• PBS President Paula Kerger took the Ice Bucket Challenge Wednesday, donating $100 to ALS research and posting a YouTube video in which she doused herself with ice water (with some help from Daniel Tiger and Curious George). Kerger, who was challenged by Charlie Rose EP Yvette Vega, then blew the door wide open, passing on the challenge to Ken Burns, Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff and all PBS GMs.
• NPR digital strategist Melody Kramer has shared a transcript of her recent presentation at the Weapons of Mass Creation conference in Cleveland on Medium. She discussed public media’s strategy for membership outreach and new approaches to leveraging memberships, including following a Code for America model and allowing members to donate skills in coding, design or archiving.
“I think we can better connect people to each other — and to public media — by inviting them into our spaces and giving them the opportunity — as the public — to use the spaces that we have around the country,” Kramer writes. “And people can learn skills and share knowledge and give back … in ways that will strengthen the communities we live in.”
• Poynter looks at the scene inside St. Louis Public Radio’s newsroom as their journalists scrambled to report on civil unrest in Ferguson. Chasing rumors that police had raided a church, the editorial team jumped on phones, tweeted and tried to keep a level head.
• Spanish-language PBS simulcast channel Vme is wading into sponsored content. Multichannel News reports the network is partnering with Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate, airing 15 sponsored vignettes “designed to help Hispanics make the most out of their home-ownership experience.”