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WGBH’s veteran radio/TV head Marita Rivero to depart in June

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Marita Rivero, vice president and general manager for radio and television at producing powerhouse WGBH, is stepping down after nearly 30 years at the Boston station. Effective in June, Rivero will be succeeded by Liz Cheng as g.m. for television and Phil Redo as g.m. for radio. Cheng is currently g.m. of WGBH’s national digital multicast channel World, which she will continue to oversee. Redo is managing director of 89.7 WGBH and WCAI. Rivero will remain of counsel to WGBH leadership, today’s announcement noted.

People

Rick Roberts, former manager of KTSU

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Rick Roberts, general manager of Houston’s KTSU until his retirement in 1995, died March 21 from complications from a stroke after he was reportedly assaulted in his home. He was 72.

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Prometheus Radio founder Pete Tridish will receive the Horace Mann Award

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Dylan Wrynn, a 1992 Antioch grad who chose Pete Tridish (from “petri dish”) as his nom de guerre, founded Prometheus Radio in 1998 to use radio as a force for social change in areas such as housing, environmentalism, health care, antiwar activism and criminal-justice reform. A trained radio engineer who has helped build stations across the U.S., Guatemala, Colombia, Nepal, Tanzania and Jordan, Tridish considers himself — according to Antioch’s website — a “freelance troublemaker.”

In 2011, largely due to organizing efforts spearheaded by Tridish and Prometheus, the FCC granted licenses for up to 3,000 new low-power FM stations. “Needless to say, I am flattered, humbled, thrilled and embarrassed by the honor, and totally unworthy of the company I have been thrust into,” wrote Tridish in an announcement. Named after Antioch’s first president, the Horace Mann Award recognizes contributions by alumni who have followed Mann’s advice to the class of 1859 and “won some victory for humanity.” It will be presented June 15 in Yellow Springs, Ohio. This article was first published in Current, April 1, 2013

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NPR’s Carl Kasell named ‘North Carolinian of the Year’

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The longtime NPR announcer and current co-host/judge for NPR’s Wait, Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me! is a native of Goldsboro, N.C., who began his radio career in Goldsboro.  As a student, he helped found WUNC at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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NPR’s Ina Jaffe wins national Gracie as outstanding correspondent

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Among national award winners, NPR’s Ina Jaffe was named outstanding reporter/correspondent. The Gracies honor programming created for, by or about women. The national Gracies will be awarded May 21 in Beverly Hills, Calif., and the winners in local, online, public and student markets will be honored June 26 in New York.

People

Pat Perini, pubTV producer

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Patricia “Pat” Perini, a public television producer, director, writer and production executive for more than three decades, died Feb. 21 after a long battle with leukemia. She was 68.

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Roger Ebert, film critic and pubTV icon, dead at 70

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Roger Ebert, the legendary film critic who got his television start on Chicago PBS station WTTW, died April 4 after a long battle with cancer. He was 70. “Everyone at WTTW is deeply saddened by the loss of Roger Ebert, whose courageous battle with cancer in recent years was an inspiration to us all,” WTTW President Dan Schmidt said in a statement.

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Veteran Idaho pubcaster Morrill to retire; founding member of Affinity Group Coalition

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Idaho Public Television General Manger Peter Morrill is retiring, the state Board of Education announced today. “Peter has been an exceptional leader, and our state has been truly fortunate to have a person of his caliber at the helm of Idaho Public Television,” said Don Soltman, acting board president. Morrill told Current the timing is right for the announcement: A state legislative committee is recommending a 9 percent hike in funding, station fundraising is solid and local content has received 53 national and regional awards this year. “Public broadcasting has been part of my life since I was 18 years old,” Morrill said. “And this position is the longest job I’ve ever held.”

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WGBH’s Jared Bowen receives Commonwealth Award

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WGBH News’ Jared Bowen received the Commonwealth Award recognizing “exceptional achievement in the arts, humanities and sciences.”

Bowen is an Emmy-winning reporter with WGBH-TV’s Greater Boston with Emily Rooney; host of the weekly TV show Open Studio with Jared Bowen; and a regular contributor to Morning Edition and WGBH’s Boston Public Radio. “Jared’s coverage takes him from breaking news to politics to arts and culture. In his cornerstone arts reporting, Jared covers the latest in the Boston area’s theater, art, music, dance and film scenes,” the Massachusetts Cultural Council stated in its awards announcement. “I’m beyond astonished and grateful to receive the Commonwealth Award,” Bowen said. “The fact of the matter is I simply love my work.

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POV’s American Promise wins special jury award for U.S. docs

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The 90-minute feature was produced and directed by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, a married couple who traced the education of two African-American boys — their own son and his best friend — at a private school in Manhattan from 1999 through 2012. “All American families want to give their children the opportunity to succeed. But the truth is, opportunity is just the first step, particularly for families raising black boys,” said Stephenson. “We hope American Promise shines a light on these issues.”

The film had its world premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Jan. 21 and received the award Jan.

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Six TV and radio pubcasters receive Golden Mike Awards

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Two Los Angeles–area public TV stations won Golden Mikes. KCET won three awards in Division A (for stations with 50 or more full-time news staff members): topping the category of news/public affairs program and investigative reporting with SoCal Connected. It also won for entertainment reporting. PBS Southern Cal (KOCE-TV) won for best documentary in Division B (comprised of TV stations with 49 or fewer full-time news staff) for Be Brave: Samantha’s Story and for best news public affairs program. In the radio contest, KPCC/Southern California Public Radio won 10 Golden Mikes in Division A (stations with six or more full-time news staff members): individual writing, sports reporting, live coverage of a news story, news public affairs program, news reporting, serious feature reporting, light feature reporting, news special, entertainment reporting and use of sound.

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PBS programs capture three WGAW Awards

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The Writers Guild of America, West’s prize in the children’s–episodic and specials category went to Christine Ferraro for writing Sesame Street’s “The Good Sport.” Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria won the award in the documentary–current events arena for writing the first episode of the Frontline four-part series “Money, Power and Wall Street.” And in the documentary–other than current events category, Randall MacLowry won the award for writing “The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of Time” for Nova. Founded in 1933, WGAW is a labor union representing writers of movies, television, radio and Internet programming, including news and documentaries. The awards were presented Feb. 17 in Los Angeles.

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Frontline, California Watch cited for outstanding journalism

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The Polk Award for documentary television reporting was presented to Frontline correspondent Martin Smith and producer Michael Kirk for the four-part investigative series “Money, Power and Wall Street,” with producers Marcela Gaviria, Mike Wiser and Jim Gilmore cited for their assistance. The documentary “provided a thorough examination of the epic global financial crisis, from its origins to the present day,” said the judges. “The series also dissected and distilled down the complicated subject of the modern credit derivative market and provided a sober look inside the struggle to rescue and repair this country’s battered economy.”

The Polk Award for state reporting went to California Watch’s Ryan Gabrielson for “Broken Shield,” a series that exposed the California’s Office of Protective Services’ poor job of curbing abuse at state clinics. According to the judges, “Gabrielson detailed how investigators were slow to begin investigations, failed to collect evidence and ignored key witnesses — leading to an alarming inability to solve crimes inflicted upon some of society’s most vulnerable citizens.”

The George Polk Awards, presented annually by Long Island University, memorialize a CBS correspondent killed while covering the civil war in Greece in 1948. This year’s awards were presented April 11 in New York by Christiane Amanpour of CNN and journalist Carl Bernstein.

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West Virginia’s Bob Wise receives Thought Leader Award

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Former West Virginia Governor Bob Wise was honored for his work supporting public media’s educational service. Wise is president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a partner in CPB’s ongoing American Graduate project to reduce the drop-out rate among high school students. He also chairs the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Gov. Wise spent 10 years in the U.S. House before serving as West Virginia’s governor from 2001 to 2005. The CPB Thought Leader Award honors U.S. leaders who help pubcasters serve the public in the areas of education, journalism and the arts.

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WGBH selects National Geographic TV exec to head national programming

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John Bredar, a senior executive producer at National Geographic Television, is the new head of national programming at major producing station WGBH in Boston. He succeeds current Vice President of National Programming Margaret Drain, who announced her retirement last year. WGBH President Jon Abbott said in the announcement today that Bredar “has a well-earned reputation for productions of the highest quality.” Bredar will oversee all primetime series produced in Boston and seen nationally on PBS, such as American Experience, Nova, Frontline, Masterpiece and Antiques Roadshow, as well as related content for digital media. Bredar joined Nat Geo in 1986 and has overseen development, production and post-production of more than 150 programs including 2005’s Arlington: Field of Honor, for which he won a Best Director Emmy.