Neal Shapiro:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201cWNET\/THIRTEEN 50th Anniversary\u201d Interview<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Neal Shapiro is President and CEO of New York City\u2019s WNET, America\u2019s flagship public media outlet, bringing quality arts, education and public affairs programming to over 5 million viewers each week. The parent company of public television stations THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, WNET produces such acclaimed PBS series as Great Performances, American Masters, Nature, Need to Know, Charlie Rose,<\/em> and a range of documentaries, children\u2019s programs, and local news and cultural offerings available on air and online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shapiro is an award-winning producer and media executive with a 25-year career spanning print, broadcast, cable and online. At the helm of WNET, Shapiro has revitalized programming, nearly doubled arts and culture programming, placed a new emphasis on local programming and community engagement, set new fundraising records and inaugurated a new, state-of-the-art studio at Lincoln Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to WNET\u2019s signature national series, Shapiro has overseen the launch of a number of innovative local programs (including American Graduate, MetroFocus, NYC-Arts, Need To Know and Women, War & Peace<\/em>) which make the most of New York City\u2019s rich resources and vibrant community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before joining WNET in 2007, Shapiro was President of NBC News, leading its top-rated news programs, including Today<\/em>, NBC Nightly News<\/em> and Meet the Press<\/em>, as well as Dateline NBC<\/em>. Shapiro was executive producer of Dateline NBC<\/em> when it was a mainstay of NBC\u2019s schedule. And in his 13 years at ABC News, he was a writer and producer for PrimeTime Live<\/em> and World News Tonight<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Shapiro has won numerous awards, including 32 Emmys, 31 Edward R. Murrow Awards and 3 Columbia DuPont awards. He serves on the Boards of Tufts University, Gannett Company, the Investigative News Network and the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Neal lives in New York City with his wife, ABC News Correspondent Juju Chang, and their three sons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kam Williams:<\/strong> Hi Neal, thanks for the interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neal Shapiro: My pleasure, Kam.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: I feel like I already know you from watching you introduce movies every Saturday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NS: [Chuckles] I have to admit that of all the things I do that\u2019s actually the most fun.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> What is your favorite genre of film?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NS: Film noir. I\u2019m especially a big fan of Humphrey Bogart.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Congratulations on PBS\u2019 50th anniversary! What special programming do you have planned?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NS: This is not only a great way to look back and celebrate what we\u2019ve accomplished, but also a great way to think about the challenges for the next 50 years. Digging through our archives, we found some amazing, early footage we didn\u2019t know we had of icons like Dr. Martin Luther King, Andy Warhol and Muhammad Ali. So, we\u2019re going to do a whole series of specials on news, art and culture. Last month, we led a 7-hour national telethon about the dropout crisis, not to raise money, but to raise awareness and tell people how they can get involved through The United Way, Big Brothers\/Big Sisters, The Boys and Girls Clubs, and other organizations. I see part of our role for the next 50 years is to become even more engaged with our community through programs that enable good things to happen.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Fixing the educational system is a really urgent priority, because we\u2019ll lose another generation if nothing is done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NS: You\u2019re exactly right! In New York, we have the biggest school system in the country and therefore we have some of the biggest problem schools in the country. We want to do everything we can to let people know how critical an issue this is. If we don\u2019t get this right, we\u2019ll lose an entire generation. Nobody wins when a generation can\u2019t contribute to society.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> When I attended the Wharton Business School, one of your predecessors, John Jay Iselin, was a guest lecturer in Arts Management. One thing he emphasized stuck with me, namely, that the bottom line was not profit at PBS, but the quality of the art. Was that a hard thing for you to adjust to in coming over from a commercial television network?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NS: He\u2019s absolutely right. What\u2019s hard to adjust to is being unable to measure your bottom line like you can in the commercial world. How do you measure the ability to touch someone\u2019s heart, to give someone comfort or a meaningful experience they might cherish for the rest of their lives? Those are hard to quantify. So, public television doesn\u2019t have the same sort of metrics, which is why, as part of the 50th anniversary, we\u2019ve been reaching out and asking people, \u201cWhat has been the importance of the programs we\u2019ve brought you over the years?\u201d And we\u2019ve received some inspiring responses, like the one from a woman who grew up in very humble circumstances in the Bronx. Her parents didn\u2019t have the means to take her to see live performances in the theater. But thanks to PBS, she still had a front row seat, and today she\u2019s a professional dancer. Another person credits the show Nature for the inspiration to become a marine biologist. It\u2019s hard to put a price tag on stories like that, but they have real meaning.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Earlier this year, you ran a fascinating documentary about the late Daisy Bates, the only female to speak at the March on Washington. It was hard for me, as a Black Studies major, to believe that I had never even heard of such an important civil rights figure before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NS: We have plenty of examples like that which we chronicle in such a way that they can also exist forever in classrooms. Most people don\u2019t know that we have an education department and what a huge impact it makes because we offer the content for free to teachers and students all over the country. Nowadays, kids are quite comfortable learning from video in a way that you and I weren\u2019t, since we didn\u2019t have much of an opportunity to watch them in school.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Harriet Pakula Teweles says: I never thought WQXR\u2013The Radio Station of the NYTIMES\u2013 would sell its frequency to a pop music station and move classical music to a less strong frequency with classical music reaching far fewer people. Is bringing The Arts to public media always going to be about raising enough money? How can we best protect public access to the arts from the whim of the financial marketplace and from political encroachment because of censorship issues?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NS: That\u2019s a very good question. When you look at The Arts, there is not a great commercial model for it. And there never has been one. The Fine Arts have always been supported by philanthropy and thereby made available to everyone. I don\u2019t think that model\u2019s about to change. In fact, there are likely to be even more stresses on it, because there are more demands for the very valuable radio and TV frequencies. So, I think we\u2019ll always be reliant upon the kindness of strangers to keep The Arts alive.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NS: That\u2019s another very good question. I\u2019ll have to think about that. I don\u2019t just want to come up with a self-serving question.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n