Doesn’t public television keep its programs on videotape?
Most programs have been stored on videotape, but there is no single location in PBS where programs are preserved. • PBS itself is storing more than 150,000 tapes in a warehouse. • The WGBH Media Archive manages nearly 500,000 editorial assets, which includes documents, computer discs, graphic materials, and similar materials, as well as audio and videotapes. • Thirteen has more than 40,000 videotapes in its collection, along with promotional materials, administrative information and legal records. • At hundreds of stations and production offices around the country, tens of thousands of tapes are sitting on shelves, stuffed in drawers and stacked up in closets. Saving even a portion of this rich resouce is a huge and costly challenge — one that will take a lot of education, commitment, and public support.
