June 2003
By Garbo Cheung-Jasik
Tamara Robinson's behind the scenes role in public television has transformed the face of its on-air programming. Now vice president and director of programming at WNET in New York, Robinson has shepherded an impressive list of programs and series, many of them award winners, during her 30-year career, including Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, and the recently acclaimed series The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. But what makes Robinson's impact particularly noteworthy is her role in developing and producing programming that reflects and respects a diverse nation.
Robinson started her public television career as a producer at WHYY in Philadelphia. Programming positions followed at the Public Broadcasting Service and the Corporation for Public Broadcast, as well as at WNET. After a brief spell at CBS Cable's special projects unit, Robinson joined WETA-TV, Washington, as senior vice president of cultural affairs programming. She returned to Thirteen/WNET in 1995, where she is responsible for the development and production of all the station's national and local programming. It's a significant position. WGBH-TV in Boston and WNET are the two largest sources of programming for public television stations nationwide.
Robinson has received many awards. Earlier this year, she received NAMME's 2003 Catalyst Award for Broadcast.
Q: What motivated you to work in public television?
A: I was not initially drawn to public television, which was called educational television when I was starting out. I thought educational television was stuffy, mostly British and not me. I had all of these ideas until I was hired by WHYY, the educational television station in my hometown of Philadelphia. It didn't take me long to realize that I was mistaken on many fronts.
Q: What changes have you seen in public television programming?
A: When I started in the late 1960s, there were more diverse programs on the air in educational television than there were on commercial television. By the time educational television turned into public television, there was a concerted effort to bring more diverse voices in front of the camera and behind the camera by both the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). CPB had a specific program to bring more minorities and women into public radio and television. Both organizations had a diverse staff for the times, and the national programming funded by CPB and distributed by PBS reflected many of those voices. The programs included Black Journal; Soul!; Mi Casa, Su Casa (a Hispanic soap opera) and Bean Sprouts (a children's series produced by Asian Americans for Asian American youngsters). Now, by and large, diversity is more integrated in the overall programming mix.
Q: What are some of the challenges that you've faced in your efforts to produce programming that was reflective of an increasingly multicultural society?
A: Funding was always difficult but that was, at least for me, the main challenge.
Q: What was the most challenging or difficult program to put together and why?
A: One of my biggest challenges was the funding for a one-hour special on the life of singer Marian Anderson. Hard to believe, but it's true. It took me five years. Why? A lot had to do with timing.
Q: Some considered Frontier House to be the public television version of reality TV. Does public television consider whether its programs that can compete with those offered by the commercial and cable networks?
A: We cannot, by and large, compete because the networks and the premium pay channels have more money for advertising and promotion than public television. So public television has to know how to stretch a dollar to get a big bang for its bucks. A limited series like Frontier House, which I call experiential history as opposed to reality programming, exposed viewers to what the frontier was really like. The series also was very truthful to how diverse the frontier was---Blacks, Asians, Whites, Native Americans, etc. Were we competing with commercial broadcasting? I guess we were but ours was a very different message than some of the reality shows on commercial broadcasting and cable.
Q: How do you gauge when the public is ready for programs that deal with sensitive issues and subjects, like the four-part series, The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, or Frontier House with its bi-racial family?
A: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow happened because an independent producer, Richard Wormser, came to see me seven years ago with a grant he had received from the National Endowment for the Humanities. I told him at that time I could not embrace his project because I had too much on my plate but to come back to me at a later time because I was very interested in the subject matter. He did, and Thirteen was able to secure the rest of the financing for the series from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the MacArthur Foundation and New York Life. I thought, from the very beginning, that the series addressed a very important part of American history (the Jim Crow Era) that is rarely taught in schools. And, for that matter, there had been no programming on public television on the Reconstruction era to the beginning of the civil rights movement. The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow met both objectives, and I am pleased to report that the series has just won a Peabody Award!
Frontier House happened because we had great success with 1900 House, and my producers thought that we could use the same format for an American-based project reflecting diversity, hence we came up with Frontier House, which was a big hit on PBS and led to Manor House. Now we are producing Colonial House.
My sense is that the public is always interested in strong characters and a good story. If you can manage to slip in some history and show diversity along the way, one cannot miss. Look at Roots and the impact the book and the television series had on the nation.
Q: Since Congress reduced funding for public television, how difficult has it been to continue to provide quality programs?
A: It is always difficult to provide quality programs and that is why we depend so much on our loyal viewers and those wonderful corporations and foundations that continue to support us year after year. Funding from Congress is also very important, and it is from Congress that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting receives its funding, which is passed along to the stations and the Public Broadcasting Service. This mix of public and private funds has helped us to maintain program quality.
Q: How do you strike a balance between entertainment and education in public television?
A: Those two words are not mutually exclusive. Just because a program is educational does not mean it cannot be entertaining. Sesame Street long ago proved that point. I maintain that all of our programs are educational, from the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer to Thirteen's own Great Performances. There is always something to learn without being hit across the head.
Q: Where and how does public television fit into the changing media landscape?
A: If I knew where public television was headed, I'd be rich and famous right now. I don't know where public television is heading, but I do believe that this nation would be less rich, less bright, less informed and less thoughtful if public radio and television were to disappear from the media landscape. The country needs public broadcasting now more than ever!
Cheung-Jasik is the program director for the NAMME Foundation.