Shapiro created the news program Worldfocus as a public television owned news broadcast in lieu of the prior practice of airing foreign news programs on American public television, saying that, "it's good for public television to have a show that belongs to public television .. Are we taking a chance?
Other programs Shapiro commissioned include New York War Stories, New York Goes to War, Need to Know, and A Cry for Help: A Generation at Risk?, in addition to the expansion of the network's classic movie slots to include more recent independent pictures that appeal to a younger audience [REF].