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PBS Strengthens Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ARLINGTON, VA | Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) | August 10, 2021 — On August 10, 2021 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, PBS introduced updated producing criteria, which will roll out across all platforms, including PBS General Audience Programming, PBS Digital Studios and PBS KIDS. Reporting and accountability are essential to advancing PBS’s mission to serve and represent all communities. As such, PBS will require producers to provide their own diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) plan as a deliverable at the proposal stage and for all new agreements, series renewals, and direct-to-PBS programs. For General Audience and PBS Digital Studios content, producers must submit a plan that outlines: 1. A description of how the production includes perspectives of underserved populations. This should include content subject matter, on-screen talent and key editorial personnel/behind-the-camera staff. Due prior to preproduction. 2. Diverse representation for production team members, including abovethe-line talent (directors, writers, producers, creators) and below-the-line positions. Due prior to pre-production. 3. For each area of reporting (e.g., above-the-line, below-the-line, on-screen talent, etc.), producers must indicate whether DEI goals outlined in the plan were met, surpassed or missed. When goals were not met, producers must provide details on which aspects were found challenging to address and why. Due within 45 days of completion of principal photography. 4. A final report addressing the project’s successes and challenges related to DEI. Due with final reporting/delivery. “PBS works closely with producing partners, station producers and individual creators to distribute educational and thought-provoking content to millions of viewers each year,” said Sylvia Bugg, PBS Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, General Audience Programming. “Our updated criteria and reporting standards will ensure that the content distributed across PBS platforms continues to reflect the diversity of the audiences we serve.”
El Sol Latino September 2021
For all PBS KIDS proposals, producers must submit a written overview of how their projects and staffing efforts support the values outlined in PBS KIDS’ Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which recognize that the work of accurately reflecting a diverse audience on-screen requires a commitment to embracing diversity and inclusion behind the camera as well. Producers are asked to reflect on how their productions support PBS KIDS’ mission for all children living in America to see their lived experiences reflected and celebrated through authentic stories and smart, funny characters. “All children should grow up believing that the world is full of possibilities, and so are they,” said Linda Simensky, Head of Content for PBS KIDS. “When children see authentic, positive representations of themselves in media, it has a measurable effect on their self-esteem and long-term success. PBS KIDS and our partners believe that authenticity doesn’t happen by accident, but rather through intentional efforts affecting all areas of production—and that the resulting content is made richer and more impactful in the process.”
New Data on the Black-White Wealth Gap Before and During the Pandemic continued from page 6 s %STABLISHING GREATER ACCESS TO RETIREMENT SAVINGS THROUGH A NATIONAL saving plan s )NVESTING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION TO LOWER COSTS AND increase income stability s 0ROVIDING lNANCIAL SUPPORT FOR HIGHER EDUCATION TO SHRINK THE WEALTH gap through lower debt burdens and higher career earnings s )NCREASING HOMEOWNERSHIP AND PROTECTING HOUSING ASSETS FROM climate change “If left unchecked, the pandemic may result in the Black-white wealth gap growing even larger,” said Weller. “The wealth gap is the result of policy choices dating back to centuries of slavery, decades of Jim Crow policies, and discriminatory policies that continue today. But the past and present don’t have to be our future. Policymakers can choose to shrink and eventually close the wealth gap. The Biden administration has already made meaningful steps in the right direction, but truly closing the wealth gap and addressing Black families’ lack of financial security and opportunity is a generational challenge that will require sustained momentum from all levels of government over the coming years and decades.”
