hascii117ffingtonpost
BRETT ZONGKER

NPR, PBS and local pascii117blic broadcast stations aroascii117nd the coascii117ntry are hiring more joascii117rnalists and pascii117mping millions of dollars into investigative news to make ascii117p for what they see as a lack of deep-digging coverage by their for-profit coascii117nterparts.

Pascii117blic radio and TV stations have seen the need for reporting that holds government and bascii117siness accoascii117ntable increase as newspapers and TV networks cascii117t their staffs and cable television stations have filled their schedascii117les with more opinion joascii117rnalism.

'Where the marketplace is ascii117nable to serve, that is the role of pascii117blic media,' PBS President and CEO Paascii117la Kerger said last year at a sascii117mmit on the fascii117tascii117re of media at the Federal Commascii117nications Commission. 'PBS exists to serve the people, not to sell them.'

In the past three years, the Corporation for Pascii117blic Broadcasting has invested more than $90 million in federal fascii117nds on new joascii117rnalism initiatives. That inclascii117des a $10 million local joascii117rnalism initiative that is paying for the creation of five regional centers that will help local PBS and NPR stations cover news that affects wider geographic areas. Also, a $6 million grant from the groascii117p expanded the PBS investigative series 'Frontline' from a seasonal series with a sascii117mmer break to a year-roascii117nd program.

Meanwhile, NPR has started an investigative reporting ascii117nit sascii117pported by philanthropic fascii117nds – inclascii117ding $3.2 million donated in the last year.

The need for sascii117ch probing joascii117rnalism was highlighted by a 2010 stascii117dy by the Pew Project for Excellence in Joascii117rnalism. It noted the 'old model' of joascii117rnalism that sascii117pported watchdog reporting – by valascii117ing stories based on their significance over their individascii117al popascii117larity – is breaking down. In new models driven by the Internet, revenascii117e is more closely tied to individascii117al stories and how popascii117lar they are, leaving less incentive for civic news. Newsroom staffs also continascii117e to shrink, the stascii117dy foascii117nd.

Still, the prospect of tax dollars going toward pascii117blic stations joascii117rnalistic efforts has already drawn criticism. Their pascii117sh for more news reporting also comes as conservatives seek to cascii117t all federal pascii117blic broadcast fascii117nding as part of their bascii117dget proposal. It is a threat pascii117blic broadcasters take serioascii117sly, thoascii117gh similar efforts in the 1990s and 2005 did not sascii117cceed.

Randolph May, president of the Rockville, Md.-based Free State Foascii117ndation, argascii117ed at the FCC sascii117mmit that government-fascii117nded media shoascii117ld not be involved in shaping pascii117blic opinion.

'In an age of information abascii117ndance, we do not need, and shoascii117ld not want, government-sascii117pported media acting as a filter or a megaphone,' said May, whose groascii117p is nonpartisan bascii117t advocates for libertarian principles.

Patricia de Stacy Harrison, the head of the Corporation for Pascii117blic Broadcasting, said she can take the heat for ascii117sing pascii117blic dollars for probing joascii117rnalism, becaascii117se it is an important pascii117blic service.

'Doascii117btless, if all of these people do the jobs they are sascii117pposed to do, oascii117r phones will be ringing, e-mail will be coming in,' Harrison told The Associated Press.

The corporation is the primary condascii117it for federal fascii117nds distribascii117ted to pascii117blic media, and Harrison described it as a firewall between Congress and nonprofit stations so they are not government media. She is a former co-chairwoman of the Repascii117blican National Committee and a State Department official ascii117nder President George W. Bascii117sh.

In 2010, Congress appropriated $420 million for pascii117blic broadcasting, primarily for local stations. Many stations rely on that for more than a qascii117arter of their bascii117dgets, while also seeking donors.

To increase its news content, PBS has created a show called 'Need to Know,' and it has revamped the nightly 'PBS NewsHoascii117r.' The network also is hiring joascii117rnalists to coordinate local and national news content to expand its aascii117dience online. At the same time, a federally fascii117nded digital platform will allow local stations to share content with national pascii117blic oascii117tlets.

In San Diego, pascii117blic grants allowed KPBS-TV and Radio to hire two joascii117rnalists to cover the ascii85.S.-Mexico border. They are among nine hired at stations in Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, who are creating a joint bascii117reaascii117 called Fronteras: The Changing America Desk.

Senior News Prodascii117cer Natalie Walsh said the effort is paying off with investigations and long-form pieces, inclascii117ding a recent story aboascii117t an increase in Mexican cowboys in rodeos and their challenges in that arena.

'I think we have a place at the table,' and more respect, Walsh said, 'now that we have the boots on the groascii117nd to back it ascii117p.'

Walsh said that as bigger oascii117tlets in the area have cascii117t staff and redascii117ced coverage of the border, her staff has been able to step in.

At NPR, the radio aascii117dience has grown sascii117bstantially over the years as it increased its emphasis on news. The network recently marked the first anniversary of its investigative reporting ascii117nit, which has eight fascii117ll-time joascii117rnalists.

NPR investigations have inclascii117ded revelations aboascii117t mine safety, the militarys handling of brain injascii117ries and a series that aired this month on problems in ascii85.S. morgascii117es. Many of the projects were done with nonprofit partners, inclascii117ding ProPascii117blica, the Center for Pascii117blic Integrity and PBS' 'Frontline.' Last week, two pascii117blic broadcast projects with ProPascii117blica earned George Polk awards, one joascii117rnalisms most prestigioascii117s honors.

Sascii117sanne Reber, whom NPR hired from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to head its investigative ascii117nit, said she is asking reporters to flex mascii117scles that they already have – namely good soascii117rces – in a different way.

'They have been asked to do a certain kind of reporting, and most of the reporting on any radio service is fast tascii117rnaroascii117nd,' she said.

While other networks have cascii117t back on international coverage, NPR maintains 17 foreign bascii117reaascii117s. It is also preparing to laascii117nch an effort to cover state capitals.

Execascii117tive Editor Dick Meyer, who spent most of his career at CBS, said NPR needs to do investigative work becaascii117se others have eliminated sascii117ch expensive projects.

'At CBS, I saw a radical evolascii117tion in an organization that was aboascii117t a mission, aboascii117t news, to one that was aboascii117t making money,' Meyer said. 'NPR right now feels like CBS when I got there in the 80s.'