How to Get PBS to Air ART BEAT

You can help facilitate a PBS broadcast of ART BEAT in your area. It may take some preparation and persistence, but the impact that a regional PBS broadcast can have makes the effort well worthwhile.

The PBS system is set up as a network of independent stations around the United States, all of which broadcast a mixture of national programming, such as Nova, Frontline, and the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, and regional material selected and/or produced by the individual station's staff. But pitching to PBS nationally a series like ART BEAT -- which brings viewers an inside look at some of the most engaging artists working today, who are sharing their creative environments and ideas, demonstrating their artistic processes. Ultimately, API believes the most effective way to get ART BEAT on the air is by approaching individual PBS affiliates, local station by local station, and encouraging those affiliates to include the film as part of their programming. Some PBS stations produce series that showcase independent films, and the content of such series is determined solely by the regional stations' programming staff. Local arts advocates have submitted other fine arts programming to local PBS affiliates and succeeded in getting those shows aired on their PBS station. If you would like to submit ART BEAT to your regional station, here are some general guidelines:

Step 1: Research & Preparation
Learn as much as you can about your regional PBS station by visiting its web site (locate your PBS station's site at www.pbs.org/stationfinder/index.html), reading through recent program guides, and speaking with others in your community who are knowledgeable about the station. Find out if any staff members at the station have a special interest in fine arts and if the station has any locally produced series that focus on any of these three areas. Purchase ART BEAT from API with the attached order form. For more information (and for a copy of the ART BEAT press kit) please contact John O'Donnell, WTVS at

Step 2: Team Building
Before approaching the station directly, consider first speaking with local arts agencies and other arts organizations to see if they will join you in supporting the film for regional broadcast. This will carry weight, particularly if the groups are well respected and have large memberships, and can offer to help the station with generating publicity for the broadcast. It can also be helpful to enlist the participation of prominent local citizens, particularly those who are supporters of the station.

Step 3: Initial Contact
Contact the programming department at the station and find out about the guidelines for submission. Be sure to ask staff if there is any specific information they would like you to address in your cover letter. You may find that their approach is informal, and that they just want you to drop materials off for them to view, or that they may even invite you to come into the station and meet with them. On the other hand, they may have a more formal process, giving you some paperwork to fill out, or indicating the specific points of information they will need covered in your letter. Remember that station programmers have a genuine desire to offer programming that is good for their community. The better you get to know them and the more you understand their point of view, the more likely your approach with ART BEAT will be successful. Simply by making the effort to approach them, you are sending the message that somebody in their viewing area really cares about getting this series seen. Try to use a local angle if possible to pique their interest. For example, you may want to mention a local story about arts funding cuts or the efforts of area artists using arts to get across an important message about freedom of speech, since ART BEAT includes a discussion and footage of artists finding solutions to such issues.

Step 4: Submission & Cover Letter
What follows are some points that may be good to mention in your approach letter, which should be no longer than 2 pages. Remember that not all of these points may apply in your situation. It is best to write in your own words, in a style that feels comfortable to you.
· You are writing to submit the series, ART BEAT, for their consideration for broadcast
· ART BEAT has been highly acclaimed, For a review of ART BEAT by Frank Provanzano. Also check out the recent article about ART BEAT in the C&G newspapers by Michelle Moran
· ART BEAT was produced by WTVS, PBS in Detroit
· ART BEAT is being used in local arts colleges as required viewing and documents processes, methods and materials in current use by top artists.
· Each episode, which runs 27 minutes, educates viewers about the artistic process, featuring new and archival footage and exclusive interviews with artists, ART BEAT reveals the inherent creativity all of us possess, but few have the courage to put into action. ART BEAT refutes the myths about the creative underground and suggests the arts can be appreciated by everyone. It also makes it clear that fine arts is a viable profession and not just an avocation.
· ART BEAT is available in broadcast master format on Beta SP. Contact WTVS if your local PBS station requests Beta SP copy.
· View our press packet on ART BEAT.

Step 5: Following Up
Remember that your main job is first to build support for the series' broadcast before approaching the station, and then, once it has been submitted to it, to follow up with gentle reminders every few weeks to encourage a member of the programming staff to watch it. If, after viewing the film, they are interested, the next likely step is that they would contact WTVS, and we'll follow through from there.

PBS vs. Public Access
What's the Difference?
You may want to also contact your local public access channel, also known as Cable Access or Community Access. These are channels with the specific mission of allowing any member of the community to have access to the airwaves. These channels are completely distinct from PBS stations. It should be noted, however, that granting permission for broadcast on Access channels, could hurt the chances of ART BEAT being accepted by regional PBS stations, which prefer to broadcast material that has not already been exposed to their audience. As PBS stations generally have a much larger viewership than Access channels, it makes sense for us to do all we can with PBS before moving on to permitting Access airings to smaller audiences. So for now, we are focusing on approaching PBS affiliate stations only. One simple way to recognize PBS affiliates is their use of the PBS logo:

Again, to locate the PBS station in your area, go to www.pbs.org/stationfinder/index.html (note that in some areas there may be more than one PBS affiliate station).

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