Public broadcasting has always been a mirror reflecting American life back at itself. It captured voices from the civil rights movement, debates over foreign policy, regional arts coverage and local public affairs programs that told the story of who we were as a nation. But for decades, much of that material sat locked away in tape vaults, archives and library collections that few people could search or even know existed. The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) is trying to change that by combining AI-generated transcripts with volunteer-powered human review.

How FixIt+ Works

The public-facing correction layer for this effort is called FixIt+, a volunteer platform where people can review and refine machine-generated transcripts from historic radio and television programs. As AAPB Archives Outreach Manager Meghan Sorensen explained, "FixIt+ is a volunteer transcript correction platform and open-source project maintained by our team at GBH for the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. Its mission is to make historic public media more accessible by inviting the public to help update and correct computer-generated transcripts in a way that feels easy and engaging." The system uses AI-generated text as a jumping-off point, then relies on human reviewers to catch errors and refine the output.

Why Human Review Still Matters

AI transcription has come a long way, but it still stumbles in predictable ways. Laughter, coughing and side comments can confuse software that tries to force nonverbal sounds into words that were never spoken. That problem becomes much more obvious with older recordings. Broadcasts from the 1960s and 1970s may have been cutting-edge for their time, but by modern standards they often sound thin, noisy or compressed. Regional accents make software hesitate, and background sounds only compound the difficulty. FixIt+ handles this through what the project calls a "human-in-the-loop" process. Volunteers listen to audio while reviewing transcripts, then type corrections directly into specific lines. Changes are saved as part of an archive workflow where other volunteers can approve or suggest alternatives. Only after a transcript reaches volunteer consensus is it treated as complete.

The Historical Material at Stake

What makes this project especially compelling is the material itself. Volunteers aren't transcribing filler content. Recordings available for correction include voices tied to civil rights history, national security and regional cultural life. Specific programs span from May 28, 1961 with Freedom Rider Mary Jean Smith, through an April 10, 1975 Bill Moyers Journal conversation with former Defense Secretary Clark Clifford about Vietnam and its aftermath, a February 24, 2012 Donald Rumsfeld talk at Fort Leavenworth, and a January 23, 2004 Black Horizons episode featuring discussion of a Buffalo Soldier stage production. The sheer range makes it clear that correcting these transcripts is not just a technical chore but a way to preserve and open up pieces of our nation's historical record.

Scale and Contributing Collections

The scope of the archive helps underscore this point. The American Archive of Public Broadcasting draws from more than 100 contributing collections, including radio and television stations like WGBH, WNET, Maryland Public Television, Pacifica Radio Archives and the Library of Congress itself. That breadth means volunteers aren't working on one narrow slice of programming. They are helping improve access to a wide cross-section of American public media history spanning decades. The archive notes that transcripts make programs more searchable and usable for researchers, students and curious citizens alike. "Without transcripts, much of our catalog remains hidden," Sorensen said. "With them, the archive becomes a living, interactive resource which can be discovered, shared and explored by anyone."

Key Takeaways

  • FixIt+ uses AI-generated transcripts as a starting point, then relies on volunteer consensus for final accuracy
  • The platform is open-source and maintained by GBH for the American Archive of Public Broadcasting collaboration with the Library of Congress
  • Historic recordings include civil rights coverage, foreign policy debates and regional cultural programming dating back to the 1960s
  • More than 100 contributing collections feed into the archive, including WGBH, WNET, Pacifica Radio Archives and Maryland Public Television

The Bottom Line

This is exactly how AI should work in archival contexts: as a force multiplier for human expertise rather than a replacement for it. FixIt+ demonstrates that democratizing access to historical records doesn't mean dumbing them down. It means giving everyday people the tools to participate in preserving our collective memory, one corrected transcript at a time.