Tech

Engineers seek solution to varied volume of satellite-fed programs

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A recent NPR study confirmed that what many have surmised for years is true: Public radio shows sent through the Public Radio Satellite System vary widely in loudness. An NPR working group that has been studying the issue found that roughly 53 percent of the content they examined deviated from standards PRSS recommends to keep volumes consistent. The group is looking at creating new best practices and implementing a software fix that could cheaply curb the problem. “It’s a big issue in the system,” said Paxton Durham, chief engineer at Virginia’s WVTF-FM and Radio IQ. “I’ve been here 24 years, and as long as I can remember there’s always been a problem.”

Research cited by NPR found that anything more than a 4-decibel change in volume can prompt listeners to adjust volume levels.

System/Policy

GM says recommended funding cuts to Alaska’s KUAC would have disastrous result

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Suggested budget cuts at the University of Alaska Fairbanks could jeopardize the survival of KUAC, the university’s public broadcasting outlet, according to the station’s g.m.

A committee tasked with closing a gap in the university’s budget of as much as $14 million included cuts to the station’s funding in a proposal released in May. Trimming KUAC’s funding could save the university between $800,000 and $1.4 million, according to the budget committee, the highest estimated savings of all the recommendations except for consolidating or eliminating some degree programs.

The committee listed the cuts as “recommended with reservations” and noted that the station could move toward self-support. But the station wouldn’t be able to support itself if the cuts are made too quickly, said KUAC General Manager Keith Martin. KUAC received $1.3 million from the university in 2013, amounting to a little more than a third of its budget. “Even if they want to implement self-funding in up to three years, we’re pretty much done,” he said.

System/Policy

Judge in Pacifica suit affirms earlier decision against former executive director

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An Alameda County, Calif., judge has upheld her previous ruling that the Pacifica Foundation’s board of directors acted within its bounds when it fired Executive Director Summer Reese earlier this year. Judge Ioana Petrou made the ruling Monday, a day before both Reese and the board were to appear in court to argue the matter. In her opinion, Petrou wrote that based on her earlier ruling, the board would likely prevail and that reversing the decision would cause “great harm.” Petrou gave Reese and her legal team until 5 p.m. Pacific time Monday to contest the ruling. A permanent injunction went into effect when the order was not challenged.

Programs/Content

Radio Diaries turns to Kickstarter to boost podcast, productions

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The production company Radio Diaries, whose stories often appear on This American Life and NPR’s newsmagazines, is aiming to raise $40,000 in a Kickstarter campaign to fund new pieces and an expansion of its podcast. The campaign began May 28 and runs until June 27. As of noon June 3, the campaign has raised $19,280. Radio Diaries has turned to Kickstarter to diversify its fundraising methods, said Executive Producer Joe Richman. “We, like a lot of other small independent production companies are scrappy, and we’ve made it work with whatever money comes through the door and always will,” he said.

People

Samuel Chamberlin Newbury, ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ producer, dies at 69

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Samuel Chamberlin Newbury, who served as director of productions for Fred Rogers Co. for nearly three decades, died May 22 at his home in Pittsburgh of cancer. He was 69. Newbury is best remembered as the producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and as right-hand man of the show’s creator and namesake, Fred Rogers. He worked for Rogers’ production company Family Communications, Inc. (now known as Fred Rogers Co.) for 28 years from 1986 until his retirement in 2012.

Programs/Content

Analysis finds flat core audience for public radio’s web streams

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A recent analysis of web metrics for NPR member stations’ websites showed continued growth in visits from mobile users along with declines in cumulative audiences and the amount of time web users spent with content. Though web metrics for public radio stations have grown dramatically since 2012, analytics from this spring were especially volatile, said Steve Mulder, director of user experience and analytics at NPR Digital Services, during a May 29 public radio metrics webinar with station representatives. Mulder drew analytics data from 204 stations that operate 415 web streams; together, their online platforms drew 14 million unique visitors and a cumulative audience of 3.3 million listeners from April 2013-14. In a comparison of the year-to-year data, the cumulative audience for pubradio streams dropped 9 percent, Mulder said. And while visitors were listening to a wider variety of content, the total amount of listening time per streaming session remained flat, at about an hour.