MPBN viewers share opinions at forum

BANGOR – In an attempt to learn what their viewers and listeners view as priorities, officials from Maine Public Broadcasting Network held a town meeting-type discussion Tuesday night in Bangor.

The meeting is one of a series being held around the state to obtain feedback about the public’s media-consumption habits and how they might be changing.

A few themes have begun to develop as patrons share their thoughts, including the impact of changing technology and content versus commercialization.

“The world is changing,” MPBN President Jim Dowe said. “PBS now is pretty much lost in a whole ocean of channels that are out there.”

Some of those channels, such as Discovery and the History Channel, offer programs similar to those that can be found on public broadcasting.

“Radio has been holding its own,” Dowe said.

The goal is to see where MPBN wants to be and will be in the future.

The network’s mission is to “engage the minds and enrich the lives of the people in the communities that we serve,” according to its charter.

MPBN was formed in 1992 through the merger of the educational radio and television stations provided by the University of Maine System and WCBB public television operated by Colby, Bates and Bowdoin colleges.

A nonprofit organization, the network receives some state and federal funding, but the majority of its $11.4 million annual budget comes from private donations.

“That’s why we’re here, to see where we should be going,” Dowe said.

The audience of about a dozen people was mostly over 30 years old, and a major concern was whether the 18- to 30-year-old market was one that MPBN should be concerned in reaching.

“You build that base there and it’s just going to grow,” Troy Gagnon of Orrington said. He noted that college students, such as his daughter, provide a great opportunity to expand the network’s listening and viewing foundation.

“It’s a balancing act,” Dowe admitted.

Like many media outlets, the network is struggling to balance new technology, such as the Internet and podcasts, with the legacy outlets of radio and television.

In addition to its target market, suggestions and comments ranged among a gamut of topics from concerns over Maine Public Radio’s call letters not being displayed on digital radio, to wanting more news focused on New Brunswick and Quebec in addition to Maine, rather than New Hampshire.

“If we’re going to be appealing to them for money, we should be appealing to them in other ways,” said Mike Gleason, an MPBN supporter from Bangor.

Some issues were specific to individuals, such as Gleason’s dismay over British comedy reruns.

“I’m so tired of seeing for the eighth, or ninth, or 14th time the reruns of ‘Keeping Up Appearances,'” he said, noting that there are other British comedies available.

Some at Tuesday’s forum also voiced dismay at the programming available.

“I don’t like what I feel is the dumbing-down of Maine Public Broadcasting,” one man said.

Marketing was another topic of discussion.

“We need to create a greater awareness of what we do at Maine Public Broadcasting,” Dowe said.

A fourth public meeting is scheduled from 6:30 to 8 tonight at the University of Maine at Farmington’s Olsen Student Center, North Dining Hall.

Those who are unable to attend the sessions can visit MPBN’s Web site at www. mpbn.net/survey to provide comment.