The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is looking between the coasts and outside the contiguous 48 for diverse documentary production talent to add to its lineup of noncommercial programming.
PBS' producing stations are primarily in California and along the Northeast corridor—New York, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C. However, CPB has just given the Firelight MediaProducers' Lab a $2.55 million grant to search for documentary production talent in "underrepresented" regions including the South, Midwest, Southwest, Alaska and Hawaii.
“This grant will allow them to mentor diverse producers from across the country, enhance the producing skills of participants, help the producers build relationships across the public media system, and ultimately bring more diverse programming for the national public television schedule,” said Joseph Tovares, CPB senior VP of diversity and innovation, in announcing the grant.
CPB is the independent entity created by Congress to distribute federal funds for noncommercial TV and radio. It is the largest single funding source for noncoms, though the majority of their budget comes from corporate underwriters and the collective donations of viewers.
