shhould apologize to you for wasting your time.

By: John Proffitt

John Proffitt — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:12:22 +0000

If I remember correctly, the DTV issues KUAC has were driven by several technical factors, not all of which were in the station’s control. I suspect they’ll fix it eventually, but with tha cash troubles, I wonder how soon.

By: Duncan Moon

Duncan Moon — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:19:49 +0000

Right on the money, John. It’s sad that something so many people put their hearts and souls into – and bled over trying to save – something so vital and important is slowly dying from lack of vision. It’s like watching a beloved family member die of cancer – it doesn’t happen overnight, but the pain and deterioration grow a little each day, and the end is inevitable. In the case of APTI, things could still be turned around, but it would take extraordinary vision, courage and leadership, all of which seem to be in short supply…and time is running out.

By: rpbert

rpbert — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:55:46 +0000

Chilling indeed. John, I’d love to talk about this before I take off, if you would call.

By: Tania

Tania — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:22:17 +0000

John, the other part of the TV problem here in Fairbanks – most of the outlying areas can’t get the digital signals, and as of right now there’s nothing to be done about it. Who’s going to donate for something you don’t/can’t use?

By: Rob Paterson

Rob Paterson — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:10:01 +0000

Sad for me too to be part of all of this

By: Steven J Heimel

Steven J Heimel — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:09:17 +0000

But Wait!! There’s more!! The only real answer is to give the media consumers a choice about where their donations go – like, for instance, maybe — wait, don’t tell me — news?

By: Twitted by scottslone

Twitted by scottslone — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:52:17 +0000

[...] This post was Twitted by scottslone [...]

By: Michael Huntsberger

Michael Huntsberger — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:26:43 +0000

Quite a story – chilling, and not in the weather sense. It’s sad to see the legacy of public media in Alaska fall apart. Thanks for telling the tale. I hope others can learn. Best of luck on your new ventures.

By: John Proffitt

John Proffitt — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:34:06 +0000

Public media in the state, our state government — both seem to lack guiding strategies.

I think businesses and other groups can do fairly well without such strategic thinking, if the world is predictable and doesn’t change much. Inertia, while not a strategy, has its charms. But when the bad times come or the world around you changes, knowing who you are and why you’re here makes all the difference. It may not “save” you, but it gives you a chance.

In public media, NPR is the best example of a company on a mission, and they have a few strategies in play to achieve that mission. PBS, on the other hand, is a study in mission and strategy drift (sorry PBS, but it’s true!). PBS is ultimately doomed unless they can get enough free money (government funding) to sustain the old mission and model.

Anyway, thanks for the comment! I hasn’t thought about the Legislature!

By: Scott McMurren

Scott McMurren — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:16:20 +0000

I love this part: “your future will be created by fate, happenstance, luck and disaster rather than by coordinated effort around a shared, meaningful goal that’s relevant to the world today.”

Question: Are you talking about public broadcasting, or our state government?

It just sounds painfully familiar to what a financial advisor told me 30 years ago (back when I had more time to really fail at something):

“If you fail to plan, you will plan to fail.”