People
Third Coast Festival names new executive director
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Shirley Alfaro’s experience in arts and media administration has included a role with StoryCorps Chicago.
Programs/Content
Film exposes dark repercussions of China’s one-child policy
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The upcoming “Independent Lens” documentary by filmmaker Nanfu Wang presents disturbing accounts of the policy’s impact.
Programs/Content
Blue Ridge PBS draws on archives to program 24-hour streaming service
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Inspiration for the ad-supported channel came from local companies that were looking for digital marketing opportunities.
Collaboration
After years of losses, Maryland stations explore collaboration to cut costs
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The Eastern Shore’s Delmarva Public Radio and WESM-FM seek long-term survival in a competitive market.
Programs/Content
Experiments with 360 video prepare stations for next wave of innovation
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Broadcasters in Nebraska, Texas and Florida are learning how to engage viewers with immersive media productions.
System/Policy
Owner of Miami’s WLRN narrows options for future governance
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One outcome discussed at a meeting Wednesday would maintain the Miami-Dade school district’s ownership of WLRN, while the other looks toward independence.
Programs/Content
OPB drops ‘Finding Your Roots’ episode featuring presidential candidate
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“At the beginning of a presidential candidacy, to be doing a valentine to one candidate, I just don’t think it’s a very smart thing to do,” said Oregon Public Broadcasting CEO Steve Bass.
Programs/Content
New MPR-backed site hopes to be ‘one-stop shop for all things immigrant’
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Support from Minnesota Public Radio is enabling a website covering the state’s immigrant communities to expand into a full-time venture for its founder.
System/Policy
Rhode Island PBS sticks with host after blackface photo emerges
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A 1986 photo depicted talk show host Jim Hummel dressed as Tubbs from “Miami Vice” for a Halloween party.
Programs/Content
Colorado Public Radio builds investigative unit to match its growing news ambitions
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With a multiyear gift from an anonymous donor, the Denver network is hiring an editor for its new investigations team.
System/Policy
In Miami, stakeholders weigh future of WLRN’s relationship with school-board licensee
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Station leaders, fundraisers and school district officials are considering whether a separate nonprofit should take over WLRN’s licenses.
Programs/Content
With ‘Reel Midwest,’ Illinois’ WILL is latest public TV station to embrace indie docs
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The new documentary showcase spotlights films with ties to the Midwest, including the BBC-backed “The Gun Shop.”
Local That Works
With AmGrad expansion, PBS Charlotte helps students visualize their dreams
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“I believed that the more we served this community, the more successful we would be,” said PBS Charlotte’s GM.
System/Policy
‘Creative financing,’ local partnerships boost Rocky Mountain Public Media capital campaign
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The campaign is supporting RMPM’s new headquarters, with a planned opening by March 2020.
People
NYPR President Laura Walker to step down in June
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Walker cited “new opportunities” that prompted her to leave, including pursuing a university position and “starting her own venture.”
System/Policy
‘Car Talk’ donation program splits from CARS/V-Dac merger
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An announcement from “Car Talk” EP Doug Berman surprised competitor CARS and left some stations flummoxed.
System/Policy
After CPB support ends, Arkansas journalism collaboration scales back efforts
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Unable to raise enough money to sustain operations, KUAR in Little Rock laid off three Arkansas Public Media staffers.
Programs/Content
TV stations are getting more data, bigger audiences with end of Nielsen’s paper diaries
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A long-promised change in how Nielsen measures TV audiences in some markets brings benefits for public stations.
System/Policy
Upcoming ‘location-based experiences’ will feature PBS brand
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“Extending our brand into the location-based entertainment space offers new possibilities for connecting with our audience through learning and exploration,” said a PBS executive.
System/Policy
One year in, KCRW Berlin preserves a U.S. diplomacy mission via radio
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Backers of U.S. public radio’s sole overseas outpost hope that it can be both a marketing opportunity for KCRW and a unifying force for its city,