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Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
Editorial Standards and Policies
This document is an update of the Public Broadcasting Service
("PBS") program policies adopted in 1971/72 and updated in 1987.
While the principles embodied in those policies are enduring and
remain as valid today as when they were first adopted, changes
in technology, in public television, in journalism, and
experience with the current guidelines necessitate, as the
original program policies themselves anticipated, "periodic
review of procedures to establish and implement program
standards and practices, and a revision of the statement as
In reviewing the PBS Program Policies adopted in 1987 (the
"Policies"), the Editorial Standards Review Committee convened
by PBS found the document was well conceived and remarkably
contemporary, and further concluded PBS should continue to
operate according to the overall principles it articulates. What
was needed, generally, was to make the Policies less exclusively
concerned with television programming and more platform neutral.
It was essential to recognize the ways in which new delivery
systems, such as the Web, have affected and will continue to
affect the production, distribution, and consumption of content,
and the editorial implications of these changes. In that regard,
the Committee believed that a hallmark for PBS in its approach
and its content going forward should be transparency.
II. Guiding Principles
The Public Broadcasting Service is a nonprofit membership
corporation whose members are licensees of noncommercial
educational (or "public") television stations and is governed by
a board comprised largely of representatives of its member
stations. PBS operates in the public interest by serving the
needs of its member stations. Four fundamental principles shape
the content service that PBS provides to its member stations:
editorial integrity, quality, diversity, and local station
A. Editorial Integrity
PBS's reputation for quality reflects the public's trust in the
editorial integrity of PBS content and the process by which it
is produced and distributed. To maintain that trust, PBS and its
member stations are responsible for shielding the creative and
editorial processes from political pressure or improper
influence from funders or other sources. PBS also must make
every effort to ensure that the content it distributes satisfies
those editorial standards designed to assure integrity.
In selecting programs and other content for its services, PBS
seeks the highest quality available. Selection decisions require
professional judgments about many different aspects of content
quality, including but not limited to excellence, creativity,
artistry, accuracy, balance, fairness, timeliness, innovation,
boldness, thoroughness, credibility, and technical virtuosity.
Similar judgments must be made about the content's ability to
stimulate, enlighten, educate, inform, challenge, entertain, and
To enhance each member station's ability to meet its local
needs, PBS strives to offer a wide choice of quality content.
Content diversity furthers the goals of a democratic society by
enhancing public access to the full range of ideas, information,
subject matter, and perspectives required to make informed
judgments about the issues of our time. It also furthers public
television's special mandate to serve many different and
discrete audiences. The goal of diversity also requires
continuing efforts to assure that PBS content fully reflects the
pluralism of our society, including, for example, appropriate
representation of women and minorities. The diversity of public
television producers and funders helps to assure that content
distributed by PBS is not dominated by any single point of view.
D. Local Station Autonomy
PBS believes that public broadcasting's greatest potential is
realized when it serves the unique needs of the local community,
and that there are wide variations in local needs and tastes. No
one is better qualified to determine and respond to those local
needs than the public television station licensed to that
PBS's role is to assist each station in the exercise of its
independent responsibilities by: giving its member stations the
broadest possible range of content options, consistent with
these Public Broadcasting Service Editorial Standards and
Policies; providing stations with timely information necessary
to make informed judgments about a program's suitability for
local broadcast; and making PBS's content selection process
responsive to stations' needs.
III. Roles and Responsibilities
Producers, PBS, local public television stations, and the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting ("CPB") play essential and
distinct roles in the public broadcasting content development
and distribution process. PBS distributes television programming
to member stations and other parties (e.g., cable and satellite
operators) for distribution to the public via over-the-air
broadcast, cablecast, and other means ("Program Content"). In
addition, PBS sometimes publishes content directly to the public
via digital platforms such as its Web site, www.pbs.org ("Online
Content"). The respective roles and responsibilities of
producers, PBS, local public television stations, and CPB may
differ in each context. For example, while PBS is responsible
for reviewing, acquiring, commissioning, funding, scheduling,
promoting, and distributing Program Content, PBS does not itself
produce any Program Content. By contrast, PBS occasionally does
produce Online Content.
PBS content is produced by a diverse
group that includes public television stations and
organizations, independent producers (ranging from individual
filmmakers to major studios), foreign producers and broadcast
organizations, individuals or organizations not normally in the
content production business, and, occasionally, in the case of
Online Content, PBS itself.
Primary responsibility for content necessarily rests with the
producer because it is the producer who creates the content and
is uniquely in a position to control all of its elements. Not
only would it be impractical for PBS to second-guess the
producer's decisions at each step of the production process, but
respect for that process demands that producers be allowed the
freedom required for creativity to flourish. Thus, in selecting
content for distribution, PBS must rely heavily on the
producer's honesty, integrity, talent, skill, and good faith.
Producers of content for PBS have an obligation to inform
themselves about and adhere to these Standards and Policies and
all applicable PBS production and funding guidelines.
PBS is actively involved in encouraging
and otherwise fostering the production of quality content. PBS
does not itself produce any Program Content. Instead, Program
Content and most other content distributed by PBS is produced by
people who are not employed by PBS and over whom PBS exercises
no direct authority. While producers bear responsibility for
content production decisions, PBS bears responsibility and
discretion for deciding whether to accept and distribute
content, as well as deciding when to schedule it for national
distribution. In that role, PBS is the arbiter of whether
content meets these Standards and Policies and whether it is
appropriate for distribution as part of PBS's national services.
PBS performs this function on behalf of member stations and
ultimately the audience. Acceptance of Program Content by PBS is
signified by the placement of the PBS logo at the conclusion of
a program, while acceptance of Online Content by PBS is
signified by the availability of the content on www.pbs.org.
Before accepting and distributing content, PBS evaluates it to
determine whether it meets these Standards and Policies. To that
end, PBS and the producer have a mutual obligation to maintain
effective liaison during the production process. The goal of
this liaison is to provide opportunities for early notice and
resolution of problems. Thus, PBS has a responsibility to make
these Standards and Policies, as well as all applicable PBS
production and funding guidelines, known to producers.
The final authority for the decision to distribute content as
part of any PBS service rests with PBS. PBS makes its overall
decisions about which content to accept and distribute with a
view towards assuring, over time, a diversity of subjects,
viewpoints, formats, techniques, and content sources.
C. Local Public Television Stations
As a licensee of the Federal
Communications Commission, each public television licensee bears
a non-delegable duty to assure that its broadcast program
services fulfill its statutory obligations as a broadcaster.
While other entities, including PBS, may assist the local
station in fulfilling those obligations, final responsibility
for the quality and integrity of its broadcast services rests
with each individual station. Thus, even though PBS has accepted
Program Content and made it available to the local station, that
station has sole discretion to decide whether and when to
In addition to broadcasting PBS Program Content, public
television stations produce their own programs and obtain
programs - including some rejected by PBS - from suppliers other
than PBS. Thus, denying PBS distribution to a program does not
prevent the program from being broadcast on local public
television stations. There are many alternative means of
distributing programs to public television stations, including
the statutorily mandated alternative of distribution over the
public television satellite interconnection system. PBS,
however, makes no judgment as to the suitability for broadcast
of programs distributed by parties other than PBS.
Program Content distributed by PBS carries the PBS logo at the
conclusion of each program, identifying the program as one
accepted and distributed by PBS as distinct from other program
distributors. As the symbol of acceptance by PBS, the PBS logo
conveys important information to viewers, and a station may not
remove the PBS logo from the end of a program without PBS's
consent. By contrast, use of the PBS logo in conjunction with
the station's own logo (e.g., use of an on-screen identifier or
a print logo that includes both logos) serves only to identify
the station as a PBS member station and does not signify PBS
approval of the underlying content.
Although PBS strives to provide balanced program services,
member stations often choose not to carry the Program Content
offered by PBS in its entirety, and each station makes different
decisions about how best to supplement PBS's programs.
Therefore, each station is ultimately responsible for assuring
an appropriate balance of subjects and viewpoints across its
broadcast schedule and for complying with all applicable federal
statutes and regulations.
While PBS distributes Program Content through its member
stations (which retain discretion to broadcast such Program
Content or not), PBS distributes Online Content directly to the
public, at all times and on a worldwide basis, through its Web
site, www.pbs.org. Although pbs.org includes functionality that
allows stations to associate their local brands with Online
Content, a station cannot choose to limit its association to
some but not all of the Online Content available on pbs.org.
Pbs.org also provides access to local station information. PBS
member stations make their own online content available to the
public through their own independently operated Web sites.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting
("CPB") is a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress
in 1967 to distribute federally appropriated funds to public
broadcasting organizations nationwide. To that end, each year
CPB distributes Congressionally appropriated funds to local
public broadcasting stations, PBS, and other public television
distributors and producers. CPB is a major source of funding for
public broadcasting, and provides content funding directly to
The Public Broadcasting Act (47 U.S.C. § 396 et seq.)
authorizes CPB to "facilitate the full development of public
telecommunications in which programs of high quality, diversity,
creativity, excellence, and innovation, which are obtained from
diverse sources, will be made available to public
telecommunications entities, with strict adherence to
objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of
a controversial nature." CPB is governed by a Board of Directors
whose members are appointees selected by the President of the
United States and confirmed for six-year terms by the U.S.
Senate. To shield public television producers and distributors
from political influence, the Public Broadcasting Act prohibits
CPB from owning or operating public television stations and from
producing or distributing public television programs. In
addition, the Act requires CPB to "carry out its purposes and
functions and engage in its activities . . . in ways that will
most effectively assure the maximum freedom of [public
television] from interference with, or control of, program
content or other activities."
IV. Editorial Standards
Precision in editorial standards is especially difficult because
it is impossible to articulate every criterion that might enter
into the evaluation of the quality and integrity of particular
content. Moreover, a criterion considered mandatory for straight
news reporting may not always be appropriate for a documentary
or dramatic program.
Content evaluation is an art, not a science, requiring
professional judgments about the value of content in relation to
a broad range of informational, aesthetic, technical, and other
considerations. PBS's task, therefore, is to weigh the merits of
the content submitted to it and assure that, viewed in its
entirety, the content it distributes strikes the best balance
among these considerations. These Standards and Policies embody
the goals of integrity and quality to which PBS aspires,
recognizing that judgments about how these standards apply may
differ depending on format or subject, and that not all content
succeeds equally in satisfying all of these standards.
PBS recognizes that the producer of informational content deals
neither in absolute truth nor in absolute objectivity.
Information is by nature fragmentary; the honesty of a program,
Web site, or other content can never be measured by a precise,
scientifically verifiable formula. Therefore, content quality
must depend, at bottom, on the producer's professionalism,
independence, honesty, integrity, sound judgment, common sense,
open mindedness, and intention to inform, not to propagandize.
By placing its logo at the end of a program or hosting a Web
site, PBS makes itself accountable for the quality and integrity
of the content. Editorial integrity encompasses not only the
concerns addressed in these Standards and Policies, but also the
concerns about improper funder influence and commercialism
addressed in PBS's funding and production guidelines. If PBS
concludes that content fails to satisfy PBS's overall standards
of quality or any applicable journalistic standard or production
practice, PBS may reject the content for distribution.
Fairness to the audience implies several
responsibilities. Producers must neither oversimplify complex
situations nor camouflage straightforward facts. PBS may reject
a program or other content if PBS believes that it contains any
unfair or misleading presentation of facts, including inaccurate
statements of material fact, undocumented statements of fact
that appear questionable on their face, misleading
juxtapositions, misrepresentations, or distortions.
To avoid misleading the public, producers also should adhere to
the principles of transparency and honesty by providing
appropriate labels, disclaimers, updates, or other information
so that the public plainly understands what it is seeing. For
example, content that includes commentary, points of view, or
opinion should be appropriately identified, as should all
sources of funding. Transparency also suggests producers
maximize attribution of information and limit the use of
anonymous sourcing to those cases when there is no alternative
and the information is essential. Content that contains adult
themes or other sensitive material should contain an appropriate
Producers should treat the people who are the subjects of, who
appear in, or who are referenced in the content they produce
with fairness and respect. PBS will reject content if, in PBS's
judgment, it unfairly treats the people or misrepresents their
views. Fair treatment of individuals generally requires that a
producer represent the words and actions of the people portrayed
or identified in a way that presents their strongest case, and
gives individuals or organizations that are the subject of
attack or criticism an opportunity to respond. Fairness also
requires that a producer be willing to consider all relevant
information and points of view.
The honesty and integrity of informational content depends
heavily upon its factual accuracy. Every effort must be made to
assure that content is presented accurately and in context.
Programs, Web sites, and other content containing editorials,
analysis, commentary, and points of view must be held to the
same standards of factual accuracy as news reports. A commitment
to accuracy includes a willingness to correct the record if
persuasive new information that warrants a correction comes to
light, and to respond to feedback and questions from audiences.
PBS may undertake independent verification of the accuracy of
content submitted to it. Producers of informational content must
exercise extreme care in verifying information, especially as it
may relate to accusations of wrongdoing, and be prepared to
correct material errors. PBS will reject content that, in its
judgment, fails to meet PBS's standard of accuracy.
Along with fairness and accuracy, objectivity
is the third basic standard to which journalists are held. While
PBS holds all news and informational content to standards of
objectivity, PBS recognizes that other types of content may not
have the objective presentation of facts as their goal.
Objectivity, however, encompasses more than news and information
presented in a neutral way. It also refers to the process by
which a work was produced, including work that involves analysis
or, as a result of reporting, arrives at conclusions. To begin
with, journalists must enter into any inquiry with an open mind,
not with the intent to present a predetermined point of view.
Beyond that, for a work to be considered objective, it should
reach a certain level of transparency. In a broad sense, this
spirit of transparency means the audience should be able to
understand the basics of how the producers put the material
together. For example, the audience generally should be able to
know not only who the sources of information are, but also why
they were chosen and what their potential biases might be. As
another example, if producers face particularly difficult
editorial decisions that they know will be controversial, they
should consider explaining why choices were made so the public
can understand. Producers should similarly consider explaining
to the audience why certain questions could not be answered,
including why, if confidential sources are relied on, the
producers agreed to allow the source to remain anonymous. And
the spirit of transparency suggests that if the producers have
arrived at certain conclusions or a point of view, the audience
should be able to see the evidence so it can understand how that
point of view was arrived at. One aspiration implicit in the
idea of transparency is that an audience might appreciate and
learn from content with which it also might disagree.
Opinion and commentary are different from news and analysis.
When a program, segment, or other content is devoted to opinion
or commentary, the principle of transparency requires that it be
clearly labeled as such. Any content segment that presents only
like-minded views without offering contrasting viewpoints should
be considered opinion and should identify who is responsible for
the views being presented.
No content distributed by PBS should permit conscious
manipulation of selected facts in order to propagandize.
PBS seeks to present, over time, content that
addresses a broad range of subjects from a variety of
viewpoints. PBS may, however, choose to consider not only the
extent to which the content contributes to balance overall, but
also the extent to which specific content is fairly presented in
light of available evidence.
Where appropriate, PBS may condition acceptance of content on
the producer's willingness to further the goal of balance by
deleting designated footage or by including other points of view
on the issues presented or material from which the public might
draw a conclusion different from that suggested by the content.
Material to be added may range from a few words, to a complete
content segment, to an added episode in a series of programs, to
the production of an entirely separate, new program. Where PBS
deems it appropriate, PBS may arrange for the production of
additional content by a producer other than the producer of the
original content material. For Online Content, links to
credible, high-quality, related resources may be used to provide
access to additional information or viewpoints.
E. Responsiveness to the Public
Producers must work with PBS to respond to and
interact with the public. This may include providing an outlet
for public feedback about content and helping to create material
for the Web that allows audiences to learn more, seek background
information, access documents alluded to in a program, answer
questions that a program might not have been able to address,
and even customize information. Accountability is a goal,
including answering audience questions and responding to
criticisms about programs or content. When public feedback is
published by PBS it should be labeled as such, and standards for
publication - such as those relating to obscenity or personal
attacks - should be clearly communicated.
F. Courage and Controversy
PBS seeks content that provides courageous and
responsible treatment of issues, and that reports and comments,
with honesty and candor, on social, political, and economic
tensions, disagreements, and divisions. The surest road to
intellectual stagnation and social isolation is to stifle the
expression of uncommon ideas; today's dissent may be tomorrow's
orthodoxy. The ultimate task of weighing and judging information
and viewpoints is, in a free and open society, the task of the
audience. Therefore, PBS seeks to assure that its overall
content offerings contain a broad range of opinions and points
of view, including those from outside society's existing
consensus, presented in a responsible manner and consistent with
the standards set forth in these Standards and Policies.
G. Substance Over Technique
Advances in production technology carry with
them the possibility that technique may overwhelm substance,
distorting the information, making it technically inaccessible
or distracting the public's attention from its central thrust.
Neither people nor ideas ought to be victimized by technical
trickery. PBS will reject content that, in its judgment,
disserves the viewer or its subject matter by inappropriately
pursuing technique at the expense of substance.
H. Experimentation and Innovation
PBS seeks content that is innovative in format, technique, or
substance. The absence of commercial considerations accords PBS
the freedom to experiment in ways not always tolerable in the
commercial environment. The potential for innovation can be
fully realized only if PBS is bold enough to take occasional
I. Exploration of Significant Subjects
Unlike their commercial counterparts, public
television stations do not sell time for profit and are,
therefore, free from the constraints that compel commercial
broadcasters to pursue the largest audience. PBS seeks programs
that will enable its member stations to explore significant
subjects even if those subjects or their treatment may not be
expected to appeal to a large audience.
J. Unprofessional Conduct
PBS expects producers to adhere to the highest
professional standards. PBS may reject content if PBS has reason
to believe that a producer has violated basic standards of
professional conduct. Examples of unprofessional conduct by a
producer include such things as plagiarism, fabrication,
obtaining information by bribery or coercion, insensitivity to
tragedy or grief, and real or perceived conflicts of interest
such as accepting gifts, favors, or compensation from those who
might seek to influence the producer's work.
K. Unacceptable Production Practices
It is impossible to anticipate every situation
with which a producer of informational content must contend.
Nevertheless, certain areas present such frequently encountered
dangers that they merit explicit warning. In general, they would
fall under two broad concepts:
- Never invent or add elements that were not
originally there; and
- Never make choices that mislead or deceive the
1. Staging. Producers of news content should not stage events or
suggest that others stage events for the sake of media coverage.
2. Re-creations and Simulations. In instances where
re-creations or simulations of actual events are necessary and
desirable, they should be clearly identified if there is any
possibility that the viewer would be confused or misled.
3. Distorted Editing. All producers face the necessity of
selection - which material is to be left in, which is to be
edited out. Reducing and organizing this information is part of
the producer's craft. It is the objective of the editing process
to collect and order information in a manner that fairly
portrays reality. Producers must assure that edited material
remains faithful in tone and substance to that reality. When
editing, producers of informational content must not
sensationalize events or create a misleading or unfair version
of what actually occurred. When significant interruptions of
time or changes of setting occur, they should be unambiguously
identified for the viewer.
4. Deception. The credibility of content is jeopardized
whenever the audience or a source is duped or feels duped.
Deceiving the audience would include such examples as when time
is conflated so that it appears that several interviews were
actually one. Duping a source would include when a producer
misleads an interviewee concerning the purpose of the interview.
Honesty, candor, and common courtesy must govern producers'
5. Pre-trial Publicity. Our legal system presumes that
criminal defendants are innocent until proven guilty. In
reporting on crimes and related legal proceedings, producers
must be sensitive to the rights of the accused to a fair trial
and the effect of pre-trial publicity. Producers should be wary
of self-serving statements from both prosecuting and defense
attorneys. They should also remain cautious about using alleged
evidence in any content to be made available to the public
6. Media Manipulation. Manipulation can be effected
either by the media or by others seeking to use the media for
their own purposes. Television is an extraordinarily powerful
instrument; the mere presence of television cameras can change
or influence events. Producers must minimize and, to the extent
possible, eliminate this interference. In crowds,
demonstrations, and riots, during terrorist incidents, and in
other similar circumstances, camera crews and production teams
should seek to be as inconspicuous as possible, and, as
appropriate, cap lenses or withdraw completely when their
presence might incite an extreme reaction or unduly influence
the course of events.
7. Manipulation of the Audience. The use of music and
sound effects, dramatic lighting or staging, or other artificial
effects can subtly affect the impression left with the audience.
Producers must exercise care not to use such techniques in a way
that is unfairly manipulative by distorting the reality of what
PBS may reject and decline to distribute any content that, in
its judgment, violates the production practices identified above
or shows evidence of any other production practice that is not
consistent with accepted professional standards.
L. Objectionable Material
Responsible treatment of important issues may sometimes require
the inclusion of controversial or sensitive material, but good
taste must prevail in PBS content. Morbid or sensational
details, or material that is gratuitously offensive to general
taste or manners (e.g., extreme violence, racial epithets,
strong language, nudity, sexism), should not be included unless
it is necessary to an understanding of the matter at hand.
Questions of taste cannot be answered in the abstract, but when
specific problems arise, they must be resolved in light of
contemporary standards of taste, the state of the law, and the
newsworthiness and overall value of the material. If PBS
concludes that the exclusion of such material would distort an
important reality or impair the content's artistic quality, PBS
may accept the content provided it carries appropriate notice to
the viewer. Conversely, PBS may reject content that, in its
judgment, needlessly contains objectionable material that
compromises the content's quality or integrity.
Adopted: June 14, 2005
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