PBS American Portrait Launches at Winter TCAs in Pasadena

PBS and RadicalMedia have announced the launch of PBS American Portrait, a national story-telling initiative and multi-platform experience that seeks to define what it really means to be an American today. Panellists for American Portrait at this year’s winter TCA press tour include: PBS’s Bill Margol; Jon Kamen, chairman and CEO, RadicalMedia; Dave Sirulnick, president of entertainment, RadicalMedia; PBS Digital Studios host Danielle Bainbridge; teacher and PBS Digital Innovator Laura Bradley

This user-generated, multi-platform project will connect tens of thousands of people across the country, creating a communal voice through individual stories of joy, hardship, triumphs and sorrow. Participants will be able to tell and share their own stories, and see the stories shared by a wide panorama of Americans, united by a series of prompts that will serve as conversation starters, including: 'I was raised to believe…,' 'The tradition I carry on is…,' 'What keeps me up at night is…,' 'When I step outside my door…' and 'Most days I feel…,' among others.

“The future of PBS is multi-platform and experiential, guided by mission and storytelling,” says PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger. “Everyone should be able to see the diversity of their perspectives reflected on the screen. You want to be able to talk about where that takes you moving forward: looking at our legacy, at our history and how it informs what we’ll do moving forward.”

American Portrait, a project aligned with PBS’s 50th anniversary celebration, is the organisation's most ambitious multi-platform project in its history. PBS will gather video and written submission from the public digitally to use in a 2021 special first-person portrait of America today. 

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