PBS at 50: Revisiting the Trusted Brand’s Legacy

This month marks a major milestone for public broadcaster PBS. It’s turning 50 years old, with programs that have become part of the fabric of America.

PBS is the home for everything from the Cookie Monster to Ken Burns’ acclaimed documentaries.

But PBS President Paula Kerger tells WDET’s Quinn Klinefelter the public broadcasting service does much more than just inform and entertain.

“We’ve also been focused on bringing stories forward that hopefully will remind us of that time when we all pulled together around a sense of common purpose.” — Paula Kerger, PBS

“We’ve been criticized for not being as exciting as other news organizations. I think that’s a good thing,” Kerger says. “We just want to make sure you have information you can trust. And from that you can build your own opinion.” 

Kerger says PBS is a half-century-old brand that provides information people trust because it is always based on facts.

Click the player above to hear the full interview with PBS CEO Paula Kerger on PBS’ 50 years of programming.

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Revisiting PBS’ Legacy 

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Author

  • Quinn Klinefelter
    Quinn Klinefelter is a Senior News Editor at 101.9 WDET. In 1996, he was literally on top of the news when he interviewed then-Senator Bob Dole about his presidential campaign and stepped on his feet.