Supreme Court declines to review ban on political ads on public TV

The Supreme Court rejected a request Monday from the Minority Television Project (MTVP), licensee of public TV station KMTP in San Francisco, to review a circuit court ruling that upheld a ban on political and public-issue commercials on public television. The justices turned down the case without comment, allowing the December 2013 decision of the 9th Circuit Court to stand, which upheld barring the advertisements. In its petition, MTVP asked the court to overturn its 1969 decision in Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, which allowed the government to restrict some broadcast content. That aspect of the case prompted amicus briefs from organizations including the libertarian-oriented Cato Institute.

GSU considers options to keep student-run WRAS programming on FM

Georgia State University announced Friday that it is searching for a new FM frequency for student-hosted music programs, which will soon be cut from daytime hours on GSU’s WRAS-FM. Starting Sunday, GSU will air public radio news and talk programming provided by Georgia Public Broadcasting from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., replacing the student music shows. The agreement, announced May 6, has drawn criticism from GSU students and WRAS fans. In its announcement, the university said it has hired engineers and media consultants to look into broadcasting the student-produced content on an FM translator. That idea was first suggested by a group of WRAS supporters known as Album 88 Alumni in a proposal sent to the university Wednesday. The deal between GSU and GPB included providing a 24-hour HD Radio stream for the student station, but few people own the radios needed to pick up the digital signals.

Editor says merger in St. Louis has boosted web traffic, strengthened reporting

The organization resulting from the merger of the St. Louis Beacon and St. Louis Public Radio is already realizing benefits from the union, six months after it took effect. That’s according to the editor of the combined news organization, who gave a progress report on the collaboration June 20 at the annual Public Radio News Directors Inc. conference in Arlington, Va. “It’s not easy, day-to-day, but it’s paid off,” said Margaret Freivogel, who also founded the Beacon.

Pubcasters welcome Supreme Court decision against Aereo

PBS and New York’s WNET joined major commercial networks Wednesday in hailing a U.S. Supreme Court decision that found the business model of Internet TV service Aereo in violation of the 1967 Copyright Act. In a 6-3 decision, the high court held that Aereo’s business model of charging subscribers for access to an individual antenna and DVR service for over-the-air broadcasts violates the 1967 Copyright Act. The majority found Aereo’s operations more akin to those of a cable company, regardless of the technology it employs, binding the company to the same rules governing broadcast transmissions. Those rules require cable companies to pay networks for the content they transmit. The majority comprised Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Stephen G. Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

New Hampshire Public Radio acquiring small classical station WCNH-FM

New Hampshire Public Radio is purchasing WCNH-FM, a 250-watt classical station that has been broadcasting from the state network’s Concord studios for two years. WCNH’s owner, Highland Community Broadcasting, was formed in 2000 to apply for a low-power FM license to air classical programming when NHPR transitioned from that format to news and talk, according to Scott McPherson, NHPR’s operations and finance v.p. Highland later applied for and received a full-power license in a 2007 FCC filing window. In 2012, WCNH asked to use NHPR’s studio and automation equipment to produce and air content. In exchange, NHPR aired WCNH’s classical content on its Classical New Hampshire HD2 channel. Within the last year, WCNH offered to sell that license to NHPR.

Frontline receives nearly $6 million in two grants

Frontline, public television’s investigative news showcase, announced two major donations Wednesday, including the largest grant from individuals in its 30-year history. Most of the $5 million from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler, longtime supporters of producing station WGBH, will create a reporting endowment for the program to ensure the series’ long-term sustainability. The remaining $1.5 million will support existing programming and digital efforts over four years. Meanwhile, a two-year, $800,000 gift from the Ford Foundation will back a new cross-platform Enterprise Journalism Group. The funds will pay for initial recruits for the in-house group of digital journalists and producers.

WGBH’s Taylor leaves imprint on kids’ content, Gilbert to exit Marketplace, and more comings and goings in pubmedia

Kate Taylor, an influential children’s media executive and producer at WGBH, is leaving public broadcasting in July after 42 years. Taylor joined the Boston pubcaster’s mailroom in 1972. She worked on the original version of Zoom from 1973-77 and executive-produced the updated version in 1997. She also served as associate director of children’s and cultural programming at PBS from 1982-86 until returning to WGBH as director of children’s programs.

During her long career, she won a Peabody Award and multiple Emmys. “The productions that have benefited from Kate’s talents have changed the face of children’s media,” said Brigid Sullivan, WGBH v.p. for children’s media and educational programming, in a note to colleagues, citing Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, Peep and the Big Wide World and Fetch!

Temple University axes nonprofit news site AxisPhilly, shifts focus to other ventures

The Center for Public Interest Journalism at Temple University shuttered nonprofit news website AxisPhilly June 13 after two years of reporting that earned national recognition but failed to meet the school’s expectations for local impact. Yet CPIJ, which is operated by Temple’s School of Media and Communications, is embarking on another digital news venture. It is helping to launch Brother.ly, a Philadelphia-focused news startup headed by Jim Brady, former editor-in-chief of Digital First Media. CPIJ launched AxisPhilly in 2012 with a two-year, $2.4 million grant from the William Penn Foundation. The site’s first director, Neil Budde, left after the first year as CPIJ looked to restructure the site to make it self-sustaining.

University licensee trims Arizona Public Media by $2M over five years

Arizona Public Media will lose $2 million in support from its university licensee over the next five years starting July 1. Over that time, the University of Arizona’s annual cash contribution to AZPM will fall 4 percent a year, from $2.6 million to $600,000. University leadership “is working with us to identify sources of new revenue,” General Manager Jack Gibson told Current. The university has weathered nearly $200 million in cuts since 2007 due to reduced state appropriations. Administrators “have turned up the heat wherever they could to recover working capital,” Gibson said.

Pacifica’s WBAI seeks new home for transmitter

With its current location atop the Empire State Building threatened, Pacifica’s WBAI-FM in New York is looking to relocate its transmitter. In an FCC filing submitted Tuesday, Pacifica asked for permission to move its transmitter to the Condé Nast Building at 4 Times Square. Pacifica is also asking for a boost in power from 4,300 watts to 10,000 watts in order to maintain its current coverage area. In a June 19 report to Pacifica’s board, interim Executive Director Bernard Duncan said the Empire State Building’s management had returned two rent checks and that eviction from the location was imminent.

With ‘Smartbinge,’ WNYC aims to raise national profile for digital content

In an effort to position itself as a national brand in public radio, New York’s WNYC is launching an ad campaign likening its programs’ listeners to Netflix-style binge watchers. The Smartbinge campaign will consist of targeted digital ad buys and a landing page on WNYC.org to encourage listeners from around the country to listen to substantial amounts of WNYC programming. Other elements include Twitter hashtags, geotargeted Facebook ads, paid search results and sponsored blog posts. WNYC is spending around $200,000 on the campaign, working with creative and public-relations teams Cataldi Public Relations and Eyeballs. As WNYC increases digital offerings with streams and a mobile app, it has its sights set on an audience beyond New York.

Friday roundup: Hollywood Squares gets W.Va. treatment; dogs invade WBUR

• Peter Marshall, host of TV’s Hollywood Squares from 1966-81, is returning to his home state of West Virginia this week to tape four episodes of West Virginia Squares, reports the Charleston Daily Mail. The show will feature questions about state history and music, and West Virginia Public Broadcasting will produce and distribute to schools. Celebrities in this version are all from West Virginia, including Joyce DeWitt, who played Janet on Three’s Company. • Tom Ashbrook of NPR’s On Point and Here & Now co-hosts Jeremy Hobson and Robin Young of star in a short, old-timey movie from WBUR, “Silence is Golden.” The Boston station isn’t running a June on-air fundraiser, so it’s hoping listeners pledge online to help prove “the power of silent fundraising.”