Public television uses four basic guiding principles for the content they deliver. These principles are editorial integrity, quality, diversity and local station autonomy.
The success of public television is dependent on the trust of its viewers. Any content distributed through public television must be properly shielded from outside influences and corruption, such as political bias and content modification by sponsors. In addition, public television must monitor the quality of the content it delivers. Programming administrators judge the content of every program that is broadcast. Criteria include the quality of the program's creativity, accuracy, fairness, relevance, credibility and overall excellence. Queries are also made into a given show's ability to entertain, inform and challenge the viewer, depending on the type of program.
Diversity is another important guiding principle. Public television strives to serve and accommodate a wide variety of viewers by providing a wide range of programming, including content relevant to women and minorities. In addition, public television's goal is to inform viewers of different aspects of society. Enlightening viewers regarding subjects they may not be familiar with is paramount to public television's purpose.
Local station autonomy is very important to public television. Different regions have different tastes and needs, and public television recognizes this fact. For example, a program demonstrating fishing and hunting techniques would likely be more popular in a rural region than it would be in Los Angeles. Local stations have a right to tailor their programming schedule to reflect these differences.
There are certain production practices that public television avoids. The main purpose of this is to refrain from misleading or offending the audience. News content must never include staged events, and re-creations of events must include a disclaimer to identify them as such. Sensationalizing informational content should be avoided, and manipulation of the audience is forbidden. Offensive material, such as sex, nudity, strong language and extreme violence are not permitted unless they are necessary for understanding of the topic.