Public Broadcasting Service

In an effort to provide comprehensive coverage of the 1988 presidential campaign, the Public Broadcasting Service is planning a six-week prime-time series this fall. "There's a general sense within public television that the horse-race aspect of the election is well-covered by the commercial networks, but that viewers also need to know more about the presidency and the issues," said Stephen Atlas, executive producer for public affairs at WGBH-TV in Boston.

The Public Broadcasting Service today will announce a large new commitment to children's programming, expanding it to nine hours a day and encouraging parents to make better use of the hours youngsters spend in front of the television. Beginning in July, in 10 cities across the country, including Los Angeles, local PBS stations will broadcast about three more hours of children's shows every day and repackage all educational programming to give it a hip, new image.

Los Angeles public-television station KCET will air the short film, "Stop the Church"--which the Public Broadcasting Service pulled from its schedule last week--as part of a documentary about the controversy surrounding the program. "The differences of opinion on this have created a story in itself that is larger than just the film, and we want to produce a program that looks at the controversy," said Barbara Goen, KCET vice president for public information.

We thank Sen. Larry Pressler for revealing the real reason behind the efforts of some politicians to scuttle federal support for public broadcasting. Forget all the high-minded rhetoric about privatization and deficit reduction. What is really going on is something like a witch hunt against public broadcasting employees considered too liberal.

Before "The Osbournes," indeed, before there was MTV, there was PBS and Lance Loud. Thirty years ago this month, public broadcasting ushered in "An American Family," a 12-part series that chronicled seven months in the life of Santa Barbara's Loud family. At a time of many fewer TV options, their impact was loud, indeed.

PBS President Pat Mitchell maintained Tuesday that the taxpayer-supported network is independent and free of political bias, rejecting Republican arguments that there is a need for more conservative programming to balance the content of public television. In her first public response to criticism that PBS suffers from a liberal reputation, Mitchell cited public polls that have repeatedly found that a majority of Americans view the network as objective and fair.

The long-running children's series "Wonderworks" and "Newton's Apple" have failed to receive PBS funding for fiscal year 1991, meaning they will leave the noncommercial network in December, 1991.

Aiming beyond the dry textbook English lesson, state and federal officials have launched a television situation comedy to reach some of the nearly 14 million adults who lack basic English skills. "Crossroads Cafe" traces the lives of six characters of various ethnic backgrounds in a 26-part series that the program's sponsors are hoping will attract an immigrant population not being reached by standard instruction.

With the slowing economy affecting corporate underwriting, the Public Broadcasting Service trimmed its staff by more than 10%, or about 59 positions, its second round of cost-cutting in the past year. The cuts, to be made through a combination of 27 layoffs and the rest in unfilled positions, follow a 9% staffing reduction, or 60 positions, in March, and will bring PBS' total number of employees to just over 500.

PUBLIC television and radio broadcasters are preparing themselves for another difficult budget season after a key House Appropriations subcommittee voted Wednesday to cut $115 million from station operations, system upgrades and grants for children's programs such as "Reading Rainbow" and "Sesame Street."