Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Katy Perry sold her music catalogue for $225 million to Litmus Music, a new survey found that one in ten women were violated sexually at work in the past three years, and PBS's CEO learned the importance of stakeholder management.
- All in this together. As the CEO of PBS, Paula Kerger oversees a federated organization of 330 individual stations. Those stations are owned, operated, and governed in communities across the U.S. Managing that complex structure is an "interesting challenge," she admits.
But the experience has taught her a lot about stakeholder management—a skill that is becoming ever more relevant for business leaders in all industries who manage the expectations of employees, customers, and shareholders. Kerger discusses leading PBS in the latest episode of Fortune's podcast Leadership Next with Fortune CEO Alan Murray and editor-at-large Michal Lev-Ram.
"It's classic stakeholder management," she says of her role. "It's understanding that to make any change, people have to have trust in you."
Kerger has led PBS, which reaches 80% of U.S. households, for 15 years. She's spent much of her time visiting stations across the country. That investment has paid off as she's led a digital transformation of the organization. "If people feel heard, even if they feel you're asking them to do things that are painful, they'll give you a bit more latitude," she says.
PBS, which airs documentaries, children's programming, and more, was "created as a space to do all the things that the marketplace wasn't going to be able to sustain," Kerger says. That mission hasn't changed. What has changed is the market. "There has to be a space where you can bring forward ideas that may not be hugely popular," she says.
Listen to her full interview on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe
The Broadsheet is Fortune's newsletter for and about the world's most powerful women. Today's edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.
