tional Television, which would examine the delivery of video cassettes to schools as an alternative to over-the-air services. We also have a number of other experiments going in cities around the country.

Mr. MARKS. Such as?

Mr. FLEMING. We have one in Toledo, one in Los Angeles, Lincoln, Spokane, San Diego, Bowling Green. George, would you like to talk for a moment about those kinds of experiments?

Mr. LINN. They vary from a cable demonstration in Toledo, Ohio, for example, to a support for a satellite distribution system in the Southeast, through SECA, the southeastern network. They also represent, I think, in San Diego, a closed circuit, ITFS demonstration for the school system.

Mr. FLEMING. If I may go on, finally, the act asks that certain steps be taken in connection with planning and an inventory of Federal funds. We are responsible for the creation of a 5-year plan for the development of public telecommunications services and an inventory of all funds distributed by Federal agencies.

We are, therefore, proceeding with that. But as you may know, if you have had an opportunity to follow the reorganization efforts that I have been undertaking at the corporation, that we do plan to appoint-and we expect to do this shortly-something we have not previously had, and that is a vice president for planning and research. Those activities will fall in that area, and I hope that we will have a somewhat expanded service in the whole planning and research area.

Mr. MARKS. What do you plan to pay that person?

Mr. FLEMING. The vice presidential schedule is in the area of $55,000 to $65,000 and is published in that connection.

We have also contacted the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities, which is the body which the President designated to gather and report information from the various agencies. Our 1980 annual report will contain a comprehensive detailing of the inventory of these funds which you requested.

Finally, you said in the act that you wished to reaffirm your top priority for program funding. This was the role that was originally mandated, as you all know far better than I, in the act of 1967. Yet, competing demands for money have always limited the amount which actually got into national program services.

In 1978, before I came to the board, the board had requested a study of the options it had with respect to improving its program funding activities. In March of 1978, the board passed a resolution which said, in substance, that its principal mission was to facilitate the development, production and acquisition of programs. It said it wished to separate the board and its committees and members from decisions on individual programs and series of programs, and talk of them in the overall in terms of priorities of kinds of programs.

In an effort to address that question, we in the management of CPB gave to our board this past month, in March of 1979, a proposal which you will find attached to these remarks which I am now making, which outline to them ways in which we might go about restructuring the board to speak to some of the concerns which you have indicated, both in the rewrite bill and to which the

Carnegie Commission spoke in its analysis of public broadcasting after 10 years.

I would be glad to respond to any questions you may have about that proposal. It was considered by the board. It was designed not as a definitive proposal of what we should do, but as a starting point for discussions of this. The board approved it in that sense and directed us in the management to discuss that proposal and alternatives with both the stations, with NPR, with PBS, and with other groups.

We are in the process of doing that. We are under a directive from the board to talk to this subject once again at the April board meeting and then to try to come to the May board meeting with some rather definitive kind of proposal. That proposal would come about, presumably, as a result of these conversations.

If I may just wind up these comments, then, by saying that the 1978 act also added three provisions which specifically expanded CPB's funding activities. One was that we were to direct our attention, our funding attention, to public telecommunications entities which might receive program development funds and distribution funds. We were to expand potential recipients of CPB grants and contracts with specific emphasis on production or acquisition from qualified independent producers. And our statistics which we have gathered show rather significant progress in that respect, incidentally.

Third, it required that proposals for program production or acquisition could be evaluated by panels of outside experts, the socalled peer panel concept. We have undertaken that. The board determined that one of its areas of interest, for example, was children's programing. We did convene a panel on the subject of children's programing. They gave us advice which we are now considering, and we are proceeding with an expanded concept of children's programing based in large part upon the advice which they gave.

I, therefore, am confident that we are well on the way to implementing the various provisions which you mandated us to do in 1978, and I think we are in good shape.

I thank you very much for this opportunity. We would be very glad to respond to any questions which you may have about any of these items. We appreciate this opportunity to come and appear before you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. [Testimony resumes on p. 70.]

[Mr. Fleming's prepared statement and attachments follow:]

STATEMENT OF ROBBEN W. FLEming, President, CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC

BROADCASTING

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I welcome this occasion to report to you, early in my administration, on the activities within CPB, particularly our efforts in implementing the new Public Telecommunications Financing Act of 1978.

The mandate of the 1978 Act is both challenging and rewarding. The Act calls upon us to strengthen the 281 public television and 199 public radio stations in all sections of the country; to help establish new modes of program delivery; to improve financial management; and, to provide increased citizen involvement in meeting the needs of local communities and station licensees.

In addition to providing you with a status report on our implementation of the 1978 Act, I hope I might be able to share with you some of our views on the future.

PROVISIONS OF THE 1978 ACT

Clearly, one of the principal objectives of the 1978 Act is to strengthen and improve the stewardship responsibilities of all public telecommunications entities and to provide for greater accountability for public funds. Two specific provisions in the Act assign CPB the leadership responsibility for improving financial manage

ment.

I am referring to the provision calling for CPB to formulate a set of uniform accounting principles which will accommodate the varying types of public telecommunications entities receiving funds under Title III of the Act; and to the provision calling for a study to determine the manner in which personal volunteer services shall be counted and valued in determining the level of non-federal matching funds. As you know, these uniform accounting principles must be developed in consultation with the Comptroller General and with other interested parties. We must have these principles established by next November. Similarly, the volunteer valuation study has a deadline which falls in May 1979, and calls for consultation with the stations and approval by the Comptroller General.

Efforts are well underway to fulfill both of these requirements. The development of the accounting principles will be supported through a study carried out by a private contractor with expertise in this area. A contract for this purpose will be awarded this month. The volunteer study will also receive expert support under a contract awarded in February to a national accounting firm. In short, we see no timing problem with fulfilling the requirements of the two provisions set in the Act. I would like to emphasize two points about the way in which we have approached these projects. First, we see them as part of a more comprehensive financial management improvement program which we have undertaken to help stations and other organizations improve their general financial management. This program calls not only for the creation of model accounting systems for various kinds of stations, but also audit standards, professional development, and other measures designed to help stations improve their management capacity and accountability to the public.

The second point I would like to being out is that the accounting principles and volunteer projects are being conducted with the advice and counsel of a steering group formed under CPB leadership. This group will provide CPB with the guidance and consultation called for by the 1978 Act. It is composed of representatives of various kinds and classes of stations, college and university business officers, the National Association of Educational Broadcasters, NPR, PBS, and, most important, the General Accounting Office. These organizations all have a vital interest in improved financial management and will also assist the Corporation in developing audit standards, another specific requirement of the Act.

In the interest of time, I will not go into the specific actions that CPB is undertaking to implement the general management and accountability provisions of the Act, such as periodic audits, maintenance and disclosure of records, and the increased opportunity for public involvement in public telecommunications policy-making. However, we have prepared a comprehensive analysis of the Act which includes interpretive papers dealing with some of these new provisions. These documents focus on open board meetings, community advisory boards, and open record requirements-all important provisions of the new Act which require compliance by recipients of CPB financial assistance. With your permission, Mr. Chairman, I request that these documents be placed in the hearing record.

These materials have been distributed to all public broadcasting licensees. They are intended to describe the law and its requirements, in order to aid in its implementation in as timely a manner as possible. This effort was accomplished after extensive consultation with NPR, PBS, and certain legal representatives of the stations.

As reflected in these documents, CPB will, among other things, require that each station or public telecommunications entity provide CPB with a letter certifying its compliance with all of the provisions of the Act. In addition, we will provide continuing information to the stations on all aspects of public participation, as well as an interpretive paper on satellite interconnection access.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Another significant feature of the 1978 Act was the decision to place within HEW responsibility for assuring compliance with equal employment opportunity laws by recipients of CPB funds. CPB began meeting in December with representatives from HEW in order to acquaint them with public broadcasting, including an overview of the issues and concerns about equal employment opportunity in the industry. HEW's Office of Civil Rights has since made a series of requests for historical

information relating to public broadcasting's EEO performance. At this time, we are awaiting draft EEO rules and regulations by HEW which we hope to review. There is room for much improvement in this area, and by working with HEW, we hope to show progress over the next few years at all levels of public broadcasting.

We do have one problem in this area which we wish to bring to your attention. In the interest of providing Congress and HEW with an annual EEO Report that is both timely and consistent with FCC data, I would respectfully request that a technical amendment be made to the 1978 Act moving the current February 15 CPB Annual Report date to May 15. As it stands, both the CPB and FCC licensee employment surveys would not be completed in time to provide preceding year data by February 15. If CPB were to change the reporting period covered by the survey to accomodate the present date, the employment data would be incompatible with that collected by the FCC. The mechanics involved in collecting survey data from the previous calendar year simply requires more time than the February 15 date provides. Such an amendment would give the Congress consistent industry information to support its EEO oversight responsibilities.

NONBROADCAST ACTIVITIES

The 1978 Act also broadens CPB's mission to include the support of non-broadcast as well as broadcast activities. This new authority gives CPB the discretion to provide support for the establishment of interconnection systems for distribution, as well as program production and acquisition for non-broadcast uses.

CPB has provided support for non-broadcast activities in the past and, of course, will continue to invest in communications technologies which are more cost efficient and improve services. We are presently preparing to fund a demonstration with the Agency for Instructional Television which would examine the delivery of videocassettes to schools as an alternative to over-the-air services. Experiments in alternate delivery mechanisms are underway in such cities as Toledo, Los Angeles, Lincoln, Spokane, San Diego, Bowling Green, and soon in Nashville and Wichita.

PLANNING AND INVENTORY OF FEDERAL FUNDS

Both the creation of a five-year plan for the development of public telecommunications services and an inventory of all funds distributed by federal agencies are new requirements placed on CPB in the 1978 Act. We are also required under Title I to work closely with NTIA in the development of a five-year facilities plan for public telecommunications entities, and provide consultation on criteria and guidelines for facilities funding. Initial efforts in all these areas are underway.

In order to meet the planning requirements for the industry and improve communications among the entities involved, we have created a new position at CPB of Vice President for Planning and Research. We hope to fill that post shortly. In the meantime, CPB is supportive of planning efforts underway in the industry and encourages discussions which are in progress.

CPB has also contacted the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities, the body designated by the President to gather and report information from the various agencies which make grants to public telecommunications entities. CPB's 1980 Annual Report to the Congress will contain as comprehensive and detailed an inventory of these funds as possible.

PROGRAM SUPPORT

The Financing Act of 1978 reaffirms the top priority of CPB-responsibility for program funding. This role was originally mandated by the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, yet competing demands for funds have limited the amount of money available for national program services.

In 1978, CPB's Board requested a study of options that it might follow to improve its program funding policies. In March of 1978, the Board reaffirmed the basic policy that its principal mission was "to facilitate the development, production_and acquisition of programs. . ." but declared that it "wishes to separate the Board, its committees and members from decisions on individual programs and series of programs."

In an effort to address the so-called "shield" problem, the CPB Board on March 21, 1979, considered the attached proposal submitted by CPB's management, which I request permission to place in the record at this point. After lengthy discussion, it then directed management to discuss this and other alternatives "with interested parties inside and outside public broadcasting and report back to the Board with a firm proposal not later than the May, 1979 Board meeting.'"

Apart from the above, the 1978 Act adds three provisions specifically expanding CPB's program funding activities. It:

1. Expands to "public telecommunications entities" those who may receive assistance for program development and distribution;

2. Expands potential recipients of CPB grants and contracts with specific emphasis on production or acquisition of programs from qualified independent producers, and

3. Requires that proposals for program production or acquisition, to the extent practical, should be evaluated by panels of outside experts representing diverse interests. At the same time, CPB is expected to use prudent business judgment in all program funding activities.

I am confident that we are well on the way to implementing these new provisions and providing, as a result, a clearer, more open process of program decision-making. In summary, Mr. Chairman, the Corporation was created in order to provide leadership and strength in developing a valuable public resource, and to assure its independence from government control and other forms of influence inside or outside of public broadcasting. If all of its efforts have not been successful, we will all do well to remember that the recently published Carnegie Report nevertheless labelled public broadcasting "a national treasure." I am confident that people of goodwill, working harmoniously, can solve many of our current problems and lead the way to a new era of programing excellence and service.

Mr. Chairman, I wish to thank you and the members of this Committee for this opportunity to air some of our efforts both in the short and long term. We hope that the 1978 Act, coupled with a new spirit of cooperation within public broadcasting, will provide the means and climate for continued growth and development, and provide solutions to some of the problems within our own ranks. Through internal revisions, by improving our services, and expanding our effectiveness, both in quality and in the number of people we can potentially reach, we hope to show the full value of public broadcasting to the American people.