The move of Eight, Arizona PBS to become fully part of ASU’s Walter Cronkite School will position students and professional programs at the school to produce and distribute content to a wide audience, adding to the programming Arizona PBS already has.
Arizona PBS was already a part of ASU’s Office of Public Affairs and has had a close relationship with the Cronkite School in the past, but it became fully part of the journalism school on July 1. Now, it is the largest media organization operated by a journalism school in the world, according to a statement from ASU.
The move is a change in the organizational structure of PBS, said Kristin Gilger, associate dean of the Cronkite School. Gilger said Arizona PBS would be the primary platform for student-produced content, although the specific details of implementing the plan are still being worked out.
“We know that the PBS platform will be the main platform for our professional programs, but how that will play out exactly, we’ll have to see,” she said.
Gilger said Arizona PBS operations will stay largely the same, but more student content will be produced.
“PBS is going to keep doing what they’ve been doing, the only difference is there’s more content to share,” she said.
Colleen O’Donnell Pierce, a member of Arizona PBS’ media relations team, said that Cronkite operating Arizona PBS would open more doors for student content, such as a possible nightly student-produced newscast on their main channel.
Pierce also said there may be opportunities for ASU students in general, not just Cronkite students, to have documentaries and other work broadcast.
Student content will be able to reach a larger audience, as Arizona PBS reaches nearly 4.8 million people across 80 percent of the state, according to a statement from ASU.
Pierce said ideas for more opportunities for students are still being examined.
In terms of funding, Arizona PBS will continue to manage its own funds, 80 percent of which comes from pledges, Pierce said. She added that the move could lead to more national funding.
“We’ll still be a PBS station, we’ll still be a nonprofit, we’ll still have the requirements of a PBS station,” Pierce said.
Stephanie Guzman, an ASU transfer student who will be a producer in the fall for Cronkite NewsWatch, the student-produced news broadcast for the Cronkite School, also said Arizona PBS would provide another avenue for students to gain experience and display their work.
“I think this is a win-win situation for Cronkite staff and students alike,” Guzman said. “It gives us students another platform to show the rest of Arizona our talents.”
Guzman said she hopes to see professional programs such as NewsWatch expand, possibly with live broadcasts of Cronkite NewsWatch Espanol. She also said she would like to see more news shows being produced by students and broadcast by Arizona PBS.
“I’m glad to see Arizona PBS and Cronkite joining forces and I think it will be a great opportunity for everyone involved,” Guzman said.
Contact the reporter at kuntharasp@gmail.com
