Latino Public Broadcasting Gets More Funds to Showcase Latinx Storytellers to Broad Audience

Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) will receive a $500,000 funding increase starting this fiscal year. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced announced it recently. The funding, which brings CPB annual support for LPB to more than $1,850,000 for FY2021, will help the organization in its mission to fund, produce, distribute and exhibit works in media that convey the depth and breadth of the Latino community to the broadest audience possible. That's great news for the Latino community. 

Additional Support Aims to Increase Diverse Perspectives in Public Media

“We are delighted and grateful for this additional support from CPB,” says Sandie Viquez Pedlow, Executive Director of Latino Public Broadcasting. “Now more than ever, the stories of diverse communities need to be front and center in our national narrative. This generous funding increase will enable us to empower more Latino mediamakers and bring their stories to audiences through public media’s broadcast and digital platforms and local community outreach across the country.”

​Latino Public Broadcasting is a non-profit organization founded in 1998 to support Latino filmmakers and to foster national public media programming by and about the rich and diverse Latino community. Its signature works include the award-winning PBS series VOCES and documentaries, series and specials including Latino Vote - Dispatches from the Battleground, Building the American Dream, Raúl Julià: The World is a Stage, Dolores, Willie Velasquez - Your Vote is Your Voice, Maria Hinojosa’s America By The Numbers, No Más Bebés, American Masters and VOCES John Leguizamo’s Road to Broadway,American Experience A Class Apart, The Longoria Affair, Reportero, the landmark 3-part series Latino Americans, American Experience Roberto Clemente, American Masters Cacho Uno Mas, American Masters Orozco Man of Fire, Precious Knowledge, Latin Music USA, and many others. 

​Latino Public Broadcasting, headquartered in Los Angeles, receives annual funding from CPB, the steward of the federal appropriation for public broadcasting.

 “The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) welcomes the funding increase for Latino Public Broadcasting,” said Chairman Raul Ruiz. “The funding will help promote inclusion and community engagement and empower Hispanic filmmakers and story tellers. With Hispanics comprising over 20% of the US population, it is critical that we elevate the contributions of Hispanic Americans and our diverse experiences in the national narrative. The CHC looks forward to seeing more Hispanic representation in the media market.”
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“I am very pleased that the CPB is providing additional funding to Latino Public Broadcasting,” said Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40). “Latino Public Broadcasting plays a pivotal role in highlighting the beauty and talent of our Latino culture. By sharing our perspectives and stories, it helps to amplify the voices of our communities and to foster a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the social and cultural perspectives of Latinos and our many contributions to the nation.”

The $500,000 funding increase is one of five that CPB is making to members of the National Multicultural Alliance (NMCA), which also includes the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), Black Public Media (BPM), Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC) and Vision Maker Media (VMM). Since its founding more than 50 years ago, CPB’s mission has been to provide universal access to high-quality programming, especially for the unserved and underserved. CPB uses a strategic framework called the “Three Ds” — Diversity, Dialogue, and Digital — to reflect its commitment to innovation, inclusion and community engagement. 

“CPB’s commitment and funding for diverse filmmakers and storytellers spans decades and has resulted in content that educates, informs and inspires mutual understanding and respect,” said Pat Harrison, CPB president and CEO. “Our increased support for the National Multicultural Alliance will build on that foundation and ensure that public media’s content reflects the broadest range of cultural and social perspectives. The NMCA comprises individual organizations that encourage and fund diverse storytellers whose voices and experiences might never be heard without their support.”

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About Latino Public Broadcasting
Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) is the leader in the development, production, acquisition and distribution of film and digital cultural media that is representative of Latino people or addresses issues of particular interest to Latino Americans. These programs are produced for dissemination to public broadcasting stations and other public media entities. Providing a voice for the diverse Latino community throughout the United States, Latino Public Broadcasting is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  LPB also produces the acclaimed PBS documentary series VOCES, exploring the rich diversity of the Latino experience. VOCES presents new and established filmmakers and brings their powerful and illuminating stories to a national audience — on TV, online and on the PBS app.
 
Between 2009 and 2020, LPB programs won over 130 awards, including three prestigious George Foster Peabody Awards as well as Emmys, Imagen Awards and the Sundance Film Festival Award for Best Director, Documentary. LPB has been the recipient of the Norman Lear Legacy Award and the NCLR Alma Award for Special Achievement – Year in Documentaries. Sandie Viquez Pedlow is executive director of LPB; Edward James Olmos is co-founder and chairman.

About CPB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,500 locally managed and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. CPB is also the largest single source of funding for research, technology and program development for public radio, television and related online services. For more information, visit cpb.org, follow us on Twitter @CPBmedia, Facebook and LinkedIn and subscribe for email updates. 

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by IC Mag Editors