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APTS recognizes Barbara Mikulksi and Greg Walden, gives innovation and advocacy awards

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The Association of Public Television Stations handed out Champions of Public Broadcasting awards during its Public Media Summit in Washington, D.C., Feb 24–26, recognizing Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D) and Oregon Rep. Greg Walden (R). APTS also gave EDGE Awards to Twin Cities Public Television and New Jersey’s NJTV and recognized individuals with Advocacy Awards. Mikulski, who replaced recently deceased Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye (D) as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has been an ardent defender of public broadcasting in the Senate and was a vocal defender of the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program before it was eliminated in 2011. As chair of the House Energy Subcommittee on Communications and the Internet, Walden has helped secure federal aid for public broadcasters to help defer costs related to spectrum legislation. As he accepted his award, he told summit attendees that increased competition from cable and digital channels has made public TV less relevant to television viewers, and he suggested that public broadcasters support cuts to government-entitlement programs in order to salvage their own funding.

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Briscoe no longer at Newark’s WBGO-FM

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Thurston Briscoe is no longer at WBGO-FM in Newark, N.J. His last day was Friday. The news was first reported on the blog of the Public Radio Program Directors Association. Briscoe had served as the station’s program director for 23 years. When asked by Current whether Briscoe left willingly or was dismissed, General Manager Cephas Bowles said only, “Let us say that he is no longer at the station. That’s our position right now.”

People

Phil Estrada Olvera Jr., OPB engineer

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Felipe “Phil” Estrada Olvera Jr., a network center director of engineering at Portland-based Oregon Public Broadcasting, died Jan. 19 of complications from cancer. He celebrated his 55th birthday just six days earlier.

People

One ouster leads to another at Iowa Public Radio

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When the board of Iowa Public Radio voted to remove Mary Grace Herrington as c.e.o. Feb. 25, the directors were responding to mounting evidence of declining staff morale at the state network. Dissension over Herrington’s leadership was sparked at least in part by her decision to fire a popular news director last year. The sole “no” in the IPR board’s 6-1 vote was cast by a newly appointed director who was attending his first meeting. Herrington had been chief executive since 2009, leading IPR through a signal expansion and format differentiation that created two distinct public radio channels for Iowans.

People

Charles Scruggs, “Mr. Chuck” on WKNO

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Charles Scruggs, known to Memphis children for his appearances as “Mr. Chuck” on WKNO Public Television for nearly two decades, died Jan. 18. He was 80. Fred Rogers once called Scruggs’ community work “remarkable.”

People

White House sends two nominations for CPB Board to Senate for confirmation

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The White House has sent two nominations to the Senate for confirmation for openings on the CPB Board, it announced Wednesday. President Barack Obama has nominated Maryland educator Jannette Lake Dates to replace former Board Chair Ernest Wilson, whose term expired in 2010; and put forth Los Angeles attorney Bruce Ramer for a second term. Ramer left the board in 2012.

People

George Rogers, WCET development director

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George H. Rogers Jr., who worked as development and community relations director at WCET-TV in Cincinnati in the early years of the station, died Dec. 27 at his home in suburban Florence, Ky. His death at age 83 followed a three-year battle with lung cancer. Rogers started at the station, now branded as CET, almost 50 years ago. In 1972, CPB honored him for his work in promotion and development.

People

Portrait of a ‘Kind Hearted Woman’ as she finds her voice

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Kind-Hearted Woman, David Sutherland’s latest documentary series for Frontline is a five-hour story of abuse and triumph for a Native American woman. His meticulous techniques for gathering and mixing sound added six months to the post-production process, yet the filmmaker says they’re a key part of his process of creating intimate documentary portraits.

People

Chris Lydon returns to Boston airwaves as WGBH-FM contributor

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Former radio host Christopher Lydon will return to the Boston airwaves as a weekly contributor to Boston Public Radio, a daily local news/talk show on WGBH-FM. Lydon will appear on the show Thursdays to discuss current events with Jim Braude and Margery Eagan, who debuted as hosts Monday. The duo formerly hosted a show on commercial talk station WTKK in Boston, which switched format last month. WGBH also announced that Emily Rooney, host of Greater Boston on WGBH’s TV channel, will be Friday’s featured guest. Rooney previously served as a Boston Public Radio co-host.

People

President Obama chooses Ramer for second term on CPB Board

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President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced his intent to nominate Bruce Ramer, former CPB chair, to serve another term on the CPB Board of Directors. Ramer is a partner at the Los Angeles entertainment and media law firm Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown, and counts among his clients Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood. Ramer served on the CPB Board from October 2008 to December 2012, and chaired the group during his final two years. This will be the board’s first appointment since Patty Cahill, former g.m. of KCUR-FM in Kansas City, Mo., joined the directors in 2009. Ramer must be confirmed by the Senate for the four-year appointment.

People

Michael Toms, co-founder of New Dimensions

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Michael Toms, the co-founder and co-host of the public radio program New Dimensions for four decades, died in his sleep Jan. 24 at the age of 72. The series is syndicated by 188 stations throughout the United States, Canada and New Zealand.

People

NPR restructures marketing unit; Krichels leaves WPSU ‘for multiple reasons’; Walker joins DEI Board, and more …

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Dana Davis Rehm, NPR’s senior v.p. of marketing, communications and external relations, will leave the network May 6 due to a reorganization of her division under new Chief Marketing Officer Emma Carrasco. The restructuring is intended to “put more emphasis on marketing than on communications,” said NPR President Gary Knell in a Feb. 14 email to station leaders.

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Penn State announces Ted Krichels’ resignation from WPSU

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Ted Krichels, associate vice president for public media and general manager of WPSU at Penn State University and a thought leader on public broadcasting ethics, is resigning his station post effective Feb. 28. A short statement from the university said Krichels, a 30-year pubcasting veteran, will “focus on consulting opportunities and independent projects within the public media industry.” In addition to his leadership at the station, Krichels led work to establish the Local Public Media Organizations Code of Editorial Integrity, an update of the 1984 Wingspread Conference’s Statement of Editorial Principles that has been under development for several years. Krichels has been at WPSU since 1999.

People

Dana Davis Rehm to leave NPR due to restructuring

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Dana Davis Rehm, NPR’s senior v.p. of marketing, communications and external relations, will leave the network May 6 due to a reorganization of her division under new Chief Marketing Officer Emma Carrasco. The restructuring is intended to “put more emphasis on marketing than on communications,” said NPR President Gary Knell in a Feb. 14 email to station leaders. “Though I have only known Dana for a little more than one year, I can’t think of anyone who has demonstrated a deeper commitment to NPR and public radio, or who better reflects our values,” Knell wrote. “As our longest serving head of Marketing & Communications, she has established effective communications strategies and practices and a built a staff that has given me confidence that we could deal with anything that might come our way.”

Rehm joined NPR in 2001 after serving as head of Wisconsin Public Radio.

People

PBS’s Russell takes KOCE executive post, Dominowski to Indiana, Sullivan exits Frontline after two decades, and more . . .

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Andrew Russell, PBS senior v.p. for strategy and research, is moving to PBS SoCal in Orange County, Calif., as chief operating officer, a new position. “Obviously, I see Andy as someone who can superbly lead this place when I retire in a few years,” Mel Rogers, PBS SoCal president, told Current. “That is part of why I want him here. But my replacement will be decided by our board of trustees. I can’t imagine a scenario whereby they would not choose Andy. Who could be better?”

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Former executive director of Oregon’s JPR sues over dismissal

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The former executive director of Oregon’s Jefferson Public Radio has filed a lawsuit against Southern Oregon University and the Oregon University System alleging blacklisting and breach of contract in his March 2012 dismissal, among other claims.

SOU dismissed longtime JPR chief Ron Kramer after a university audit found a conflict of interest between his roles as both head of JPR and as executive director of the JPR Foundation, a related nonprofit that had undertaken restoration of historic properties. Yet the university had previously approved of Kramer’s dual role, the lawsuit claims.

According to the lawsuit, SOU first proposed in February 2012 that Kramer should resign as executive director of the Foundation. Kramer then filed a grievance with the university, which it rejected, the lawsuit says. He filed another grievance in July, and a grievance committee of the university found that SOU President Mary Cullinan failed to comply with university policies in dismissing Kramer. The lawsuit also points out that Paul Westhelle, who replaced Kramer as executive director of JPR, is now serving in the same role with the JPR Foundation as well.

People

Michael Sullivan, Frontline producer since 1987, departs icon investigative series

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Michael Sullivan, a television producer whose name has run near the top of credit rolls of Frontline almost continuously since 1987, has exited the PBS investigative documentary series. His position as executive producer for special projects has been phased out due to a funding shortfall that the series’ top executives describe as temporary. The veteran producer oversaw high-profile titles produced by filmmaker David Sutherland, including The Farmer’s Wife, the 1998 epic documentary series chronicling the struggles of a Nebraska farming family, and Country Boys, the 2006 series following two teenagers growing up in West Virginia. Sullivan also spearheaded work on Sutherland’s latest film, Kind Hearted Woman, to be  co-presented on PBS by Frontline and Independent Lens April 1 and 2. His exit “is certainly a loss,” Frontline Deputy Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath told Current.

People

KUED wins eight regional Emmys, while KUAT receives another six

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John Howe, senior producer of the Salt Lake City–based station operated by the University of Utah, won four of KUED’s Emmys: three for Five Rivers Five Voices (environment program/special, photographer and writer) and one for Horses of the West: America’s Love Story (director). Nancy Green, Joe Prokop and Cheryl Niederhauser were honored in the historical documentary category for Utah’s Freedom Riders, while producer Carol Dalrymple won for Climb for Life: A Legacy in the public/current/community affairs program/special category. William Montoya, Bill Gordon and Kevin Sweet received Emmys for audio for Utah Vietnam War Stories: Escalation, while Navigating Freedom, produced for KUED by students from Spy Hop, was tops in the student long form category. Producer Mitchell Riley of KUAT-TV, the Arizona Public Media station based in Tucson, won two Emmys for “The Zoppe Circus” (arts/entertainment program feature segment and editor non-news program). The same program earned videographer Cooper James an award for photography.