Public Television’s Role in Fostering Civility
with guest Bill Stotesbery, CEO and General Manager of KLRU‐TV
This episode explores public television’s role in a fragmented society as that in which we currently live. Bill Stotesbery, KLRU General Manager and CEO talks about why public television exists, what KLRU does and the key challenges and future of public television.
Bill Stotesbery Bio:
Bill Stotesbery has been CEO and General Manager of KLRU‐TV, the PBS station serving Austin and Central Texas, since 2004. KLRU has long been associated with its award‐winning music concert series, Austin City Limits, the longest running music program in television history, and recipient of the National Medal of the Arts and a Peabody Award, among other recognition. KLRU has also become known as one of the leading producing and presenting stations in the PBS system with over a dozen local and regional series and documentaries currently in development or production and more than 100 Lone Star Emmy nominations and 20 Lone Star Emmys during Bill’s tenure.
Before joining KLRU, Bill had a 25‐year career in marketing, sales, public relations, and public affairs, primarily for technology companies. He was the first local employee of the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) in 1983, and, along with two co‐founders, launched and later sold GTT Communications, one of the region’s first public relations firms focusing on Austin’s technology industry. He has served on numerous civic and professional boards and has been recognized by organizations including UT Austin’s Moody College of Communications, Leadership Austin, First Tee, and the Austin Chamber of Commerce.
Bill is a graduate of the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, receiving a Masters in Public Affairs in 1977. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Texas Christian University in 1975. He and his wife Susan have one daughter who is a Legislative Assistant in Washington DC.