CPB Funding Changes to Benefit Film Independents

For the first time in their decade-long struggle with public television, the nation’s independent film producers have won crucial language in a congressional bill calling for “an independent production service.”

“This is a great victory for us,” said Lawrence Daressa, co-chairman of the National Coalition of Independent Public Broadcasting Producers and president of California Newreel, a nonprofit film production company in San Francisco.

On Thursday, the House telecommunications subcommittee adopted an amendment offered by its chairman, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), that beginning in fiscal year 1990, the Corp. for Public Broadcasting shall “provide adequate funds for an independent production service” and that the “independent production service shall be separate from the Corporation.”

Although there was no such provision in the Senate bill reported out of the Commerce Committee on Tuesday, independent producers consider the chances good that the House language will survive at a joint conference committee later this summer.

Funding for public television is coming under review because this is the year Congress must “reauthorize” appropriation ceilings for public, or noncommercial, TV for the three-year period beginning in fiscal 1991.

Signaling dissatisfaction with how the nonprofit Corp. for Public Broadcasting has distributed federal funds, members of the House and Senate are seeking changes on several fronts. While the House panel has approved a certain degree of independence for independent producers, the Senate committee has drastically curtailed CPB’s discretionary funding of public television.

No dollar amount was written into the House bill for the independent program service, but in an exchange between Reps. Markey and Al Swift (D-Wash.) Thursday, it was made clear that the production service would be funded at $6 million a year.

Daressa cautioned, however, that at $6 million, such a service could only be considered a pilot project. “For $6 million you have a pilot project for a program service, not a program service,” he said.

The coalition maintains that using its definition of an independent--someone with editorial, budgetary and copyright control--independent producers receive about 10% of current program funds, or about $3.6 million. Public broadcasting officials maintain the percentage is higher.

The House bill stipulates that CPB “shall work with organizations or associations of independent producers or independent production entities” to develop a plan and budget for the service “that is acceptable to the Corporation.”

At the same time, the bill mandates that CPB “shall ensure that the funds provided” to the independent service “shall be used exclusively in pursuit of the Corporation’s obligation to expand the diversity and innovativeness of programming available to public broadcasting.”

In a brief statement Thursday, CPB President Donald Ledwig said the amended House bill “reflects a thoughtful approach to addressing issues affecting public broadcasting by leaving funding discretion” with his agency.

Ledwig was singing an entirely different tune on Tuesday after the Senate Commerce Committee approved a batch of amendments giving 80% of the money in the CPB television program fund to public TV stations.

He called the Commerce Committee’s action “a Christmas tree bill with no money to pay for the items under the tree. In 1990, CPB will be left with only $8 million out of a $232 appropriation to spend on programs by producers of educational children’s programming, producers of programming by and about minorities, and independent producers as directed by this bill.”

He added that the amendments pose “a dangerous threat” to public television.

Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), chairman of the communications subcommittee, said he proposed the changes because of concerns that “CPB funding decisions are not sufficiently insulated from political” influence, because CPB board members are appointed by the President. Inouye said he was also concerned about complaints from independent producers that they lack access to the public broadcasting system.

On Friday, Ledwig disputed Inouye’s remarks. “Programming decisions are insulated . . . . The process that appoints directors by the President with confirmation by the Senate also works for the Supreme Court and the rest of the federal government.”

In fiscal 1990, $162 million out of the CPB’s scheduled $232 million budget goes to television. By law, 75%, or $121.5 million, of the $160 million would go to the stations in the form of unrestricted community service grants.

Now the Commerce Committee is proposing that instead of having control of the remaining $40.5 million, CPB must turn 80% of that, or $32 million, to the stations “solely to be used for acquiring or producing programming that is to be distributed nationally and is designed to serve the needs of a national audience.” David Brugger, president of the National Assn. of Public Television Stations, called the Senate amendments “positive for the stations. . . . We have our own concerns about how we will manage those funds within the industry, but I think we will work that out.”

Brugger praised the stations for already giving over 70% of their unrestricted grants to national programming.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), whose wife, Sharon Percy Rockefeller, is a former chairwoman of the CPB board, said he was concerned how the Senate proposals would affect national programming, “the heart of the public television system.”

However, Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Tex.) argued that “local stations are much more sophisticated than they were 20 years ago.”