Programs/Content

As election nears, Swing State Network checks pulse of political battlegrounds

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Some states get a little sexier every four years: Ohio. Florida. North Carolina. Their pivotal role in deciding the presidential election has made them the backbone of a new ad hoc collaboration, the (Mostly) Swing State Public Radio Network. Spearheaded by New York’s WNYC, the network brings together public radio stations in political battleground states to reflect the concerns and viewpoints of their much-scrutinized voters.

People

America’s Promise Alliance recognizes NPR for report on Native foster care

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The America’s Promise Alliance gave its 2012 Journalism Award for Action to NPR for Native Foster Care: Lost Children, Shattered Families, an October 2011 series reported by Laura Sullivan and produced by Amy Walters. The October 2011 series, the result of a yearlong investigation, revealed how the state of South Dakota was failing to follow laws that specify how Native children should be put in foster care. It prompted a federal investigation and a resolution from the National Congress of American Indians. The Alliance’s annual awards recognize the efforts of journalists working to raise awareness about the needs of young people and those who inspire communities to act on behalf of youth. Recipients are chosen from the winners of the 2012 Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism, which are presented by the Journalism Center on Children & Families.

Development

Kickstarter crowd backs Seabrook’s Decode DC

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Former NPR correspondent Andrea Seabrook, who covered Congress until departing in July to launch an independent podcast called Decode DC, crossed the finish line on her Kickstarter fundraising campaign Oct. 17, hitting her goal of $75,000 and ultimately topping out at over $100,000. Seabrook launched the campaign Sept. 25 and met her fundraising target with two days to spare. Seabrook conceded during an Oct.

People

Audio amateurs turn heads at ShortDocs competition

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Luke Eldridge, a financial services worker from London, and John Musto, an electrician from Chicago, were two of the four ShortDocs winners honored Oct. 6 during the biennial Third Coast Conference. Their entries had each been produced in less than three weeks and beat those submitted by far more experienced public radio producers.

Tech

Technology opens door to sharing content

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To the editors,

Regarding your recent article about discussions of audience-building strategies for public radio at last month’s Public Radio Program Directors conference, I do note with interest this exchange:
During a Q&A in Las Vegas, John Van Hoesen, v.p. for news and programming at Vermont Public Radio, asked NPR Chief Content Officer Kinsey Wilson whether NPR would produce more newsmagazine-like programming for middays. Wilson questioned whether NPR has the capacity to help fill that gap. But both he and David Kansas, c.o.o. of Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media, said that stations and networks could work together more to share content, creating a system for allowing local stations to pick up and air each other’s reporting. “There are some interesting things that new technology makes possible there,” Kansas said. NPR, MPR/APM and hundreds of stations are Public Radio Exchange members, and they can share unlimited audio for stations at any time, with any terms they wish to set.

System/Policy

Presidential sparring puts pubcasting in political bull’s-eye

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GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s pledge to defund PBS, which he reiterated during the Oct. 3 televised presidential debate, set off a flurry of advocacy activity by pubcasters working at both the national and local levels. PBS had already spent several months developing its ValuePBS.org site, trumpeting the importance of public TV, and sped up its launch to the day after the debate. Stations sprung into action to alert their viewers and listeners, sending waves of them to the grassroots-advocacy 170 Million Americans website — which has since garnered 50,000 new fans. “Thousands of people are coming to our aid,” particularly on Twitter and Facebook, said Pat Butler, president of the Association of Public Television Stations advocacy organization.

System/Policy

Beyond Big Bird: What is public media’s value today?

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When every year seems to bring a new round of threats to public media funding, it’s clear that public media isn’t doing a very good job of asserting its value. Maybe its detractors have more money and better lobbyists, but clearly the “Save Big Bird” tactic is only a Band-Aid, and one that’s getting worn out from overuse.

Quick Takes

Knight grant turns podcast segment into online video

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Today marks the premiere of the video “The Emperor’s New Onesie,” based on an excerpt from pubradio producer Hillary Frank’s blog and podcast, “The Longest Shortest Time: The Truth About Early Motherhood.” In a Knight Foundation-backed project, Frank teamed up with former pubradio producer Rekha Murthy, illustrator Jen Corace and animator Joe Posner to visualize the audio short story. Frank’s podcast “pays close attention to an experience that so many share, one that remains largely absent from traditional public radio,” Murthy said on the Knight Blog. “It has attracted a substantial listenership in less than two years with virtually no promotion. It was easy to imagine a visual component.”

KCET

KCET in Los Angeles, noncom satellite Link TV announce merger

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KCET, the Los Angeles public TV station that split from PBS nearly two years ago, is merging with Link TV, the noncommercial national satellite broadcaster that specializes in international news and documentary programming. The boards of KCET and San Francisco-based Link TV approved the Jan. 1, 2013, merger on Tuesday morning. No money was involved in the deal. The new nonprofit, KCETLink, will have one board and management team but continue to distribute programming under each  established brand.

Quick Takes

Lloyd Mintzmyer dies in car crash; was chief engineer at Smoky Hills PTV

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Lloyd Mintzmyer, the founding chief engineer at Smoky Hills Public Television in Bunker Hill, Kan., died in an automobile accident Oct. 14 south of Glade, Kan. He was 66. “Mintzmyer was a friend, a colleague and even a mentor to employees at the TV station and the surrounding community,” said Michael Quade, station g.m. “His dedication to the cause of public television in Kansas was instrumental in getting Smoky Hills Public Television where it is today.”

Mintzmyer was chief engineer at SHPTV from 1981 to 2004. “He was part of the team that was there to put up the very first broadcast tower for KOOD,” Quade said.

Quick Takes

Three nonprofit news orgs join forces on Beyond November project

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Here’s a look at the nuts-and-bolts behind Beyond November, a three-way election coverage collaboration among St. Louis Public Radio, Nine Network of Public Media and the nonprofit St. Louis Beacon. Media Shift reports that throughout the day, the partners co-publish election coverage on their own website, with summaries on the Beyond November site and links to the full stories. The project has a full-time managing editor, as well as a dedicated radio reporter.

Quick Takes

Smiley fires back at WBEZ’s cancellation of Smiley & West

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Tavis Smiley has posted a scathing letter he emailed to Torey Malatia, president of Chicago Public Radio, in response to the station dropping his Smiley & West at the end of September due to sagging audience numbers. (Here’s background on the controversy from Chicago media critic Robert Feder.)

In the letter, Smiley notes it is the first time in 20 years he has felt the need to write to the head of a local station. “If Smiley & West has experienced any erosion in listenership, it might have something to do with being heard over WBEZ on Sundays at 12 Noon when most Black Chicagoans are in worship service,” Smiley writes. “To so blatantly disregard an obviously critical mass of listeners in the scheduling of this program suggests one and or two things: that you don’t get it or that you don’t care. A premier station in a world class city should not be still struggling with how to truly represent the voices of ALL fellow citizens in the most multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-ethnic Chicago ever.”

Smiley concludes: “I regret that you chose to deny the listeners of WBEZ an opportunity to hear something a little different ONE HOUR a week [to] make room for yet another repeat of a program about cars that isn’t even in production any longer.

Quick Takes

William Friday dies at 92; hosted UNC-TV’s North Carolina People for 41 years

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William Friday, a past president of University of North Carolina and longtime host of North Carolina People with William Friday on UNC-TV, died Oct. 12 in his Chapel Hill home. He was 92. The program aired for 41 years, with Friday interviewing some 2,000 of the state’s writers, educators, athletes, politicians and other personalities. The first episode of the new season, an interview with retired Gen. Hugh Shelton, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ran on Aug.

Quick Takes

Whad’Ya Know? hires new announcer

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The popular pubradio quiz show Whad’Ya Know? has selected a successor to longtime announcer Jim Packard, who died in June.  Sara Nics is joining the staff of the Wisconsin Public Radio program that’s distributed by Public Radio International. Previously she worked as producer for WPR’s To The Best of Our Knowledge, and covered Asia for Radio Netherlands. “I’ve been laughing with Whad’Ya Know? for years,” Nics said in the announcement.

Programs/Content

WXPN offering XPoNential Triple A stream for HD broadcasts

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Philadelphia’s WXPN began independent syndication of XPoNential Radio, its 24-hour stream of Triple A music programming,  after NPR discontinued its service providing packaged HD Radio feeds to member stations. XPoNential Radio offers a blend of “blues, rock, world, folk and alternative country,” according to a news release announcing the new syndication offer.  WXPN General Manager Roger LaMay said about 20 stations already subscribed to the stream. “With XPoNential Radio being the most popular of the HD streams NPR offered, we decided to offer it on our own,” LaMay said. “It’s a 24-hour, plug and play stream that can be used on an HD2, HD3 or for streaming on the Internet.”

The stream, which is priced at $3,000 a year, is an inexpensive way to bring the music to NPR news stations, LaMay said. Subscribers have the option of picking up the stream via Content Depot or via satellite.

People

Pruess says she’s leaving WNIT “in a strong position” after weathering challenges, including fire

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Mary Pruess, outgoing president and g.m. of WNIT Public Television in South Bend, Ind., told Current she feels “very confident that the station is in a strong position to build on for the coming years.” The local South Bend Tribune reported today that Pruess had resigned. Pruess told Current she resigned on Monday, effective immediately. Steven Funk, station vice president of development and marketing, will serve as interim executive director while the WNIT Board conducts a search for Pruess’s replacement. Pruess is immediate past president of the Affinity Group Coalition’s Small Station Association.

System/Policy

Pair pursue plans to mount Million Muppet March on National Mall

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Two pubcasting fans in different cities who separately conceived plans for a “Million Muppet March” (later renamed Million Puppet March) in support of public broadcasting have teamed up to try to organize the event on Nov. 3 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Michael Bellavia, 42, of Los Angeles, and Chris Mecham, 46, of Boise, Idaho, were watching the presidential debate on Oct. 3 when Republican nominee Mitt Romney said that he would end subsidies to PBS if elected. Even before the debate ended, Bellavia had secured the URL millionmuppetmarch.com, and Mecham created the Million Muppet March Facebook page. “We just merged the two into one effort,” said Bellavia, president of Animax Entertainment, an animation production studio in Los Angeles.

Quick Takes

Mary Pruess resigns as president, g.m., of South Bend’s WNIT

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Mary Pruess, president and g.m. of WNIT Public Television in South Bend, Ind., has resigned from the station “to pursue other opportunities,” reports the South Bend Tribune. Pruess has served in the post for 10 years, and is active with the Small Station Association of the Affinity Group Coalition of pubcasting stations. Steven Funk, station vice president of development and marketing, will serve as interim executive director while the WNIT board of directors conducts a search for Pruess’s replacement.