Quick Takes

Pittsburgh pubcaster partnering on local War of the Worlds performance

By |

WESA-FM in Pittsburgh is marking the 75th anniversary of the infamous War of the Worlds radio broadcast with a live performance of the H.G. Wells story — this time, set in its own city. The pubcaster is partnering with local theater troupe Bricolage for the event, at 9 p.m. Oct. 30. On that date in 1938, an episode of the CBS Radio series The Mercury Theatre on the Air, directed and narrated by Orson Welles, created panic among listeners who believed the U.S. was under really attack by Martian invaders. The Bricolage performance will feature WESA’s Paul Guggenheimer, host of the newsmag Essential Pittsburgh.

Quick Takes

After lawsuit from Colorado Public Radio, TPT drops Open Air name

By |

Following legal pressure from another public media outlet, Twin Cities Public Television is rebranding its younger-viewer outreach initiative five months after its initial launch. Andi McDaniel, manager of TPT’s Open Air project, announced Oct. 15 on the project blog that the network would be changing the name, citing “the fact that there are other public media brethren entities using the name” as one of the reasons behind the change. In July, Colorado Public Radio filed a trademark infringement and violation suit against TPT in federal court over use of “Open Air,” which is also the name of a Denver-area Triple-A music station that CPR has operated since 2011. McDaniel also wrote that the Open Air name became less useful for the brand “as our work progressed and we gained focus,” and that TPT began brainstorming a new name in August.

Quick Takes

KPBS management cautioning staffers on SAG-AFTRA representation

By |

Management at KPBS in San Diego is discouraging staffers from unionizing with SAG-AFTRA, the San Diego Beat reports. The alt-weekly newspaper reported that KPBS employees petitioned management last month to recognize representation by the union. In a statement, the union said an “overwhelming majority” of KPBS workers who produce, host, report and present local and national programming have signed a petition asking management to recognize their representation by SAG-AFTRA, which was formed by the 2012 merger of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. In a response last week, the newspaper reported, management told employees in a memo that said it “strongly believes that a union is not in the best interest of our employees or the future of KPBS.” It said the station has hired a labor negotiator and encouraged staffers to educate themselves about unions.

System/Policy

Pacifica seeks nonprofit to take over most operations of New York’s WBAI

By |

The Pacifica Foundation is seeking another nonprofit organization to help operate WBAI, its financially struggling station in New York. In a Request for Proposals (RFP) issued this week, the foundation specifies that it intends to retain ultimate control over WBAI programming under a Public Service Operating Agreement. It plans to employ two members of the station’s staff, one of whom would have managerial responsibilities and report solely to Pacifica. The RFP outlines costs that prospective co-operators would be expected to cover, including the two employees’ salaries, studio expenses and rent payments for its lease on the Empire State Building, where WBAI’s transmitter is located. Prospective co-operators must be willing to reimburse Pacifica for these expenses.

People

Veterans of KQED Newsroom return to

By |

A group of some 80 pubcasters will gather Friday night in San Francisco to celebrate the return of KQED Newsroom, that title of a groundbreaking early public TV series that has been revamped as a multiplatform production. Many attendees worked on past versions of the program, which debuted during a 1968 newspaper strike. KQED Newsroom was the first nightly news series to be produced and broadcast by a public television station. It preceded The Robert MacNeil Report, a national news show that debuted in 1975 and was later renamed The MacNeil/Lehrer Report. KQED Newsroom aired for nine years, backed by a $750,000 Ford Foundation grant. The new TV series premieres Oct.

Programs/Content

After Talk of the Nation, Neal Conan’s first gig takes him to Greenland

By |

Neal Conan’s first foray out of the studio in 11 years took him very far from the studio indeed — all the way to Greenland, where he documented climate change for public radio’s Burn: An Energy Journal. The former Talk of the Nation host contributed to “Rising Seas,” the sixth installment of the ongoing series reporting on energy issues. Conan hadn’t reported from the field since 2002, when he took the TOTN hosting job. He left NPR in June, when TOTN was canceled. Burn host Alex Chadwick, who previously anchored NPR’s Day to Day, enlisted Conan after TOTN ended.

Programs/Content

APT pledge special goes behind the scenes with Doc Martin

By |

American Public Television is presenting an exclusive look at the taping of Season 6 of Doc Martin in a pledge special set to be released Thanksgiving Day. Doc Martin: Revealed goes behind the scenes with actors and producers from the series to discuss the characters, the location of Port Isaac, the unique Cornish accent and the challenges of shooting a television series in all sorts of weather. More than 60 licensees have signed on to air the special, which is available as a 90-minute pledge event with pitches by cast members or as a one-hour pledge program suitable for stations to localize or run as-is. Rights run through December 2016.

People

Ray Suarez resigning from PBS NewsHour

By |

This item has been updated and reposted with additional information. Ray Suarez, chief national correspondent for PBS NewsHour, is resigning after 14 years with the program, effective Oct. 25. Executive Producer Linda Winslow told the staff in a memo late this afternoon that Suarez is leaving to “pursue several other ventures,” including writing a book. The news comes three days after NewsHour founders Jim Lehrer and Robin MacNeil announced they intended to transfer ownership of the program to presenting station and producing partner WETA in Arlington, Va.

Quick Takes

CPB ombud says Robin Hood Radio president can run for office or run station, but not both

By |

According to a report released Thursday by CPB Ombudsman Joel Kaplan, the president of Robin Hood Radio must choose between running the station or running for a spot on the local school board. Marshall Miles is president and co-founder of Sharon, Conn.-based Robin Hood Radio, which operates WHDD-FM and an FM and AM repeater. Miles is campaigning for election to the Region One Board of Education in Sharon in November. Four complaints filed with CPB questioned whether Miles was unfairly using his station to further his campaign. Miles also runs a separate political blog focused on that Board of Education that was the target of an FCC investigation in 2012.

Quick Takes

Coming up next: Paint drying, grass growing

By |

NRK, the Norwegian public broadcasting network, is at it again. “In its latest experiment with live coverage of mundane events,” The Associated Press reports, the network will air five hours of an attempt to break the world’s record for knitting. Yes, five solid hours of knitting. This, from the network that brought viewers five days straight of the “action” on a Norwegian cruise ship as it slowly wound its way along the coastline. The Nov.

Programs/Content

NPR tweaks Composer 2.0 software for classical stations

By |

NPR Digital has altered the latest version of its Composer software used by stations for tracking playlists and scheduling programs. Composer 2.0, which replaced the earlier Composer Pro product, rolled out in beta this spring. The changes respond to feedback from classical-music stations, who said the new version, as well as its predecessor, didn’t fit their needs. The software couldn’t accurately track scheduling of symphonies and extended performance credits, according to St. John Flynn, p.d. of Classical 91.7/Houston Public Media and president of the Association of Music Personnel in Radio. Composer’s developers plan to adapt the software by revamping the user interface for classical music and adding new playlist entry fields, said Stephanie Miller, director of station relations for NPR Digital Services.

System/Policy

DOJ still harshing the mellow for pot dispensary sponsorships

By |

An Aug. 29 update of Department of Justice policies for enforcing marijuana laws did little to clarify whether public radio stations should air underwriting announcements for marijuana dispensaries, according to one communications attorney’s analysis. At least one station has aired spots for local dispensaries, while others have turned away interested underwriters. The hesitation stems in part from a lack of clarity surrounding the federal government’s enforcement of marijuana laws in states that have legalized medicinal or recreational use of the plant. In its Aug.

Programs/Content

Public TV connects to feds’ new emergency alert system

By |

A $56.8 million technology project equipping public television stations to help deliver geo-targeted emergency messages to mobile devices has reached an important milestone. PBS WARN (Warning Alert and Response Network) connected to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s alert aggregator on Aug. 6.

Quick Takes

KEET-TV receives CSG waiver from CPB after failing to meet NFFS minimum

By |

CPB has granted KEET-TV in Eureka, Calif., a waiver to receive its fiscal 2014 Community Service Grant despite its failure to raise the required minimum in non-federal financial support (NFFS), according to Karen Barnes, the station’s director of programming and content, writing in the local Times-Standard. The station, one of the smallest in the pubcasting system, has never met its mandated NFFS, and has received waivers based on its rural location and limited resources. CPB tightened its CSG policies in 2010. “CPB issued a waiver for KEET again this year but put the station on notice,” Barnes wrote. “KEET must demonstrate a significant increase in NFFS in order to receive federal funds in the future.” 

About 40 percent of KEET’s $1.5 million budget comes from federal funds, Executive Director Ron Schoenherr said in the article.

People

Chicago Public Media employees petition to unionize

By |

A majority of staff members at Chicago Public Media signed a petition requesting union representation and presented it to CPM interim C.E.O. Alison Scholly Sept. 25, according to the broadcast union SAG-AFTRA, which seeks to represent staffers through its Chicago chapter.