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TV or Not TV: That’s Not the Question

Moderator: Alice Cahn
Brigid Sullivan Terry Fitzpatrick Justin Johnson Nick Gnat: May 19, 2010; Running Time: 1:02:35

About the Lecture

About the Lecture

While Alice Cahn cites evidence that traditional TV viewing is alive and well, her panelists line up to describe a TV industry under siege by digital competitors, and in the throes of major change. In the course of this session, which focuses on how television engages a young(er) audience, a generational divide springs up that highlights the dramatic shift in cultural and consumer expectations as we move from traditional broadcast to digital media.

WGBH has long produced television shows for children, says Brigid Sullivan but is less known as “an interactive media pioneer for 25 years.” What began as ‘talk back’ opportunities for young Zoom viewers has now grown into a full-bore exploration of interactive audience engagement, especially involving education. Technology “allows us to reach and interact with kids wherever they are,” says Sullivan. Clips from kids programs show up on interactive games formatted for PCs, Wiis, whiteboards and handheld devices. WGBH is producing multimedia resources for teachers as well. The goal is to “exploit opportunities of rapidly changing technology while continuing to deliver content and educational experience of enduring value.”

Another stalwart in children’s TV production, Sesame Workshop, is also attempting to exploit digital media, but finds the financial equation “challenging,” according to Terry Fitzpatrick. The Workshop recognizes that much of its demographic -- preschoolers’ parents -- is going online to find TV content. Yet it is not a simple matter “to monetize and deliver” its programs across the new platforms, says Fitzpatrick. The Workshop envisions delivering content designed for a typical toddler’s day: from morning TV viewing to preschool educational activities; mobile devices for the car, and interactive online games and books at home. Through a combination of subscriptions, license fees, micro transactions, e-commerce and philanthropy, the Workshop hopes to find a successful business model for its programs.

Representing a new generation of user-producers, Justin Johnson describes his work helping media makers package their work for YouTube and other video-centered sites on the Internet. While it appears easy to post videos, says Johnson, the real trick is figuring out how to exploit websites that are simultaneously video and social platforms. He is impatient with old media, which “tells you lots of things.” New media is about “asking people who they are, and what they think.”

Nick Gnat strikes a defiant tone against a TV industry Goliath: “When my generation becomes the one with money in its pockets, the current business model for TV will fail unless it makes critical adjustments and concessions.” He has very little use for broadcast video, getting his news from blogs, RSS feeds, streams, podcasts, and entertainment from online sources, some more legitimate than others. Gnat says his “generation is different,” seeking not just multiple, alternative avenues for information and entertainment, but conversation among viewers as well. He won’t abide broadcasters setting his entertainment schedule, nor will he accept “being nickeled and dimed” to enjoy programs in different formats. Gnat wants free content distribution, and claims that digital rights management will simply drive him and his peers to take what they can’t afford, ultimately starving mainstream TV of profits: “Almost all teenagers including myself get movies and TV shows from file sharing, and we won’t stop anytime soon.”

Lecture Details

Location: Bartos Theater

“The TV industry has tried to retain too tight a grip on the business models of the past, showing a disappointing lack of amicability to change. The more tightly industry tries to control and restrict content, the more control they lose. ”

Nick Gnat

About the Speakers

Moderator: Alice Cahn

Vice President for Social Responsibility, Cartoon Network

At the Cartoon Network, Alice Cahn is responsible for directing content and implementing outreach and pro-social initiatives. Prior to joining Cartoon Network, she served as Managing Director of the Markle Foundation’s Interactive Media for Children Program. Cahn came to Markle from Sesame Workshop where she served as President of the Television, Film and Video group. From 1993-1998 she was head of children's programming for PBS.

Kahn did her Master’s work in Educational Technology at San Francisco State University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from New York University.

Brigid Sullivan

Senior Vice President, Children's, Educational and Interactive Programming WGBH Boston

Brigid Sullivan is responsible for the creation and development of numerous children's series broadcast nationally on PBS, including Arthur, Curious George, Emmy and Peabody award winning Design Squad, Peep and The Big Wide World, Postcards from Buster, Between the Lions, and others aimed at enhancing vocabulary, cultural diversity, and science challenges.

Sullivan initiated educational programming at WGBH with the telecourse French in Action, followed by The Western Tradition, Discovering Psychology, Destinos, English for Speakers of Other Languages, and Fokus Deutsch. She additionally oversees departments that produce online professional training courses for K-12 teachers and Teachers' Domain, a web-based multimedia library tied to national and state curriculum standards. She launched WGBH's Interactive department, the single largest producer of content on pbs.org.

Sullivan holds an M.B.A. from Harvard University and a B.A. from Thomas More College of Fordham University.

Terry Fitzpatrick

Executive Vice President, Distribution, Sesame Workshop

Terry Fitzpatrick oversees three divisions at The Workshop: Digital and Interactive Media; Media Distribution; and Themed Entertainment. Fitzpatrick earlier served as Senior Vice President, Business Operations at The Workshop. He was responsible for managing all business activities for the content division, including creative development and production. He joined the Workshop in 1996 as Vice President Finance for Television, Film and Video.

Prior to joining The Workshop, Fitzpatrick spent nine years in programming at Showtime Networks, rising to the level of Vice President, Programming Finance. He began his career as Controller of the Joyce Theater, where he also created and produced The American Theatre Exchange which brought theatrical productions from throughout the United States to New York City. He holds an M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama and a B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin.

Justin Johnson

Founder, Online Video Contests, Creative Services Lead, Next New Networks

Justin Johnson is one of the founding members of the Webby-award winning Indy Mogul network. He was also one of the first video bloggers, as well as an early pioneer of sketch comedy on the Net. His short political satire, Hillary in Bosnia, has over 2.4 million views, and was featured on Fox News and other TV outlets. In 2006 he created the number one site on the Internet for finding and submitting to video contests, OnlineVideoContests.com.

Johnson is currently Creative Services Lead at Next New Networks, an Internet television start-up created by the minds behind Nickelodeon, Sundance Channel, Hanna-Barbera, and MTV.

Nick Gnat

Next-Generation Broadcast Journalist, MOUSE

Nick Gnat, 17, is a budding journalist, television producer, and documentary filmmaker. He spent his past two summers working at WNET/Thirteen as a Production Intern for the award-winning NATURE program. His attends Bard High School Early College in New York City, where he will graduate with an Associate of Arts degree. He recently directed, produced, wrote, edited, and filmed We Are BHSEC!, a short documentary that was submitted to The White House as part of the Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge. Gnat is also a core member of MOUSE, a non-profit organization that seeks to foster youth through technology, where he is actively developing programs to bring refurbished hardware to New York City public schools and empower novice users to fix their own computer problems. Gnat is a Linux enthusiast, passionate advocate of free and open-source software, and a staunch opponent of Digital Rights Management. A computer user since the age of two, Gnat has lent his experience and expertise to small companies and individuals as a technology consultant.

Moderator

Alice Cahn

Animation insider profile of Cahn

Speakers

About the Host

About the Host

The Education Arcade

The Education Arcade explores games that promote learning through authentic and engaging play. TEA's research and development projects focus both on the learning that naturally occurs in popular commercial games, and on the design of games that more vigorously address the educational needs of players.