Public affairs (broadcasting)
Encyclopedia
Public affairs, a broadcasting industry
term, refers to television program
s which focuses on matters of politics
and public policy
. Among commercial broadcasters, such programs are often only to satisfy Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) regulatory expectations and are not scheduled in prime time
. Public affairs television programs are broadcast at times when few listeners or viewers are tuned in (or even awake) in the U.S.
. A particularly favored time for this type of broadcasting
is the graveyard slot
, 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. Sunday morning
Public affairs coverage and are carried as digital subchannel
of existing state network
Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS) member public television stations.
Government-access television (GATV) is cable channel capacity
for local government bodies and other legislative entities to access the cable television systems to televise public affairs meetings.
At some (particularly national) broadcasters, "Public Affairs" may be a special unit, separate from the news department, dedicated to producing long-form public-affairs programming, as at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
prior to 1992.
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
term, refers to television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
s which focuses on matters of politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
. Among commercial broadcasters, such programs are often only to satisfy Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) regulatory expectations and are not scheduled in prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
. Public affairs television programs are broadcast at times when few listeners or viewers are tuned in (or even awake) in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. A particularly favored time for this type of broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
is the graveyard slot
Graveyard slot
A graveyard slot is a time period in which a television audience is very small compared to other times of the day, and therefore broadcast programming is considered far less important. Graveyard slots are usually in the early morning hours of each day, when most people are asleep...
, 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. Sunday morning
Public affairs coverage and are carried as digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
of existing state network
State network
A State Network in the United States broadcasting industry is a term which refers to a miniature television network serving an entire state or multiple states...
Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS) member public television stations.
Government-access television (GATV) is cable channel capacity
Channel capacity
In electrical engineering, computer science and information theory, channel capacity is the tightest upper bound on the amount of information that can be reliably transmitted over a communications channel...
for local government bodies and other legislative entities to access the cable television systems to televise public affairs meetings.
At some (particularly national) broadcasters, "Public Affairs" may be a special unit, separate from the news department, dedicated to producing long-form public-affairs programming, as at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
prior to 1992.