Quick Takes

Afternoon roundup: Ombud complaints down, filmmaker knocks WETA

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• In his annual review of objectivity and balance in CPB-funded programming, CPB Ombudsman Joel Kaplan noted “far fewer complaints directed at public media,” continuing a trend of the past few years. “Whether that is because public media has improved in this area; people have grown tired of complaining about a lack of balance; or there were just not that many controversial stories this year is not clear,” he noted. Looking back over 2013’s controversies, Kaplan also criticized NPR’s reaction to a lengthy report by its own ombudsman that found fault with an award-winning NPR investigation. As Ombudsman Edward Schumacher-Matos reviewed the three-part series about South Dakota’s foster-care system for Native American children, he “took the unusual step of re-reporting the story,” Kaplan wrote. NPR execs called the ombud’s report “deeply flawed”and said little would be gained “from a point-by-point response to his claims.”

Quick Takes

Local group to fight potential loss of PBS content in Rio Grande Valley

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A grassroots group will push to keep PBS content available over the air in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, reports the Rio Grande Guardian. The Catholic Diocese of Brownsville announced in January that it would sell KMBH-TV in Harlingen. The licensee is pursuing a local management agreement (LMA) with a commercial entity as a first step. But the station advisory board is concerned about the impact the loss of the station could have on children in lower-income colonias communities. “If KMBH is sold, it would be a great loss for our Hispanic community,” said Lupe Saenz, a member of the KMBH community advisory board. “A lot of our young kids in the colonias are learning their ABCs, their numbers, shapes and forms from public broadcasting.”

Quick Takes

NPR’s Chow leaves for FiveThirtyEight, Bross for The Atlantic

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Two NPR staffers are leaving public broadcasting for prominent positions with other media outlets. Lisa Chow, a reporter for NPR’s Planet Money economics unit, is heading to FiveThirtyEight, the new data-journalism website from Nate Silver. Chow will serve as senior features editor at the ESPN-owned website and host and develop a podcast, according to a series of tweets by Silver. Before joining Planet Money, Chow covered economics for New York’s WNYC and worked as an assistant editor for NPR’s Morning Edition. Also, Anna Bross, NPR’s media relations director, is leaving to become senior director of communications for The Atlantic. Bross will oversee media and public relations for the magazine, website and subsidiary sites, according to Wednesday’s press release from The Atlantic.

Quick Takes

Afternoon roundup: Andy Carvin lands new job, SoCal Connected returns

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• Former NPR social-media maven Andy Carvin has accepted a job with First Look Media, the new nonprofit digital journalism venture founded by eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar. Carvin announced the move on his website. His role is still being fleshed out, but he will help First Look “craft a newsroom where engaging the public is a fundamental aspect of everything we do,” he wrote. Carvin accepted a buyout from NPR late last year. • SoCal Connected, the award-winning news series from KCETLink in Los Angeles, will soon return to the station thanks to a $1 million grant.

Programs/Content

Documentary stakeholders convene at PBS to mull future of indie productions

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PBS is hosting its first Independent Film Summit at its headquarters Thursday, gathering public television’s top documentary supporters for a wide-ranging discussion about the future of the genre in pubmedia. “The goal of the meeting is to come together to think through how we can raise the profile of our collective work in independent film,” PBS chief programmer Beth Hoppe told Current, “making it clear to the industry and public that PBS is the television home of independent film.”

Participants include top execs from both documentary showcases: Simon Kilmurry, e.p. of POV, and Jim Sommers, content s.v.p. for Independent Lens from the Independent Television Service. Also attending are Stephen Gong, current chair of the National Minority Consortia producing organization; CPB’s Jennifer Lawson, s.v.p. for television and digital video content; and 10 PBS representatives including Hoppe and Donald Thoms, v.p. of general audience programming. Kent Steele, broadcasting e.d. at New York’s WNET, and Mike Seymour of the Programming Service for Public Television in Tampa, Fla., which serves 22 PBS client stations, are among the programmer contingent. The meeting takes place as cable networks push further into the genre, which PBS once dominated on the air.

System/Policy

In review of pubTV stations, CPB’s Krichels sees ‘energy in the system’

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Ted Krichels, CPB’s senior v.p. for system development and media strategy, recently talked to Current about the 50-page “Public Media Models of the Future” report he co-authored this fall with PBS Director of Strategy Stephen Holmes. Edited, rearranged and condensed excerpts from that conversation follow. Current: How did you start the process? Did you survey the entire system, or was it more word of mouth? Ted Krichels: Stephen and I initially were collecting stations, ones you would have heard about.

System/Policy

PBS examines successes in public service among stations

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As some local pubcasters have started to forge paths toward models of public service developed through their own strategic planning or in collaboration with other stations, PBS has sought to bring more attention to their work, and progress, to date. Last year, it tapped Ted Krichels, former g.m. of Penn State Public Broadcasting, to lead its Sustainable Models Project, identifying models that other stations can replicate. Krichels completed that study last fall and recently joined CPB as senior v.p. for system development and media strategy. PBS released the 50-page “Public Media Models of the Future” report, written by Krichels and Stephen Holmes, PBS director of strategy, in November. Based on six months of research with public television station executives nationwide, the report identified eight service models: four within a broad category it called “community impact” and four that were focused on education.

People

WCTE fills major posts, Herrington moves to ideastream, and more comings and goings in pubmedia

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WCTE-Upper Cumberland PBS in Cookeville, Tenn., has appointed three new top executives. Avery Owens is director of advancement, responsible for managing all fundraising, underwriting, membership, marketing, auctions, special events and marketing. Owens, formerly WCTE’s sales manager, previously worked in sales and marketing for several local businesses, including the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art. Desirée Duncan is director of content. She oversees all phases of WCTE’s content on the air and online.