Public Media

What is a Public Media Project?

Penn State Public Broadcasting’s public media projects recognize the need for researched-based and academically grounded communications that support an engaged and informed citizenry.

Public media projects raise awareness of important and timely issues that impact people at both the national and local levels by combining powerful media materials with a robust outreach initiative.

Why Penn State Public Broadcasting?

Penn State Public Broadcasting has a demonstrated ability to raise awareness of critical issues while drawing diverse audiences. Our ties to a research university and commitment to editorial integrity are the hallmarks upon which we base our productions.

Proven Impact

The public media project Liquid Assets helped raise awareness about the critical role our water infrastructure plays in protecting public health and promoting economic prosperity.

Public

• 100s of community events and discussions have been held across the nation, hosted by partnering organizations, associations, municipalities, and public television stations.
• 15,000 DVDs were distributed to municipalities nationwide through funders, partners, government agencies, and non-profits.
• Users from 140 countries/territories visited the Liquid Assets Web site.
• 274,000 registered users of Teachers' Domain gained access to Liquid Assets educational materials.
• The documentary program was telecast more than 1000 times in a four-month period.

Government

The quality of the project drew the notice of the federal government. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas, senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment) and Representative John Boozman (R-Arkansas, ranking Republican member of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment) requested 535 copies of Liquid Assets to distribute in mid-January 2009 to members of Congress and the Senate in the spirit of bipartisanship.

Representative Johnson also provided President Barack Obama’s Transition Team with copies of Liquid Assets.

Journalism

Liquid Assets received the 2008 Engineering Journalism Award from the American Association of Engineering Societies. The award recognizes outstanding reporting of an event or issue that furthers public understanding of engineering. Former recipients include members of the Washington Post, FORTUNE Magazine, and Chicago Tribune.