Monday roundup: PBS yanks Harper’s ads, Minnesota station goes mobile

• PBS, annoyed by what it perceived as an attack piece in the latest Harper’s, has pulled ads from the magazine’s November and December issues, reports the New York Post. “You’d think PBS would be above that kind of tit-for-tat mentality,” Harper’s Publisher Rick MacArthur tells the Post. PBS declined comment to Current on the decision.

Pioneer Public Television in Appleton spent $400,000 on its new mobile studio, which it will use to broadcast upcoming Minnesota gubernatorial debates. (Photo: Pioneer Public TV)

• An Oct. 1 gubernatorial debate in Minnesota will be produced by Pioneer Public Television’s new mobile studio, reports the West Central Tribune in Willmar, Minn. C-SPAN will carry the program nationally, and it will also air on six public TV stations statewide. Seven cameras can be operated through the mobile studio.

• In podcasting news, the Washington Post and Fast Company are proclaiming that podcasts are back and finally making money after hitting the doldrums in the early 2000s. Starring in both articles is Alex Blumberg (This American Life, Planet Money), whose podcast StartUp tracks his efforts to start a new podcast network.

• The debate over the FCC proposal to require online public files for radio stations is heating up, according to Radio World. At least one pubcasting organization supports the FCC. American Public Media Group noted in comments to the commission, “Enabling the public to access this information of media organizations would promote more public trust in media — something that is sorely lacking today.”