EDITORIAL BOARD ROUNDTABLE: Iowa Public Television tunes in the Q-C

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By Times staff | Saturday, August 16, 2008 10:04 PM CDT | () comments

VIDEO: IPTV in Q-C
Dan Miller, IPTV General Manager and Executive Director, talks to Quad-City…
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Iowa Public Television turns its attention to the Quad-Cities this week, attention IPTV General Manager Dan Miller says is overdue. He has 2,000 Scott County families who are members providing average contributions of $72.50.

That’s $145,000 for the Johnston, Iowa-based broadcaster.

Those contributors represent 2.8 percent of IPTV’s donor base, while Scott County represents 5.4 percent of the state’s population. So, Miller has some work to do.

That’s why IPTV will be holding a digital TV conversion workshop Tuesday in Davenport, presenting IPTV “Story Time” host Dan Wardell in

Bettendorf and Davenport on Wednesday, then broadcasting from the River Music Experience and holding a community-wide listening session Thursday.

IPTV will record next weekend’s River Roots Festival and return in October to record the Quad-City Symphony. The aim is to create lots of Iowa-based

programming to further distinguish the public broadcaster’s new mission. That local content mission fits in with the kids programming, news and education Miller says will keep public TV viable for years.

“The best ally of public TV is what commercial television puts on at 7 p.m.,” he said.

Or 6 p.m. Part of Miller’s pitch for public TV is local control of local news. He notes that most mass media ownership is far away from Iowa. Only Omaha, Cedar Rapids and the Quad-Cities have locally based television, newspaper or online news ownership. Most TV, including all Quad-City private TV ownership is far from Iowa.

The same argument supports WQPT, the Quad-Cities’ own public television broadcaster, whom Miller counts as an ally, not a competitor.

“WQPT is your local public TV station. We’re your local public television network,” he said. WQPT budget cuts are emphasizing the distinction as it gave up the “News Hour with Jim Lehrer” and “Nightly Business Report,” two shows carried by IPTV. WQPT General Manager Rick Best says viewer laments over the cutbacks have waned and he’s hoping to generate support for more Quad-City focused programming. Grant funding will help produce a local news commentary program and he expects even more content originating here.

“If you’re a public TV fan, you now have more to choose,” Best said.

It’s not inconceivable, Miller said, that programming created by WQPT could be shared over IPTV with the rest of Iowa.

Both public broadcasters face the challenge of presenting this increased local programming across platforms, reaching viewers through the Web, hand-held devices and who knows what else. But Miller remains confident public television, in the Quad-Cities and across Iowa, will remain viable. “Traditional means of delivery is not going away,” he said.

IPTV QC-week schedule

Tuesday

6:30 p.m. Digital television information session at Davenport’s Fairmount Street Branch Library.

Wednesday

10 a.m. Quad-City mayoral proclamations for IPTV, Davenport City Hall.

1:30 p.m. Story Time with Dan Wardell at the Putnam Museum.

4:30 p.m. Story Time with Dan Wardell at the Family Museum, Bettendorf.

Thursday

11:30 a.m. IPTV public listening forum, Davenport RiverCenter.

8:30 p.m. Iowa Journal Live Broadcast on the Future of Gambling, featuring Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba and Riverboat Development Authority director Mary Ellen Chamberlin.

Friday

Noon: IPTV General Manager Dan Miller speaks to the North Scott Rotary Club, Steeple Gate Inn, Davenport.

5:30 p.m.: IPTV records River Roots Live from downtown Davenport.

Saturday

Noon: IPTV records River Roots Live from downtown Davenport. Program airs 9 p.m., Sept. 15.

IPTV General Manager Dan Miller on ...

Digital conversion

IPTV General Manager Dan Miller called digital conversion “an unfunded federal mandate.” The feds required the switchover, but didn’t provide much funding. Yet if the public broadcasters didn’t comply, they would lose their licenses.

IPTV received 90 percent of its $47 million conversion costs from a legislative appropriation. Part of that went to add a transmitter to the same Orion, Ill., tower used by WQPT, extending the Iowa-based broadcasters range over much of WQPT’s territory.

WQPT paid for its digital conversion by effectively selling a portion of its broadcasting frequency to a private company and IPTV. That generated $1.15 million, which was supplemented with grants from Iowa’s gambling authorities.

Approximately 15 percent of Iowa and Quad-City households receive television broadcast signals through an antenna. So digital conversion is very important for both WQPT and IPTV.

WQPT

Miller views Moline-based WQPT as a partner, though there’s not much overt collaboration. “They’re your local station. We’re your local network. I’ve talked to Rick Best once since he announced his new schedule. I’m not competing with him.”

Perceptions of public TV’s liberal bias

Miller discounts concerns of bias. “In Iowa, about the same number of people watch John McLaughlin as Bill Moyers,” Miller said, referencing public TV commentators on either end of the political spectrum.

“If you challenge the status quo, you’ll always be perceived as in opposition to some people’s politics.

“We don’t hear as much of that pushback on this as we did four or five years ago.”