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AUTHOR Thompsen, Philip A. TITLE Public Broadcasting in the New World of Digital Information Services: What's Been Done, What's Being Done, and What Could Be Done. PUB DATE May 92 NOTE 12p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association (42nd, Miami, FL, May 20-25, 1992). PUB TYPE Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.) (120) Speeches/Conference Papers (150)

EDRS PRICE MFO1 /PCO1 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Broadcast Television; Educational Television; Electronic Mail; *Information Technology; *Mass Media Role; *Public Television; *Radio; Technological Advancement IDENTIFIERS Closed Captioned Television; *Digital Information Services; *Public Broadcasting

ABSTRACT This paper explores the progress public broadcasting (originally called "educational television") has made in taking advantage of a relatively new application of tecnnology: digital information services. How public broadcasters have pursued this technology and how it may become an integral part of the future of public broadcasting are reviewed. Three of the more successful digital information services that have been provided by public broadcasters (i.e., closed captioning, electronic bulletin board services, and electronic text) are discussed. The paper then discusses three areas that are currently being pursued: digital radio broadcasting, interactive video data services, and the broadcasting of data over the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of public television stations. A vision for the future of public broadcasting is considered, identifying some of the important opportunities that should be taken advantage of before the rapidly changing technological environment eclipses public broadcasting's chance to define a better future for an electronic society. (Contains 39 references.) (RS)

*********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** 4,) Public Broadcasting in the NewWorld of Digital InformationServices: What's Been Done, What's BeingDone, and What Could Be Done by Philip A. Thompsen Department of Communication, The University of Utah, SaltLake City, UT 84112 A paper presented to the International CommunicationAssociation, Miami, Florida. May 1992

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and improvement EDUCATIONAL RESONTER INFORMATION PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE SOURCES) THIS CEERIC MATERIAL HAS BEEN This documenthas been reproduced as GRANTED BY received from the person Or organization Originating it C Mtn°, changes bane been made IJ Lmbreve reproduction Duality

Points Of view or opinions stated in Me CIOCu meat do not necessarily represent Official OERI position or policy TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTERIERICI Public Broadcasting in the New World of Digital Information Services: What's Been Done, What's Being Done, and What Could Be Done by Philip A. Thompsen Department of Communication. The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 A paper presented to the International Communication Association, Miami, Florida. May 1992

have difficulty looking ahead comprehen- Introduction sively and systematically, it will not become It may be an understatement to say that public the public service force in American cultural service broadcasting in the United States has had a and political life that its most genuine sup- difficult time defining what it is.It is much easier porters expect it to be. (p. 13) to define it in terms of what it is notbroadcasting What do these "most genuine supporters" expect that is not commercial, or "noncommercial." The public broadcasting to be? Again, it depends on Carnegie Commission suggested the more positive whom you ask, but a common theme is the embrac- modifier "public," yet this has done little to relieve ing of communication technologies for the public the identity crisis; some have suggested that it has good, of using the fruit of technological innovation aggravated it (Crotts & Rowland. 1981: Rowland, not for the enrichment of commercial interests, but 1986b). Other than not being commercial, the for the enrichment of human minds. answer to the question "What is public broad- Included as part of the Carnegie Commission's casting?" depends to a great extent on when the first report on educational television was a paper by question is asked, and of whom. J. C. R. Licklider (1967), who wrote of "televistas," Originally, educational programming (or more futuristic visions of what public broadcasting could precisely, instructional programming was a key become, "possibilities that come to mind when one distinction. The "noncommercial educational" la- deliberately looks aside from the central line of bel is still the preferred term of the Federal thought about educational television and rejects the Communications Commission, yet this designation assumption that educational applications have to be seems increasingly inadequate. Although there are built upon the framework of conventional broadcast exceptions, public broadcasters have adopted many television" (p. 201).Five years later, Frank of the strategies of their commercial counterparts, Korman (1972) asserted that public broadcasters while distancing themselves from an educational "may be on the verge of a new threshold in success- mission. Tune in to public television, and you are ful application of telecommunications technology" likely to find amid the otherwise outstanding pro- (pp. 322-323), and predicted the development of grams a noticeable trend toward commercial "hits" "learner-instruction interaction" in public televi- like The Prisoner and The Lawrence Welk Show, sion programs (p. 324) and public radio subcarrier college football games, aerobic exercise programs, transmission of "electrowriter" services (p. 329). and "classic" films like Herbie Rides Again. After the Carnegie Commission (1979) readdressed While such programming undoubtedly helps public itself to public broadcasting, it was "convinced that television reach a larger audience, and therefore public broadcasting must strengthen its ability to expands its potential funding base, it makes the operate on the frontiers of new technology if it is to prophetic vision articulated by the Carnegie fully serve the Amz.rican people" and recom- Commission (1967), of an alternative broadcast mended a "stronger, ongoing, and more fully inte- service "free from the constraints, however neces- grated research and development capability to as- sary in their context, of commercial television" (p. sist the system in taking advantage of new technol- 99), seem strangely remote, outdated and naive. ogy to meet public needs" (p. 243). More recently, The Carnegie Commission did much to rally public James Fellows (1990) urged public broadcasters to broadcasters around the themes of localism, diver- take advantage of their "unique position" in the sity and excellence. While the value of promoting evolving mix of communication technologies: such goals may be substantial, especially in light of The local, state and national public television the continuing need for federal financing, these systems are in a unique position. No other glittering generalities have provided only a institution in America provides such a suit- sketchy definition of what public broadcasting is able nucleus for exploiting the information, or should be. video and communications technology al- What may be even less clear is where public ready on the scene, which is expanding its broadcasting is going. Willard Rowland (1986a) reach and economies at astonishingly rapid has not been one to mince words about this persis- rates (p. 39). tent myopia: Today, a quarter of a century after the first If public broadcasting is ever to be more than Carnegie Commission report and the Public a relatively minor gap-filler in America's Broadcasting Act of 1967, it seems an appropriate overwhelmingly commercial telecommunica- time to assess the progress of public broadcasting to tions industry, it needs to define its destiny. date, and to consider the "televistas" that may lie As long as public broadcasting continues to ahead. Has noncommercial broadcasting posi- Public Broadcasting & Digital Information Services. p. 2 tioned itself onthefrontiers of new technology? In technology. In fact. public broadcasting pioneered what ways has it. taken advantage of new technol- the first applications of television captioning in this ogy to meet public needs? What has motivated its country. In 1970, when Dr. Malcolm Norwood of the development of new technologies? How has it con- U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare tributed to charting the future of America's com- was considering the best way to fund development munication environment? The answers to these of captioning technology, he went first to public questions may contribute to a better understanding broadcaster WGBH in Boston, "because of its repu- of where public broadcasting has been, and where it tation as an innovator" (Loeterman, 1989). Within may he headed. It may even help satisfy the need a year, the world's first television captioning for a clearer definition of the role of public broad- agency, The Caption Center, was founded by the casting in contemporary American society. WGBH Educational Foundation. This paper is an exploration into the progress pub- During the 1970s, much of the development work lic broadcasting has made in taking advantage of in captioning was done by The Caption Center. It one of the new technologies, or more precisely, a produced the first nationally broadcast captioned relatively new application of technology: digital program. Julia Child's The French Chef, which information services. Traditional broadcast ser- aired on PBS in the summer of 1971. On January vices transmit aural and visual information in a 20, 1973, a team of captioners captioned President form directly interpretable through human senses, Nixon's 22-minute inaugural address in record but today an increasing amount of radio frequency timeonly five hours; it was aired that evening on spectrum is being used for the transmission of PBS. The success of that venture encouraged Phil digital information, necessitating an additional Collyer, the Caption Center's first director, to ap- mediating layer of computers or computer-driven proach ABC with the idea of producing a captioned devices before such data can be made intelligible to version of "The ABC Evening News." On a human audience. This paper offers both a review December 3, 1973, the Eastern Educational Network of how public broadcasters have pursued this began distributing to public television stations "The technology, and a preview of how it may become an Captioned ABC News." integral part of the future of public broadcasting. It should be pointed out that all of these early ef- First is an exploration of what's been done, a forts were "open captioned," meaning that the cap- discussion of three of the more successful digital tions were part of the television picture, appearing information services that have been provided by on screen without the use of special decoders. public broadcasters. This is followed by a look at During the late 1970s, PBS 1' 'gan developing "line what's being done, some of the projects currently 21 closed captioning," the method of transmission being developed that should become reality in th_s_ in wide use today. Digital binary data is inserted near future.The paper concludes with an ar- into line 21 of a television signal's vertical blank- gument for what could be done, a vision for the ing intervala portion of the television signal that future of public broadcasting, identifying some of is not part of the television picture, but is used to the important opportunities the author feels should "blank out" the electron beam during the retrace pe- he taken advantage of, preferably soonbefore the riod between the sequential television picture fields. rapidly changing technological environment Public broadcasting was thus significantly in- eclipses public broadcasting's chance to define a volved in one of the first widespread applications of better future for our electronic society. a broadcast digital information service; for this pi- oneering work, PBS Engineering received an Emmy Award (Adeyeye & Richer, 1988). What's Been Done Although The Caption Center worked with PBS in Although those outside of the industry may be un- the development of line 21 closed captioning, the aware of the extent of involvement by public broad- rights to the technology were given to a separate or- casters in digital information services, significant ganization outside of public broadcasting, the contributions have been made in at least three ar- National Captioning Institute (NCI). NCI began eas: closed captioning, electronic bulletin board closed-captioned television service on March 16, services, and electronic text.Illustrating the 1980, with a weekly schedule of 16 hours of pro- progress made by public broadcasting in these ar- grams on ABC, NBC and PBS. Recognizing that eas are The Caption Center, Learning Link, and open captioning would soon become obsolete, The the Electronic Text Consortium. Caption Center developed its own line 21 captioning system, improving upon the system PBS licensed to Closed Captioning: The Caption Center NCI. Working together with the CBS teletext project in the early 1980s, The Caption Center developed Perhaps the first digital information service pro- "dual-mode captions," combining teletext technol- vided by public broadcasters, and arguably the most ogy with line-21 captioning. The Caption Center successful, is closed captioning. Although closed captioning is today available on commercial net- work programs, cable television channels, and pre- 1 Because coverage of the Watergate hearingswas recorded video cassettes, public broadcasters have occupying the late night time slot on PBS, nationwide played an important role in the development of this distribution was delayed until August 5, 1974, three days before President Nixon resigned from office. Public Broadcasting & Digital Information Services. p. 3 also developed a special software system. "CC pabilities for subscribers. and (5) an on-line cata- Writer," that made the captioning process simpler logue of educational products and resources. For and faster. In 1986, The Caption Center began pro- the most part, Learning Link continues to offer ducing the first closed-captioned local television these and similar services, but today the service newscasts, including the WGBH "Ten O'clock has expanded to offer support for a number of local News." Recently, The Caption Center has devel- Learning Link bulletin boards, as well as a na- oped the Descriptive Video Service (DVS) for the vi- tional service. sually impaired community, which takes advan- Local Learning Link systems are operated by tage of the Second Audio Program (SAP) capability public television stations, state public broadcasting of television signals to transmit spoken descrip- networks and, in some cases, by state departments tions of on-screen action. And the Caption Center of education in cooperation with local public broad- was a significant part of the lobbying effort leading casters. Currently, there are thirteen local to the passage of the Television Decoder Circuitry Learning Link systems in operation, forming the Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-431), which requires Learning Link National Consortium. By combin- television manufacturers to include built-in closed- ing resources, together these systems maintain the caption decoder's in television sets (with screens 13" "core content" of Learning Link, which currently or larger) beginning in July, 1993. consists of over 6,000 computer screens of informa- The Caption Center continues to be a non-profit tion (Learning Link, 1991).Each system operator service of the WGBH Educational Foundation. customizes this core content to meet the needs of the Remaining true to the spirit of noncommercial, local community, often adding program schedules, public service broadcasting, none of the technology learning guides and curricular support for local it has developed is proprietary. Dan Glisson, the public television programs. In those communities engineer who developed The Caption Center's line- without a local Learning Link service, users may 21 closed-captioning system. notes that "The access Intro Link. a national service based primar- Caption Center has always shared technical and ily on the core content maintained by the Learning other information with anyone who has wanted it" Link National Consortium. ( Loeterman, 1989). Although today closed-caption In 1990, the Central Educational Network as- technology is widely used by both commercial and sumed management of the Learning Link noncommercial broadcasters, much of the credit for National Consortium through Link Net, a sub- its development is due to the work of public broad- sidiary created for this purpose (Singer, 1990). Out casting efforts like The Caption Center. of its Des Plaines, Illinois offices, Link Net man- ages the Intro Link national service, maintains a Electronic Bulletin Boards: Learning Link training and marketing program for local An electronic bulletin board is a computer-based Learning Link services, and provides much of the electronic mail and information service that is core content of those services. Link Net also negoti- usually accessed via telephone modern connection. ates relationships with database vendors and in- Electronic bulletin boards are often operated on a formation providers on behalf of the local systems; noncommercial basis, with information of interest many of these "value adding" services are offered to a specific, rather than a general, audience. The through Einstein, a database "gateway.' Through first electronic bulletin board was established in the Einstein gateway, Learning Link users can ac- Chicago in 1978; by 1986 their number had grown to cess nearly 90 different on-line digital information 2500 (Chesebro & Bonsall, 1989). Because electronic services, including the Educational Resources bulletin boards are fairly inexpensive to start and Information Center (ERIC) database, the Education maintain, many broadcasters have experimented Index, the Book Review Digest, the General Science with using them for promotional and/or public Index, and the National College Databank. service purposes. One of the more successful efforts Although Learning Link does not make use of by public broadcasters to provide an electronic public broadcasting's airwaves, in many respects bulletin board service is Learning Link. this bulletin board service has become integrated Started in October, 1985 at WNET in New York, into the American system of public broadcasting. Learning Link is targeted primarily to elementary On both the national and local level, public and secondary school teachers and students, but is broadcasters are involved in maintaining the also used by school administrators, adult learners service and creating much of its content. The and public television viewers. With a computer, emphasis on local control and community service modem, telephone line and telecommunications is consonant with public broadcasting's traditions software, users can go "on line" with Learning of localism. The educational value of Learning Link, accessing a variety of information. Link has served to reinforce public broadcasting's Originally, the bulletin board offered services in commitment to broad educational objectives. And five areas: (1) program information for WNET's Learning Link has helped public broadcasting take television schedule, (2) discussion forums for greater advantage of new technology. As executive teachers and other Learning Link users, (3) gate- Director Robert Spielvogel (1988) notes, Learning ways to other on-line services and databases Link was designed to meet "a growing need to through the EDISON system, (4) electronic mail ca- position eu -ational television within a context of learning technologies in general" (p. 169). Public Broadcasting & Digital Information Services. p. 4 Electronic Text The Electronic Text Consortium and instructors appeared to receive positive reac- Electronic text is a term that has been used to de- tions" (Carey & Dozier, 1985, p. 8). On the basis of scribe consumer information services that use over- their research, the Consortium concluded with a the-air broadcast (teletext), cable (cabletext) or tele- "positive assessment of electronic text as a toot for phone line (videotext)2 transmission methods higher education" (Carey & Dozier, 1985, p. 9). (Carey & Mocs, 1984). Electronic text services did Because of the pioneering work of the Electronic not develop in this country as quickly as they did Text Consortium and similar efforts, public broad- in Europe, where the French Minitel system is per- casters were in a better position to evaluate the op- haps the most successful enture ( Gayeski & portunities provided by electronic text services. Williams, 1985). During the early 1980s, a number Carey & Moss (1984) identified three reasons why of public television stations expe-imented with tele- electronic text should interest public broadcasters: text, included KCET in Los Angeles. WETA in (1) a number of trained personnel at public televi- Washington. D.C., and WGBH in Boston (Carey & sion stations with experience in electronic text Moss, 1984). A significant contribution to the de- technology, (2) research showing wide consumer velopment of electronic text in this country was acceptance, and (3) the value of electronic text as a made in 1983, when the AnnenbergiCPB Project means to attract new viewers to public broadcasting funded a major research effort into the use of elec- (p. 43). They argued for "a careful, systematic en- tronic text in higher education. Most of this re- try by public broadcasting into electronic text" (p. search was conducted at public television stations 43). Some public broadcasters have already at- WGBH in Boston, WHA in Wisconsin. and KUON tempted to take full advantage of electronic text, in- in Lincoln, which together with the Center for cluding one of the Consortium stations, KUON, Communications at San Diego State University and whose AgSat interactive telecourse program has the Universities of Nebraska and Wisconsin been quite successful. On a national level, the pub- formed the Electronic Text Consortium.; lic broadcasting community may be preparing to The purpose of the Electronic Text Consortium exploit this opportunity more fully, in the form of was "to develop and test a variety of electronic text digital data broadcasting, one of the topics services and to assess which configurations of con- addressed in the next section of this paper. tent and means of delivery, if any, make sense for higher education" (Carey & Dozier, 1985, p. 1). Among the services the Consortium explored were What's Being Done interactive cable and videotext offerings designed As the previous examples have illustrated, public to supplement instructional television programs broadcasting has made significant progress in (telecourses) broadcast over public television sta- developing practical applications of digital tions. To evaluate the potential of these services for information technologies. Yet this progress may be higher education, a variety of laboratory, field and just a prologue to an even greater commitment to survey studies were conducted, addressing issues not be left behind in the changing communications such as the effectiveness of electronic text as a environment. Research into how best to integrate learning tool, its attractiveness to students, and po- new technologies into the public broadcasting tential barriers to its adoption. enterprise is an ongoing effort. and three areas that For the most part, the results were quite positive. are currently being pursued are digital radio Students who used electronic text as a supplement broadcasting, interactive video data services, and for instructional telecourses had significantly the broadcasting of data over the vertical blanking higher test scores than students who did not make interval (VBI) of public television stations. use of electronic text. Surveys of students found a general readiness to use electronic text services, Digital Radio Broadcasting especially to the extent they met specific needs for During the 1990s, radio broadcasting will likely self-paced learning and distance learning. Survey be transformed into a substantially different broad- research also revealed that a possible barrier to cast service with the introduction of digital radio adoption of electronic text was faculty resistance: broadcasting technology. Digital radio should not while "a few faculty seemed to believe that elec- be confused with the broadcasting of music on digi- tronic text might replace their job," a strategy of tal'y recorded compact discs (CD) or digital audio "describing it simply as another tool for student tape (DAT), which today is widely accompliFhed us- ing conventional AM and FM analog broadcast 2 Some authors prefer the term "videotex" (without a transmission methods. While digital radio will be final 't') to refer to cable or telephone line transmission of able to transmit digitally encoded audio with much electronic text services. (See Dordick, 1986, chapter 11). greater precision than traditional methods, it will KPBS in San Diego was indirectly involved in this offer much more to the listener than just improved project through the Center for Communications at San sound. Digital radio represents a major change in Diego State. Although not officially part of the Electronic how radio signals are transmitted and received, Text Consortium, a similar research effort funded by the and will require an investment in new transmit- AnnenberWCPB project was conducted by the University of ters, spectrum space and radio receivers. South Florida and public broadcaster WUFT in Gainsville (Open University, 1987). Public Broadcasting & Diaital Information Services. p. 5 That investment will be made for at least two tions4 strongly advocated a plan to reserve for reasons. Digital radio offers the listener a signifi- noncommercial licensees 20 percent of the spectrum cantly higher level of sonic quality, of particular space that will eventually be allocated for digital interest to upscale audiophiles that are typically radio (Barbieri, 1990b). well-represented in public radio audiences. The next few years may be critical ones for public Perhaps more importantly, digital radio greatly ex- radio, as it develops strategies for maintaining a pands the signal carrying capacity of radio. place in the new radio environment. As Thomas Because of advanced signal compression methods, (1991) points out: it is now possible to transmit up to four channels of Public radio stations will confront a host of compact disc quality stereo programming in the programming implications that flow from same spectrum space occupied by a traditional FM these technological changes. What unique station (Starling, 1991). Some of this additional and compelling services can they offer? How signal carrying capacity will be used to transmit will local services compete against the eco- digital information, providing listeners with a nomic efficiencies and power of national pro- variety of customized services. gram streams?...Will there be a meaningful For a better idea of the potential of digital radio distinction between "local" and "national" in for public broadcasting, consider this futuristic vi- the minds of most listeners as these scenarios sion offered by Mike Starling (1991): unfold? Will any such distinctions be impor- It's 6:12 a.m. As a commuter slips behind the tant enough to warrant sustaining the full wheel, the car radio begins delivering the lat- complement of public radio stations now in est news transmitted at the top of the hour by operation? (p. 33) the local public radio station. Next. the opto- These and others questions will challenge public magnetic disc plays a customized program radio to reassert its mandate in a rapidly changing tailored for the commute. starting with a re- technological environment. A similar challenge minder about today's office schedule. deliv- may be facing public television in the form of a ered by a synthesized announcer. Traffic in- new service now being considered. formation keyed to the roads of travel is given next, followed by Supreme Court updates (the Interactive Video Data Services listener is a lawyer) and yesterday's com- mentaries by the BBC's Alistair Cooke. fol- In December, 1987, the Federal Communications lowed by NPR's Red Barber...The radio could Commission received a Petition for Rule Making even display the following message: "Hi Jan! ( RM 6 196 ) from TV Answer, Inc., a small, Happy Birthday! Thanks for your continuing enterprising company started by Fernando support. We'll upload the new Stravinsky's Morales, a Mexican broadcast engineer. The peti- "Firebird" from Sydney tonightour birthday tion proposed a new broadcast service, the present to you. Your friends at WPUI3-FM." Interactive Video Data Service (IVDS), that would The technology for making such a vision a reality allow consumers to purchase and operate low-power has already been developed, and widespread im- data transmitters to engage in a vai iety of interac- plementation may occur before the end of this tive television services, such as executing elec- decade. The question for public radio broadcasters tronic banking transactions, making purchases. is not so muchifthey should take advantage of dig- accessing databases, participating in game shows. ital radio, but how they will take advantage of it. and responding to instructional programming. In Public radio at both the national and local level is March, 1991, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed developing digital radio implementation strategies, Rule Making that would establish such a service in so as not to be left behind in the commercial radio the 218 MHz band (just slightly higher in frequency industry's rush to embrace this technology. than the present VHF channel 13). When final Toward that end, the Corporation for Public FCC action on this new service is announced, a Broadcasting has set aside $350,000 of its 1992 bud- new industry will be born, one that has the potential get for the "CPB New Technologies Project," with to substantially change the way people use their most of that money funding studies of digital radio. television sets. According to station consultant Tom Thomas, this The proposed IVDS system will operate much like investment is "a very on-track effort," and "CPB a cellular phone system. An IVDS-equipped televi- should and probably ultimately will spend quite a sion will have a small 218 MHz transceiver, send- bit more on the subject" (Cronin, 1991a). National ing digital signals to and receiving them from Public Radio is actively involved with the "cell sites." Each cell site will be able to serve an "Committee for Digital Radio Broadcasting," a area of about 10,000 homes. A small two-way group that also includes representatives of commer- satellite dish called a VSAT (very small aperture cial broadcasters Capital Cities/ABC, CBS and terminal) will be used to exchange data between the Gannett Radio (Barbieri, 1990a). And when the 4 Groups responding to the notice of inquiry included Federal Communications Commission issued a no- National Public Radio, the Corporation for Public tice of inquiry into digital radio on November 13, Broadcasting, the National Federation of Community 1990, a broad alliance of public radio organiza- Broadcasters, Rocky Mountain Public Radio and the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System. Public Broadcasting & Digital Information Services. p. 6 cell sites and a central computer. Thus, there are TVAnswer. If public broadcasters act now, perhaps two primary communication "loops" in the IVDS the FCC might adopt a preference policy for non- system, one loop between the home units and the commercial IVDS applications, or even reserve one cell sites (using low-power transmitters in the 218 of the IVDS channels for noncommercial licensees. MHz band), and a second loop between the cell sites Given the FCC's emphasis on the educational value and the IVDS vendor's headquarters (using Ku- of IVDS in its rationale for the proposed set-vice, it band satellite transmission). Strictly speaking, a is not inconceivable that the potential exists for third loop will exist in most IVDS applications, as noncommercial broadcasting to have an unprece- viewers at home will use remote-control devices to dented 50/50 split of this spectrum space with com- make selections from menus appearing on the mercial interests, but this isn't likely to happen if television screen. public broadcasters don't take the initiative. Edward Coltman, Director of Policy Development and Planning for the Corporation for Public VBI Data Broadcasting Broadcasting, says the CPB may soon commission research into the potential of IVDS for public televi- Since 1981, the Public Broadcasting Service has sion (Behrens, 1991). One application would likely used part of the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of be interactive telecourses, where students could re- its satellite distributed television programming for spond to multiple choice questions and receive in- sending data to member stations; this service is stant feedback. Because IVDS will enable channels widely known as DACS, an acronym for Direct to be selected in customizable menus, another plus Access Communications.5 In 1983, PBS began for public television will be the ability of viewers to investigating the use of the VBI for commercial more easily tune in public television stations that data distribution, as a method of raising revenue are now in relatively undesirable locations in the for public television (Garr and Richer, 1990). UHF band. Development directors will appreciate Today, as a result of research and development by the ability for public television viewers to respond PBS Engineering, and aggressive marketing by immediately to fund raising drives: with just a PBS Enterprises (the for-profit subsidiary of PBS), flick of a remote-control joystick. a generous the VBI data transmission system known as the viewer could instantly move money from his or her PBS National Datacast is a reality. checking account directly into the local public PBS National Datacast has developed, or is in the television station's coffers. process of developing a broad range of services that It is still unclear the extent to which public broad- make use of VBI data transmission, including: casting will take advantage of this new use of radio Vericast. In 1988, PBS National Datacast started frequencies. WGBH is planning to experiment working on a joint venture with VISA, the world's with an interactive version of a iew PBS series, largest credit card organization, and VeriFone, a Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? (Behrens, leading vender of point-of-sale credit card autho- 1991), but this venture will use data transmission rization equipment. In September, 1990, PBS over FM subcarriers rather than the proposed IVDS National Datacast unveiled Vericast, a credit card service. And the CPB has recently committed authorization system that uses VBI data transmis- 8950,000 to help fund a joint CPB/PBS project aimed sion to greatly speed up the process of approving at developing software that will enable public tele- credit card purchases. Every day, VISA transmits vision stations to deliver interactive programming to PBS the latest versionof their "hot card"file. (Cronin, 1991b), but so far this effort has been This file is then encoded into the VBI of PBS satel- aimed at using VSATs rather than IVDS receivers. lite-delivered programming, which in turn is The FCC noted several times in its Notice of broadcast by local public television stations. A par- Proposed Rulemaking the potential application of ticipating local merchant receives this "hot card" IVDS for educational programming; so far the re- file using a specially designed VBI data receiver, sponses from public broadcasters have been cau- which stores the file in its memory. When a tiously positive. Said George Hall. former head of cashier rings up a VISA credit card transaction, the public television's Office of New Technology point-of-sale computer/cash register compares the Initiatives, "It's a good thing, but there's no reason customer's credit card number with the "hot card" to stand back in awe" (Singer, 1991). list, and within seconds the credit sale is verified. Perhaps the failures of teletext and interactive ca- The Education Pipeline. PBS National ble to gain widespread acceptance are too fresh in Datacast is preparing to begin using VBI data the memories of public broadcasters; despite this, transmission to distribute a variety of educational one industry forecaster predicts that IVDS will pen- resources to schools and colleges under a program etrate 43% of all television households within ten called the Education Pipeline. Teacher's guides, years, reaching approximately 40 million sub- scribers by the year 2002 (Bain and Company, 1991). 5Originally, when PBS used telephone lines to connect Although industry estimates may offer tenuous evi- with terminals at member stations, DACS stood for Dial dence for public broadcasting's involvement in Access Communications. Rather than create a new acronym when DACS data was switched over to satellite IVDS, what should not be ignored is the FCC pro- distribution, the word "direct" was simply substituted for posal that each television market have two IVDS "dial," allowing the familiar acronym to survive. See services, rather than the exclusive plan proposed by Adeyeye and Richer, 1988, p. 470. Public Broadcasting & Digital Information Services. p. student workbooks, computer software. bibliogra- What Could Be Done phies. research databases, and other materials of instructional value could he downloaded by schools This paper began by considering the difficulties with VBI data receivers connected to personal com- public broadcasting has had in defining what it is, puters. An initial test phase of this service is al- and what it should strive to be. Attempts to resolve ready underway, and national distribution is these basic issues have consumed much of the scheduled to begin sometime in the next two years energy, time and passion of this nation's public (Garr & Richer, 1990). broadcasting community. It is unlikely that any Video Indexing. A service already being of- one paper could contribute more than a ripple in the fered, called Video Indexing, uses the VRI to tumultuous seas that have shaped, for better or for transmit an index of "electronic markers" with in- worse, the character of public broadcasting during structional public television programs. Using a the past twenty-five years. Yet in an effort to apply computer and a video cassette recorder, a student what has been learned from public broadcasting's can quickly cue up a program segment referenced involvement with digital information services, this by an instructional guide or computer program. paper concludes by presenting a case for what could For example, a music student could use this system be done to carry the spirit of public service into a to learn the meaning of arpeggio: the student reads rapidly changing communications environment. the description in a textbook, sees an illustration on What follows is a "televista," a vision of what a computer screen, and hears an example on a public broadcasting could, and perhaps should, video tape of Great Performances, automatically strive to become. cued up to kis'. the right spot. During the early 1960s, when television was Insight Telecast. Despite the wide acceptance of bringing fundamental changes to the way people video cassette recorders, many people still have dif- communicate, Marshall McLuhan (1964) popu- ficulty programming a VCR to record a television larized the notion of a "global village," a vision of program. A device now being test marketed will a shrinking world, one so "electronically con- make this process much simpler. by allowing VCR tracted, the globe is no more than a village" (p. 20). owners to simply choose the program they want to During the late 1970s, with the development of com- record from an on-screen program listing. puter telecommunication networks, Hiltz and Program listings, tailored for each local TV mar- Turoff (1978) issued a similar McLuhanesque spec- ket, will be transmitted using the VBI of public ulation: television stations. Instead of entering a complex We will become the Network Nation, ex- sequence of dates, start times, end times, and changing vast amounts of both information channel numbers, a VCR owner will simply select and socio-emotional communications with the program he or she wishes to record from a menu colleagues, friends and 'strangers' who share appearing on the television screen. similar interests, who are spread out all over Dataspeed Stock Quotes. The VBI is being de- the nation. Ultimately,... wewill become a veloped as a method for transmitting up-to-the- `global village' whose boundaries are demar- minute stock, bond and commodity market quota- cated only by the political decisions of those tions. Although similar services have been devel- governments that choose not to become part of oped using FM subcarrier technology, the VBI sys- an international computer network. (p. xxix) tem developed by PBS Engineering has significant Today, digital telecommunication services are advantages, including advanced error correction rapidly bringing that vision of the future into and larger data handling capacity (Garr & Richer, fruition. The proliferation of electronic data inter- 1990). The data is already being transmitted by change systems has already brought significant PBS National Datacast, and the special VBI re- changes to the business community, where a ceivers are currently being test marketed by the growing percentage of financial transactions are Dataspeed Stock Quote Service in the Sacramento now conducted by computers "talking with each and San Francisco areas (Behrens, 1991). other" (Kimberley, 1991). Modern libraries are These services are just a few of the opportunities moving away from the acquisition of books and pe- being pursued by PBS National Datacast. Other pi- riodicals, and moving toward providing patrons lot projects include the use of VBI transmission for with access to a variety of computerized informa- the distribution of medical and federal procurement tion services (La Comb, 1976; Drake, 1980). And information, specialized news services, electronic with the growth of consumer digital information banking transactions, and even as a source of services, such as CompuServe and Prodigyser- advertising revenue. In the words of one PBS vices designed to appeal to the general publicit promotional piece, "PBS engineers have found a may be only a matter of time before the computer rich lode of possibilities" in VBI data transmission becomes as prevalent a communication medium in ("Much more," 1990, p. 42). But before public the American home as the radio and the television broadcasting strip-mines that lode, it may be set. The computer or, to be more specific, the com- helpful to look past the short-term benefits, and look puter connected to other computers via telecommu- further down the road, at some issues of long-term nication networks, may well represent as signifi- consequence. cant a quantum leap in mediated communication Pubiic Broadcasting & Digital Information Services. p. 8 as television appeared to be to McLuhan nearly possibleto situate this noncommercial medium on thirty years ago. nearly equal footing with the commercial services. It was also during the 1960s when a distinctive This is a most important opportunity, not unlike dichotomy was evolving between commercial and that envisioned by the Carnegie Commission a noncommercial interests in the use of television. quarter century agoa chance to contribute to a The commercial broadcasting industry brought to better future for our electronic society. television its experiences in commercial radio; in Public broadcasters have an opportunity to be a many respects, commercial television stole the part of that future, and there is some evidence that mass audience programming philosophies and they will be. This paper has shown a willingness, techniques developed by radio, forcing the older if not an eagerness, on the part of many public medium to innovate "narrowcasting" techniques in broadcasters to embrace new technologies for the order to survive as a viable communication public good.Yet while some public broadcasters medium. Those involved in noncommercial have seen the digital information services television, however, did not have the benefit of discussed in this paper as opportunities to make having a successful older medium to imitate; vital public service contributions to a changing noncommercial radio got off to a rocky start in this communications environment, others have seen country, and by the early 1960s was still too them as merely auxiliary services, hi-tech "add- underdeveloped and amorphous to offer much of a ons" to the primary business of providing public guiding light for noncommercial television. television and radio programming. Lacking any proven formulas for success, and Furthermore, some of the digital information inspired to dream big by the visions of prophets like services provided by public broadcasters have been McLuhan, the leaders of noncommercial television a result of commercial, rather than noncommercial during this era developed a common sense of motives. The marketing of public television station mission; they saw in public television the potential VBI or public radio subcarrier space to commercial for the ultimate realization of democracy, for interests may seem like an innocent way to help making available to the general public the best underwrite public service broadcasting. After all, thinking of our brightest minds, for bringing to the public broadcasting has historically used many dif- culture-starved masses television programming of ferent approaches to help pay the bills, and exploit- significant worth and lasting value.It.was the ing the essentially unused portions of broadcast right dream at the right time: with amazing swift- signals may seem a relatively benign way to ness, the Carnegie Commission articulated it, the generate revenue. Most public broadcasters would Congress made it law, the President gave it his agree that such capitalistic ventures should not be support, and by the end of the decade a new com- allowed to corrupt the fundamental character of munication medium was born. noncommercial broadcasting. A similar crossroads may be fast approaching. Yet what will happen when broadcasting is no Most of the digital information services now being longer a central aspect of noncommercial telecom- provided are commercial in nature, charging munications? How will these early commercial subscribers by the month or by the minute; some applications of digital information services influ- even sell advertising space to generate additional ence public broadcasting's broader development of revenue. But there are a smaller, yet growing such services in the public interest? Will public number of noncommercial information services, broadcasting be a credible player in the evolution of such as BITNET, the Cleveland FreeNet. and the noncommercial digital information services if it Boston Community Information System (Gifford, has already sullied the waters with commercial 1990).Today these noncommercial services, like ventures? At first glance, this may seem to be over- their counterparts in noncommercial television stating the case, but turn the tables for a moment: thirty years ago, are struggling to create an would making money from commercial television alternative to the commercial digital information and radio operations be an appropriate way for pub- industry. They are laying the groundwork for a lic telecommunications to fund noncommercial system of "public data access," where digital digital information services? information is accessible to all, and where It is conceivable that the comfort threshold for technology is used not for the enrichment of commercial enterprises on the part of noncommer- commercial interests, but for the enrichment of cial broadcasters has gradually risen over the past human minds. quarter century. If so, consider the implications of And this time the developing noncommercial this trend on the fiber of American public broad- medium has a successful older sibling to emulate. casting. Has the increasing preoccupation with the Public broadcasting has blazed a path through the business of public broadcasting substantially thick forest of commercial interests and govern- altered the noncommercial character of public ment intervention, and has survived, albeit with a broadcasting? During the late 1960s and early few scars. The success of public broadcasting can 1970s, when the public broadcasting community was serve as a model, and its failures can help chart a young and vibrant, there was a strong sense of safer course for this infant system of public digital purpose, a dedication to ideals, a passion for public information services. Although it will likely be service. Is that passion still there today? difficult, if action is taken soon, it may even be

1V Public Broadcasting & Diaital Information Services. p 9 Perhaps it's still there, but latentwaiting for a catalyst to reassert the original mission of public References broadcasting: a dedication to use technology for Adeyeye, A. A., & Richer, M. S. (198&). public service, not a commitment to the survival of Development and Performance of the PBS VBI technological infrastructure. The opportunity to be Data Delivery System. SMPTE Journal, 97(6), a part of a new noncommercial digital information pp. 470-473. service may be that catalyst, a stimulus to turn Bain and Company (1991). Interactive Videc Data away from a self-defensive focus on broadcasting, Services: Industry Perspectives. Reston, VA: TV and back to a selfless emphasis on "the public." Answer, Inc. The flame of public service may still be burning in Barbieri, R. (1990a). New Radio Sound Under the public broadcasting community, but without new Study. Current, Sept. 24. 1990, p. 4. sources of fuel its brilliance will surely fade: a concerted effort to be part of a noncommercial Barbieri, R. (1990b). Digital Seen as Radio's alternative to the commercial digital information Future. Current, Dec. 17, 1990, p. 3. industry might be just what's needed to fan the fire Behrens, S. (1991). They're selling over-the-air in- hack to a blaze. teractivity. Current, April 29, 1991, p. 8. This, then, is what public broadcasting could do. Carey, J., & Dozier, D. (1985). Assessing Electronic It could lay the foundation for a system of public in- Text for Higher Education: Evaluation Results formation accessa public information utility.It from Laboratory and Field Tests (Executive could prepare for the day when most people will get Summary, The Electronic Text Consortium). most information not through mass communication Washington, D.C.: The Annenberg/CPB channels, but through computer-mediated channels Project. that combine digital information with digital audio and video.It could invest in new technology, not Carey, J., & Moss, M. (1984). A Review of with an eye toward developing auxiliary services to Telecommunications Technologies and Public broadcasting, but with the realization that Broadcasting. Washington, D.C.: Corporation broadcasting itself will soon be seen as an for Public Broadcasting. auxiliary service to more efficient. means of Carnegie Commission on Educational Television delivery.If public broadcasting is to survive the (1967). Public Television: A Program for Action. next quarter century, it will not he in the carcass of New York: Bantam Books, Inc. an outmoded broadcast technology.It will be in a Carnegie Commission on the Future of Public new form, a telecommunication service using a Broadcasting (1979). A Public Trust. New York: variety of transmission technologies, designed to Bantam Books, Inc. benefit those not served by commercial interests, Chesebro, J. W., & Bonsall, D. G. (1989). Computer- and made available to all. Mediated Communication: Human Relationships George Hall (1990) has articulated this future in in a Computerized World. Tuscaloosa, Ala.: the idea of "teleplex," a term loosely adopted from The University of Alabama Press. "public telecommunications center complex." He is convinced that some form of teleplex will begin Cronin, B. J. (1991a). CPB to Study Digital Radio. to he seen in the next few years. and he warns Current, April 1. 1991, p. 3. 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