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Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission

Meeting of October 27, 2020

Via Zoom

Minutes

Present: Mr. Edward Kaplan, chair; Mr. Richard Bodorff, vice chair; Dr. Debra Bright; Ms. Shelly Gardeniers; Ms. Rebecca Hanson; Ms. Beth Suarez; Mr. Bruce Wahl; Ms. Ellie Wang, and former commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Morgan.

The following members of the MPT management and staff also were in attendance: MPT

President and CEO Larry Unger, Mr. George Beneman, Ms. Colette Colclough, Mr. John Davis, Mr. Andrew Levine, Mrs. Fran Minakowski, Ms. Betsy Peisach, Mr. Travis Mitchell, Mr. Steven Schupak, Ms. Suzanne Schwertman, Ms. Linda Taggart, and Mr. Tom Williams. Ms. Dionne Neblett was present to record the minutes. Mr. Rob Jefferson was present for IT services.

The following guests were on hand: PBS representatives Mr. Jim Dunford and Ms. Paula Kerger.

Minutes review and approval

Mr. Kaplan called the meeting to order at 10:34 a.m. and acknowledged the presence of a quorum. He asked for approval of the September 22, 2020, meeting minutes. Mr. Wahl made a motion to approve the minutes, Mr. Bodorff seconded the motion, and the minutes were approved unanimously.

President’s report

Mr. Unger began his report by thanking retiring commissioner and vice chair Betty Morgan for her years of service. He then read a commission resolution honoring Dr. Morgan as Mrs. Minakowski presented the framed resolution to her at her Frederick home. Dr. Morgan thanked Mr. Unger and her commission colleagues for the tribute. Mr. Kaplan stated he enjoyed working with Dr. Morgan over the years and said she accomplished every task quickly and accurately. Ms. Wang added her thanks and congratulations to Dr. Morgan.

Mr. Unger noted that Richard Bodorff has been appointed vice chair of the commission by Governor Hogan. He then welcomed recently appointed commissioner Rebecca Hanson to MPT. Ms. Hanson also joined the MPT Foundation, Inc. board of directors.

Regarding financial matters, Mr. Unger reported that FY20 ended in the black and that the outlook for future federal funding was improving. Reviewing measures of recent success, he noted MPT completed its first successful comprehensive campaign with $12.8 million in gifts and pledges; the Maryland State Ad Agency division continues to grow revenue; and the Education Division has secured a number of grants. Corporate Support is having a close-to-normal revenue year, which is significant considering many sponsors nationally are being impacted by the effects of COVID-19.

He cited other positive news in his report: the Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass documentaries are on schedule for a 2022 release; MPT earned eight Emmy® wins in June; and the network increased membership to more than 63,000 members, the highest number in its history. Finally, due to the pandemic, TV viewing has increased in all U.S. markets, but MPT’s viewership has led that of virtually all PBS stations by a wide margin. Mr. Unger attributed the station’s success on all these fronts to talented, dedicated MPT team members. Mr. Wahl offered his congratulations and applause.

Mr. Unger showed several clips including Cool and Dope, the story of 7-year-old Cavanaugh Bell who created a nonprofit to feed thousands of Marylanders; a Maryland Farm & Harvest excerpt; and footage from Ways to Pay for College and Masterpiece Theatre. He also showed a clip from State Circle’s October 26 election special that was followed by MLK Speaks: A Conversation with Martin Luther King, Jr., a presentation in partnership with Morgan University radio station WEAA that was part of MPT’s ongoing Standing Against Racism: Fostering Unity Through Dialogue initiative. This three-hour broadcast was structured around the interview between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and David Susskind, not seen in its entirety since the original 1963 broadcast.

PBS update

Mr. Unger welcomed Paula Kerger, PBS’ longest-serving president and thanked her for all she has done for public television. He then introduced Jim Dunford, senior vice president of PBS Station Services.

Ms. Kerger noted that it was wonderful to be “back at MPT,” and that she was delighted to see (former PBS executive) Beth Suarez on the commission. As a Maryland native, Ms. Kerger grew up watching MPT and spoke of moments in her life that were deeply affected by MPT including her watching her favorite show, Hodgepodge Lodge with “Miss Jean.” She added that so many things she has appreciated in her life came from PBS.

Ms. Kerger noted that Sesame Street celebrated its 50th anniversary last year and Masterpiece marks its 50th next year. In 2020, PBS will celebrate its own 50th anniversary even as MPT’s long-running series MotorWeek hits the 40-year milestone, and many “firsts” within public broadcasting: reality shows, the first nightly news program (NewsHour), the first female anchors (Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff).

She acknowledged that many lives changed with the outbreak of COVID-19, and currently 92% of PBS teams work from home. While the pandemic has created great challenges, it’s also given rise to great public service. She cited MPT’s role in education, helping families educate children at home. MPT is one of the strongest stations in terms of its commitment to education.

Ms. Kerger noted that, after the murder of George Floyd, MPT’s Travis Mitchell reached out to her early with his thoughts and shared MPT’s work. Standing Against Racism: Fostering Unity Through Dialogue initiative was tremendously important and a model for other stations. She referenced the Sunday New York Times Arts & Leisure article that featured PBS and included 50 Reasons to Love PBS, and she encouraged all to share the article with others as the story of PBS “is the story of us all.”

The PBS chief executive observed that she has participated in many radio and print interviews from her home, discussing the richness of materials PBS has to offer. She looks forward to the future, considering opportunities PBS has at its disposal to meet the needs of viewers during challenging times. A rich programming line-up is ahead including American Portrait, a four-part documentary series in January that asks people to share their experiences in their own words. Others will focus on America post-election. Upcoming documentaries will include Ken Burns’ Hemingway six-hour series and Muhammad Ali—The People’s Champ as well as The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song from filmmaker Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

She noted PBS had to fill the program schedule and replace programs going out of production. New acquisitions in the upcoming year will include the highly anticipated series All Creatures Great and Small that will fill the Downton Abbey slot. As PBS looks to the future, there will continue to be great programming on multiple platforms that “deepen our commitment” to communities.

Ms. Kerger asked for questions. Mr. Wahl stated he is educating two grandsons from home in Calvert County and wanted to know if there were any efforts for PBS to work with school systems to integrate public TV fare into their education materials. Ms. Kerger replied, observing that PBS has quality content and does what it can to connect it to school curricula. Ms. Peisach added MPT works with school districts and the state’s education department to provide professional development to teachers and incorporate digital media through Thinkport. Every school district in Maryland uses its own curriculum, and Calvert County uses a learning management system. All schools are able to put PBS’ learning media on their dashboards. Ms. Peisach stated MPT has done significant work with childcare providers across the state and encourages parents and caregivers to participate in active learning. She and her team are happy to share webinars with interested school districts.

Mr. Bodorff asked about the health of the overall PBS system given the pandemic and if any stations were in jeopardy. Mrs. Kerger replied that the system’s health is a “mixed story,” and she will have a better idea by the end of the fall. There are approximately 330 PBS stations in the system, and she and her team touch base with as many stations as possible to keep current on their well-being. She attributed much station success in membership to the availability of Passport. Audience and streaming numbers are up; however, corporate sponsorship and events have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. Not all vulnerable stations are small operations; she continues to watch carefully and is cautiously optimistic that most will weather the pandemic.

Mr. Dunford said that PBS stations have felt the support of communities throughout the recent challenges. Leadership, management and commission boards are profoundly important, and stations that have done the best job during this pandemic are those with strong teams of board members and employees. MPT is one such station. He thanked the commissioners for their service and said the importance of leadership in this national system cannot be overstated.

Mr. Kaplan thanked Ms. Kerger and Mr. Dunford for their gracious remarks and turned to Mr. Schupak for his report.

Maryland State Ad Agency

Mr. Schupak spoke next, observing that the Maryland State Ad Agency (MSAA) division of MPT is a full-service advertising, marketing, communications and media buying service. This service started from a partnership with and funding from the Maryland Department of Health (DOH) with messaging to address the opioid crisis in Maryland. The DOH was pleased with MPT’s work and continued to provide assignments since the 2016 start of the relationship.

Mr. Schupak explained that the MSAA in many respects supports MPT’s mission regarding education and public safety based on work it’s performing for clients. In addition, MPT has 50 years of experience in media, a strong production team, and in-house resources using traditional and new digital formats. There is an ease of contracting for state agencies where procurement is concerned. A variety of media including Google ads, Facebook and YouTube is used to reach clients’ target audiences. Substantial revenue is being generated for MPT to help fund other station activities.

Mr. Schupak shared three TV ads including a spot featuring an NFL player, the Good Samaritan Law, and the 2020 census campaign featuring Governor Hogan.

Mr. Kaplan thanked Mr. Schupak for his thorough, well-done presentation.

MotorWeek 40th anniversary

Introducing this report, Content head Travis Mitchell said that America has been riding with MotorWeek for the last 40 years. Although, because of the pandemic, production was temporarily curtailed to enhance safety measures, the team found a way to take viewers on virtual drives. He turned to MotorWeek’s host John Davis for his presentation.

Mr. Davis thanked Ms. Kerger for her kind words. He noted that MotorWeek is six weeks into its 40th season and two elements have been constants over the years: the program’s commitment to helping people buy what’s likely to be their second-largest lifetime purchase and the show’s commitment to its public TV home. He thanked PBS for carrying MotorWeek, helping to get the series into homes throughout America.

To cope with the coronavirus outbreak, the MotorWeek staff took a week off and then refocused efforts to social media using YouTube channels. Four YouTube segments were produced and viewership went up significantly. Television production resumed in late May and the series returned to broadcast in June, one of the first PBS programs to get up and running.

Mr. Davis recounted steps taken by the staff to ensure distancing and safety, and he noted the team faced pandemic challenges with innovation and talent. Mr. Davis shared a clip and thanked the commission for allowing him to show off cars and for keeping MPT “an extraordinary place.”

Mr. Kaplan thanked Mr. Davis for the presentation and for bringing recognition to MPT with this long-running program.

Mr. Unger suggested to the chair that the Development presentation be postponed until the November meeting due to the current meeting’s length. The Chair agreed.

Old and new business

Mr. Kaplan asked for old or new business and, hearing none, asked for a motion to adjourn. Ms. Wang made the motion to adjourn and Ms. Gardeniers seconded the motion. All were in favor and Mr. Kaplan adjourned the meeting at 12:05 p.m.

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