Lunch at Michael’s with Paula Kerger, President and CEO of PBS

Throughout its run Downton amp8211 in tandem with Sherlock amp8211 certainly regenerated interest in PBS among young adult viewersamp160 So did the companyamp8217s embrace of digital technology including YouTube now home to a slate of some of its most successful original PBS programming for the webamp160 Together the phenomena of these shows both multiple Emmy winners and the migration into new platforms has gone a long way toward making Paulaamp8217s ten years at the helm of the Public Broadcasting Service especially rewarding particularly during a decade of perpetual sweeping change for everyone in mediaamp160 Throughout that time Paula has become the longestrunning president of PBS in the companyamp8217s history amp8220And Iamp8217m still standingamp8221 she laughedamp8220Running a media organization right now is complicated as you try to figure out where the audiences are going toamp8221 Paula said amp8220When you run organizations like NPR or PBS which are federated systems you have the additional challenge but also the opportunity of figuring out how to work with very independent locally grounded media companiesamp8220Iamp8217m especially proud of the relationships weamp8217ve built with the stationsamp8221 she continuedamp160 amp8220Weamp8217re navigating through a period of great change in a way that continues to have us really trying to envision the future We may have different ideas but I think we kept it glued togetheramp8221amp160Constant contact with PBSamp8217 350 member stations has been and continues to be at the forefront of Paulaamp8217s responsibilities amp8220I spend a lot of time on the road visiting themamp8221 she said amp8220I think itamp8217s really important if you are doing this kind of jobamp160 We have a number of annual meetings and other meetings where people come together but itamp8217s very different when you see someone in their home I go to the stations and walk around meet the whole range of people the boards and the volunteersamp160 It helps to understand the stations and also itamp8217s a show of respectamp160 I donamp8217t think I could do my job if I didnamp8217t spend time on the road really trying to understand what people are grappling withamp8220As weamp8217ve looked at this continually shifting media landscape weamp8217ve encouraged our stations to aggressively use the PBS brandamp8221 Paula continuedamp160 amp8220I think a lot about the brand Itamp8217s our biggest asset We do research every year that ranks us as extraordinarily trusted against other media organizations and public institutionsamp160 The authenticity of the content is truly valuable and thatamp8217s what resonates with peopleamp8220With a lot of the places where weamp8217re distributing content such as Roku and Apple our content sits under the PBS brandamp8221 she continued amp8220What weamp8217ve tried to do as technology has evolved is utilize the ability to do autolocalizationamp160 It enables us to create an experience that takes advantage of the brand but also connects it to a local experience which I think for us is unique Weamp8217re really focused as we look forward at ways to continue to meet people where they are and to do it around brands that have the same attributes ours has Itamp8217s harder for the networks and for brands like ours that mean many different things to many different people I do think that we sit differently from the other networks that there is a power to the brand that draws peopleamp8221Paula believes this she explained because of meetings PBS had at YouTube a few years back when it decided to move into that spaceamp160 amp8220We saw a lot of people working there that had it been 10 years earlier would have been working for us somehowamp8221 she recalled amp8220They were doing content that is smart and educational but also entertainingamp160 We decided YouTube was appealing to us because of the audienceamp8221amp160 When they realized that a lot of kids teens and younger adults were watching YouTube they decided it would be amp8220a place for us to begin building out a presenceamp160 Not to take advantage of some of the attributes of YouTube felt to us like a missamp8221Embracing YouTube and new technologies led to the creation of PBS Digital Studiosamp160 amp8220I was surprised how many people even people who had established brands on YouTube suddenly wanted to work with usamp8221 Paula saidamp160 amp8220There are people that are working for us at Digital Studios who Iamp8217m sure aspire to have their work become television shows but most of them donamp8217tamp8221Paula revealed that one of her favorite series from Digital Studios is Blank on Blank which takes old radio recordings and animates them in videos that typically run six to nine minutesamp160 amp8220It is a perfect YouTube project that would never be a television projectamp8221 she saidOverseeing the entirety of national public television PBS through the digital era couldnamp8217t be farther from the life Paula knew as a child growing up in a rural area outside of Baltimoreamp160She lived amp8220in a house that was built by my parents on a piece of property that my grandparents had given to them when they got marriedamp8221 she recalled amp8220My grandfather was a professor and during the Depression he bought this property because he thought that if things got really bad if they lived in the country at least they would eat They would have the gardenamp8221Living in the country gave her a amp8220loud voiceamp8221 Paula said explaining that as a child she had been shy with a amp8220little voiceamp8221 but that mysteriously changed amp8220It must have come from calling the dogs or somethingamp8221 she laughed or from cheering for the Baltimore Oriolesamp160 amp8220When I was a little girl I was a Junior Orioleamp8221 she said amp8220I used to sit out in left field with my glove at the old Memorial Stadium waiting for the ball that never cameamp8221 Junior Orioles she explained were lucky kids given tickets to sit in the bleachers amp8220in the hot sunamp8221 and cheer for the home teamPaula attended the University of Maryland with the intention of becoming a veterinarian amp8220I was pragmatic even at that time because I realized that veterinary school was going to be difficult to get into so I actually started in premedamp8221 she recalled adding that she amp8220crashed and burned during organic chemistryamp8221 She took solace in humanities classes amp8220before I panicked and realized that I was never going to be gainfully employedamp8221 so she switched schools and pursued a business degree at the University of Baltimore amp8220I graduated without a clue what I wanted to do in lifeamp8221 she addedAfter going on amp8220a lotamp8221 of interviews Paula ended up working for UNICEF in Washington DCamp160It was mostly fundraising work which would serve her well in the futureamp160 amp8220I was in that job two years when they moved me to New York to the national officeamp8221 she said amp8220I had landed in a fundraising job with no idea that it was even a careeramp8221A position at the Rockefellerfounded organization International House followedamp160 Then a headhunter representing the Metropolitan Opera called to see if she would bring her fundraising skills there The Met proved to be a great fit amp8220I love musicamp8221 Paula said amp8220My grandfather was the founder of the public radio station in Baltimore which was a classical music station with a little bit of NPR I went on the interview and said I was probably the wrong person for them to hire because I knew nothing about opera They said they didnamp8217t want someone who was passionate about opera because that person would be more interested in hanging out by the stage door than in raising money So they hired meamp8221Her time at the Met was followed by a move to WNET Channel 13 in New York where she spent 13 years initially as Vice President of Development and then rising to the position of COOamp160 Henry Kravis was the board chair at the time of her interview amp8220Channel 13 was basically spending every dollar they brought inamp8221 Paula recalled amp8220The year before I got there New York State had enacted a significant budget cut and WNET had to lay off a lot of people Henry pointed out that every major nonprofit organization has an endowment to provide economic stabilityamp160 So thatamp8217s what I developed for them and then moved into a larger operational role The move to PBS followed in 2006When she isnamp8217t busy traveling around the country visiting stations and overseeing programming and technology initiatives for PBS Paula enjoys spending time with her husband at the home they purchased two years ago in the Blue Ridge Mountainsamp160 amp8220The thing that is the throughline from when I was six is that I love being outsideamp8221 she told usamp160 amp8220Weamp8217re in a place where we can hike and do outdoor thingsamp8221amp160 She is also Chairman of the Board of the Museum of Natural History in Washingtonamp160 amp8220Even though I flunked organic chemistry Iamp8217m still very interested in art and scienceamp8221 she laughed amp8220Thatamp8217s so much of who my grandfather wasamp160 He started the radio station because he was interested in art and science He was a physics professor and his area of expertise was microwave technology He was teaching electronics in Baltimore and he built the station as a realworld exampleamp160 He did it for the science but he was also heavily involved in theater I think I must have some of his passions Iamp8217ve always been interested in the arts but I have no talent in any artistic endeavor at all At least I admit itamp8221Reflecting on her past accomplishments and the challenges that lie ahead Paula concluded amp8220This is the most interesting of times in media Iamp8217ve met some of the people that put our stations on the air who have been in public media since the very beginning back when people just did wild stuff because you could The industry evolved and it became harder to do wilder stuff because everybody was watchingamp160 But now weamp8217re in that place again People are trying new and different things I donamp8217t think itamp8217s for the faint of heartamp160 If you feel like you have to have everything mapped out youamp8217re in the wrong business because sometimes the shifts are just gutwrenchingamp8221Click the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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Lunch at Michael’s with Paula Kerger, President and CEO of PBS

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Lunch at Michael’s with Paula Kerger, President and CEO of PBS

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