Q+A: TOM AXTELL:

PBS made rapid shift amid pandemic; ‘truly staggering,’ GM says

Mon, Aug 10, 2020 (2 a.m.)

The show must go on, even during a pandemic. At Vegas PBS, the show has gone on, but it’s changed significantly. General Manager Tom Axtell was part of a rapid pivot in television programming and internet services to respond to community needs in response to COVID-19.

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Tom Axtell

“The scope of this work is truly staggering, and viewer utilization is in the tens of millions,” Axtell said.

In addition to TV programs that support at-home learning, the station has created new websites, increased online course offerings, partnered with a dozen nonprofits to support their work, and developed new virtual education techniques.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your organization? Have you seen an uptick or slowdown in donations?

Currently, 70% of our staff are working from home, but broadcasting and public affairs production continues. Many building safety measures have been initiated for both staff and visitors.

Donations are a mixed bag. A number of unemployed individuals have had to cancel their donations, but many new viewers have joined after finding our programming while they were at home for prolonged periods. Corporate sponsorships are sharply reduced, as many businesses have had to close their doors.

What programming changes have you made as a result of the pandemic?

Initially, we radically altered daytime TV after the governor ordered schools closed. The Channel 10.1 preschool children’s block added elementary programming, and late afternoon dramas were replaced with middle- and high school science and social studies programs. Our WORLD channel on Cox 114 added middle- and high school content. Altogether, during the six weeks of school closure, over 15 million program views were recorded for the 350 hours a week of instructional programming we offered. Online instructional websites earned another 2 million views during this period.

The “PBS NewsHour,” “Frontline,” and our own “Nevada Week” produced substantial content on COVID-19. We also produced many spots for local nonprofits and aired 150 spots a week on food resources, hand washing, legal and financial service providers, and medical and mental health messages.

I’ve seen a lot of British shows on the network lately. What is the reasoning behind that?

British drama had relatively low audiences in Las Vegas until “Masterpiece: Downton Abbey” captured viewers’ hearts. Due to increased support and vastly larger audiences, we responded by purchasing more British and Australian drama. Nationally, PBS has recently formed a production partnership with the BBC, allowing the two noncommercial organizations to pool funds to create programs that will appear in both nations.

Has “normal” changed forever?

COVID-19 accelerated several trends that were already altering “normal” business and for which we were already preparing. For example, use of our online distance education materials by teachers increased 50% the first month schools were closed, and visits by viewers to our Passport streaming service and news and information pages increased 40%. So the growing trends of binge-watching video on demand, cord cutting, distance education and business meetings, office telecommuting, and the search for trusted information sources accelerated. They were already on an upward trek, and we think these trends will become the new normal.

However, the loss of personal and crowd interaction at restaurants, concert performances, travel excursions and educational workshops changes how we interact with viewers and donors. Our local business is founded on delivering media content with advanced technology and related experiences that become hyper local through personal relationships and intense customer service. Not meeting with people face to face can impact the quality of content delivery, news gathering, partnership development, and donor/sponsor relationships. We eagerly look forward to returning to face-to-face events and meetings.

Describe your management style.

Since television is a technology-based business, rapid change should be expected. Management must institute a value system that encourages innovation and experimentation. We start with a clear strategic vision of the future. Then every functional manager should lead their departments with an eye to achieving the organization’s goals. Television requires multiple skills to succeed, so our leaders must model and our employees must embrace teamwork and mutual respect as the essential requirement for our workplace. This approach requires cross-departmental teams and frequent communication. As some staff are working from home, communication has become much more challenging. Informal hallway interactions are a thing of the past, so structured online meetings to achieve past communication levels are necessary.

What is the soundest business advice you’ve heard in the past few months?

“Bad companies are destroyed by crisis, good companies survive them, great companies are improved by them.” This was from a book by Andy Grove, founder of Intel.

Other than the obvious, what is the biggest challenge facing Nevadans?

Our economy is still not diversified. As 9/11, the Great Recession and this pandemic teach, travel and hospitality workers are disproportionally laid off when crises change personal leisure activities.

If you could change one thing about Southern Nevada, what would it be?

Government social safety net services, schools, universities and nonprofits are not as well funded by either tax revenues or charitable gifts as in other states. The social stratification between the “haves” and “have nots” is increasing.

What is your favorite show on Vegas PBS?

“Nova” and “Frontline” are my favorite national shows, and “Outdoor Nevada” and “Nevada Week” are my favorite local shows.

What are you reading?

I generally read three books at a time. For historical perspective, “Accidental Presidents” by Jared Cohen. For business, I reread “Only the Paranoid Survive” by Andy Grove, and for recreation, “The Luminaries” by Eleanor Catton.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

As a Midwest ex-pat, I enjoy the desert, and see my home as a base for world travel once a virus vaccine makes travel normal again.

What is something people might not know about you?

I am the proud father of twin girls.

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