Abstract:

The public media arena in the United States is composed of public television and public radio. The viewers and listeners of public broadcasting are mostly white and aging. There is a new younger and highly diverse audience that is not watching or listening to public broadcasting. For this reason, a new model of public media is called for. This new model will be multi-media and present relevant content through digital channels, online, social media networks, video, audio images and text. The goal is to develop content based on research that shows that this young and diverse audience is hungry for news, information, entertainment and music that speaks in their "voice" and reflects their experiences. Their experiences include new ways of viewing race, ethnicity and culture. It is a perspective that does not see linear boundaries but rather a fluid social dynamic that is fueling the creation of a new sensibility. This new sensibility dovetails with the development and growth of new technologies. Creating a new public model that speaks to this audience by using a multi-media approach is gaining ground throughout the U.S. and public media clusters are developing both by design and by spontaneous creation. This paper will explore the need, present the research and data that supports this development and detail various experiments and incubators that are taking this new approach. This new model will have a large impact on higher education as more and more learning migrates to the digital realm and the U.S. continues to become more and more racially and ethnically diverse.