Quick Takes

Idaho needs DTV translators

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IdahoPTV says it needs six new digital translators to maintain coverage during and after the digital transition in February, reports Boise Weekly. More than 400,000 people in Idaho watch over-the-air signals; during a pubTVshow on DTV in November, some 2,600 viewers called in seeking advice. For IdahoPTV, buying more repeaters would need to be done through a privately-funded capital campaign. Peter Morrill, g.m., says broadcasters need opportunities from the FCC to apply for digital translator channels.

Quick Takes

Audience growth begins at home

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Pubradio marketing and programming consultants Deborah Blakeley and Israel Smith propose a 12-month audience growth goal for public radio stations and outline the steps needed to achieve it in “Thinking Audience,” the latest article published by Station Resource Group’s Grow the Audience project.

Quick Takes

Harrisonburg stations make urgent fundraising appeal

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“We are among the smaller stations in the public radio system,” writes Tom DuVal, g.m. of WMRA and WEMC in Harrisonburg, Va., in an email appeal for year-end donations. “We cannot cut enough expenses without having a noticeable and undesirable impact on the quality of the service you receive.” Underwriting revenues have dropped sharply and decreases in government support and private contributions have added to the stations’ financial woes, DuVal tells the Daily News Record. Staff members have already taken 10 percent cuts in their salaries; lay-offs and cost-cutting program changes may come down next month.

Quick Takes

FCC head anticipates DTV challenges

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Outgoing FCC Chairman Kevin Martin concedes in a Q&A with Broadcasting & Cable that challenges remain as the February DTV transition nears. One potential problem: Running out of money for converter boxes. The president-elect’s transition team favors a stronger call-center program to assist viewers; Martin is calling on state broadcasters to assist. As far as funding for them, “We have some money, but there are strict rules on the government process that I can’t comment on until the contracts are awarded.”

Quick Takes

Year-end fundraising special raises $130k

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Best of Public Radio 2008, a year-end fundraising special that aired on 70-plus stations on Saturday, generated contributions totaling more than $130,000 through a special website, GivetoPublicRadio.org. John Sutton, one of the marketing consultants behind the campaign, reports that some listeners chose to make donations directly to their local stations. UPDATE: In an email, Sutton estimates that the campaign’s fundraising total could hit $200,000. Donations to the campaign website have topped $166,000 as of 1 p.m. today. Listener contributions via station websites may bring in another $35,000.

Quick Takes

Levine’s search for ‘moxie’ turns inward

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The idea behind “American Moxie,” an NPR series by Ketzel Levine, was to examine how ordinary Americans adjust when times get tough. But mid-way through reporting for the series, Levine learned that she was one of 64 NPR employees being laid off. “Every story that we all do, we’re always looking for the perfect ending,” Levine tells the New York Times. “And suddenly it was handed to me. It was not one of my choosing, but as a storyteller, what could make a better story?” Ketzel shares the story of her unexpected career setback on NPR.org (scroll down) and on her own blog, Ketzel Uprooted.

Quick Takes

FCC reports viewership changes due to conversion

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The FCC has released two reports (PDF) outlining changes in TV coverage areas from analog to digital for all 1,749 full-power TV stations in the country. Some 89 percent of stations (1,533) will see a net gain of viewers in the switch; 11 percent (196 stations) will have a net loss. The FCC posted detailed maps of each station’s coverage areas on its website, as well as maps of those stations with significant upcoming changes.

Quick Takes

NTIA , FCC foresee digital conversion problems

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The National Telecommunications & Information Association (NTIA) is anticipating problems in the lead-up to digital conversion in February, according to Broadcasting & Cable magazine. NTIA says it may need up to $330 million more for its $40 DTV-to-analog converter box coupons, and reports there may be a shortfall of up to 2.5 million converter boxes. The FCC plans to spend about $10 million on call centers for questions and problems during the week of the DTV transition, estimating 350,000 calls per day Feb. 15-21. However, the FCC also says that would not be enough money or operators to handle the expected flood of calls.

Quick Takes

Sesame Street book getting press

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Michael Davis’ new book, “Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street,” is getting attention in the press. The New York Times published a review on Dec. 26 headlined, “Brought to you by the letter S,” by James Panero, managing editor of The New Criterion. He laments what he sees as Davis’ focus on trivia: “Do we really need to know that (Joan Ganz) Cooney served boeuf bourguignon, ‘a traditional French country recipe . .

Quick Takes

PubTV station nears all-Catholic channel deal

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RGV Educational Broadcasting Inc., owner of KMBH-TV in Harlingen, Texas, hopes to have a deal inked by Jan. 19 with recording company Gospa Records to provide programming for KMBH DT 38.2, its upcoming digital all-Catholic channel. The Brownsville Herald reports that Gospa will form a nonprofit arm to work with the station, with Gospa paying for time on the air. KMBH will earn $120,000 the first year and $240,000 for each of the remaining years of the five-year deal. In addition, KMBH will receive 50 percent of the money generated by commercials on the station.

Quick Takes

Its structure cripples pubmedia, new report contends

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A report on pubcasting is one of a series of new research papers from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. The project, titled, “Media Re:public: News and Information as the Digital Media Come of Age,” explores the potential and challenges of the emerging networked digital media environment, according to its website. One of the 11 papers, on public broadcasting and public affairs, is authored by Pat Aufderheide, director of the Center for Social Media at American University; Jessica Clark, director of the Future of Public Media project, also at American University; and Jake Shapiro, founder of Public Radio Exchange. One point: “The structure of U.S. public broadcasting cripples any kind of coherent national planning. It has provided remarkable stability over the years, but this stability at a time of rapidchange is itself becoming a liability.”

Quick Takes

At North Carolina station, layoffs start at the top

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The board of WHQR in Wilmington, N.C., has laid off three of its top managers, including General Manager John Milligan, the Wilmington Star-News reported yesterday. The layoffs, intended to maintain the station’s “long-term financial viability,” the news release said, also include the news and development directors. In addition, the station eliminated its p.d. position, which is vacant. The station’s website lists about a dozen staff members and 10 on-air personalities.

Programs/Content

Pipeline 2009

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This annual list, now incorporating its Dec. 22 addendum, includes about 180 noninstructional projects one hour or longer in various stages of planning, fundraising and production that will debut nationally in January 2009 and beyond. ¶ Children’s programs don’t appear in this list. We’ll report on them in Current next year. ¶ Responding to Current’s annual Pipeline survey, producers and their distributors supplied most information for this list.

Quick Takes

Revenue slides for WWOZ, Jazz Fest

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After far-flung listeners and pubradio stations pitched in to aid WWOZ’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, donations to the New Orleans community station have plummeted, according to New Orleans CityBusiness. The station has been relying promotions of Brass Passes–premium memberships that begin at $375 and provide special access to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival–to stay afloat. David Freedman, WWOZ g.m., tells the business journal that Jazz Fest itself is at risk because “we are having trouble finding the underwriting to support it.”

Quick Takes

ITVS selects five projects for funding

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The Independent Television Service has announced contracts with five projects from its International Call 2008. The films selected to receive production funding were chosen from 385 submissions in 74 countries. The winners will be broadcast on PBS, including prime-time slots on Independent Lens and the new PBS World series Global Voices. The programs also will be distributed on commercial outlets including the Sundance Channel, the National Geographic Channel and HBO, and on online video sites such as Caachi, Jaman and SnagFilms. Winners originated in Serbia, Indonesia, Armenia, China and Kurdistan. Two more projects will be selected soon.

Quick Takes

Proposed 50 percent NY fund cut stuns pubcasters

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New York’s public broadcasters were shocked by Gov. David Paterson’s proposed 50 percent cut in state funding, a move they say may force staff and programming reductions, according to the Times-Union in Albany. The budget, presented last week, reduces the state’s subsidy for public broadcasting to $9.4 million divided among nine pubTV stations and 17 pubradio stations. Peter Repas, executive director of the Association of Public Broadcasting Stations of New York, says his group will lobby hard against the cuts. “If implemented, this cut will change the face of public broadcasting in New York,” he says.

Quick Takes

WGBH lays off 12

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Boston’s WGBH added to the host of recent announcements of station layoffs today with the news that it will lay off 12 employees. The station has also frozen salaries for management and filling of vacant positions and reduced capital purchases. Membership revenue has held steady for the broadcaster, but corporate sponsorship has declined, said a spokeswoman. The Associated Employees of the Educational Foundation, WGBH’s in-house union, agreed to a restructuring of the network’s design department and to accept smaller wage increases next fiscal year. More in the Boston Herald.

Quick Takes

APM shutters Weekend America

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American Public Media announced today that it will cease production of Weekend America, its two-hour weekly digest, as of Jan. 31. The cancellation will affect 13 full- and part-time jobs related to the show, but a spokeswoman for APM could not confirm how many of those employees would be laid off. The show airs on 134 stations. APM and its sister regional network, Minnesota Public Radio, face a deficit of upwards of $2 million as income from all sources declines.