New venture fund for public TV, and launch of all-pledge PBS channel

WASHINGTON – New revenue models to support public television have been announced – one a new twist on venture philanthropy and another taking a traditional source of funds to what may be its logical extreme. The venture philanthropy comes from the formation of Independent Public Media last week. Fuelled by revenue from spectrum leases, IPM will "acquire and recapitalize television stations at risk of closing or selling their licenses to organizations that may not represent a community's interests at large," according to its news release. To illustrate the threat to local public television stations, IPM's announcement cited three stations: "Three……