Letter to Tom Butler, Chairman, Subcommittee on General Government, Joint Ways and Means Committee, Oregon State Legislature, May 5, 1999

Soon you will be asked to vote on the appropriation to subsidize the operation of Oregon Public Broadcasting. Before you finally vote, I ask you to consider the following:

I came to Oregon in 1965 to work on a public affairs program, Urban Mosaic, that was produced by the Division of Continuing Education at Portland State College. I started teaching filmmaking and became a Professor of Filmmaking at the Center for the Moving Image at PSU. While there I taught many Oregonians who went on to successful careers in production. I was a founding member of the Northwest Film Study Center and the Media Project, two organizations that supported local film and video makers. I served as Chair of the Board of Portland Cable Access, and started the Senior Community Video Project. Film and video have been central to my life and I believe that I have contributed to the vitality of this industry, art, and medium of communication.

There is a community of film/video makers in this state that produces wonderful work. It is significant work that has earned for Oregon a reputation as an important and innovative center for film/video work in feature production, animation, documentary, educational and business oriented production. Together we have created a new, vital and financially viable industry in the last 30 years.

Unfortunately Oregon 's public television network ignores us. I learned in my first year in Oregon that Oregon Educational and Public Broadcasting network was the last place to go when seeking support or an outlet for local production. That has not changed in a any significant way in the last 30 plus years. There have been brief fits and starts over the years - a program here, a short series there. There has been no sustained effort to develop a meaningful presence on OPB of work about Oregon.

Oregon Public Broadcasting's mission statement does not even mention the state. A look at its schedule shows only a meager few minutes per week - Oregon Field Guide, Seven Days, an occasional special. We can see more about exotic animals, and British comedy that what goes on in our own state.

There are many Oregons. Television is the only medium that can take me into the communities and introduce me to the individuals that inhabit this state. I need to meet Oregon workers, farmers, teachers, students, business men and women. It is impossible for me to do this myself.

If our state is to thrive, it is important that we citizens know about each other and meaningfully communicate with one another. We have to live together, work together, learn together, play together and together solve the problems we face. Without meaningful communication it is all but impossible. A fundamental element of our democracy is that free and open communication is the essential ingredient to making decisions for our society. If Oregon Public Broadcasting doesn't do it, who will?

There is a large reserve of productions by Oregon film/video makers that show us the various Oregons. This is a valuable resource that has been all but ignored by OPB. There is a large group of talented film/video makers who care about our state and who want to contribute. This is a valuable resource that has been all but ignored by OPB.

OPB is a not-for-profit Oregon institution with a fundamental obligation to serve. That is its mission. Does OPB serve Oregon well? OPB is both unique and powerful. It has the physical transmission infrastructure to reach the entire state (and parts of Washington), it has facilities for production, a capable staff, it has proven that it can market itself and its products (productions by both staff and in collaboration with the independent production community.) It rightfully can boast that it is the most watched public broadcasting system in the country.

But those of us who have knowledge of what others have done and a strong belief in the potential of public broadcasting know we are being short changed. We don't see the leadership that only OPB can provide to bring Oregon programming that truly serves the communication needs of the state.

In voting for funds for OPB I ask you to stipulate that the funding carry the obligation to: 1) devote a portion of its resources to fund production by, for and about Oregon; and 2), to incorporate in its mission statement that a major goal of OPB will be to serve as a leader in developing programming that stimulates dialog between the various Oregonians.

If OPB doesn't do it, who will?

Sincerely, Tom Taylor III