Ms. Kerger probably already deserves a medal for taking a job that should either attract only masochists or those who enjoy working every day in a political minefield.
To succeed, Ms. Kerger has to ruffle feathers; not hide behind Big Bird's.
Ms. Kerger has to quickly articulate a serious public interest vision for noncommercial digital TV. She has to challenge the system--including the stations, independents and other producers--to create content that illustrates that public television is relevant and necessary in the broadband era. Kerger also has to fearlessly defend the mission of public television to produce serious, thought-provoking, and risk-taking programming--especially against the conservative cabal running CPB and much of Congress. She also has to develop a plan that will build financial support to keep public television in business. There's no question that she faces a near-impossible task--but one that must be done if PBS is to survive.
Kerger also has to reach out to the constituency of those who care about the quality of our media lives and who want to see greater expression of diversity on television. She has to ignore the ever-pressing demands of the producing stations--such as WNET--while reaching out to women, persons of color, independents. These groups are being left out of the media revolution. She needs to harness their energy and support to spearhead a movement to preserve noncommercial T.V. in the digital age.