On June 14, 1977 the Carnegie Commission on the Future of Public Broadcasting (sometimes referred to as Carnegie II) was announced by Alan Pifer, president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The decision to form the commission and to fund it with a one million dollar grant was based on recommendations made by a Carnegie Task Force and by requests from the boards of both the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and National Public Radio. The commission originally consisted of twenty commissioners including Chairman William J. McGill, president of Columbia University, Stephen K. Bailey, Red Burns, Henry J. Cauthen, Peggy Charren, Bill Cosby, Wilbur B. Davenport, Jr., Virginia B. Duncan, Eli N. Evans, John W. Gardner, Alex P. Haley, Josie R. Johnson, Kenneth Mason, Bill Moyers, Kathleen Nolan, J. Leonard Reinsch, Tomas Rivera, and Beverly Sills. Bill Cosby and Beverly Sills later resigned due to professional commitments. The commission was assisted by a professional staff located in New York City and by Sheila Mahony who served as executive director.
The purpose of the commission was to evaluate the progress made in public broadcasting since the first (1967) Carnegie Commission report, Public Television : A Program For Action, and to provide recommendations for long range strategies in dissemination, funding, programming, and public participation. Public radio and the educational role of public broadcasting were to be a special focus of the analysis.
In October, 1977 the commission began a series of monthly hearings in Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, Columbia, S.C., Boston, Lincoln, and Dallas. Special meetings were also held on topics such as independent film and videomakers and on children and learning at which input was sought from consultants and experts in the field. The commission also surveyed public radio and public television stations, and staff members visited stations across the country, as well as in Canada, Great Britain, and Japan.
From July to December, 1978 the staff and commissioners compiled their research and documentation for the final report, A Public Trust, which was presented at a reception at the Waldorf Astoria on January 30, 1979.
Recommendations in A Public Trust included creation of a public telecommunications trust to replace the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and increased federal funding with a matching funds program (every three dollars raised locally to be matched by two Federal dollars) that was to be partially underwritten by spectrum fees paid by commercial stations. Other recommendations included completion of the public radio system, increased emphasis on program production and equal opportunity employment, and continued commitment to educational programming.
A Public Trust received extensive media and newspaper coverage and Chairman McGill was interviewed on the MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour and also appeared with commission member Bill Moyers on The Today Show. However, the commission's recommendations were generally ignored by the White House and by Congress.
