A new service from DMW Direct Fundraising aims to help pubmedia stations reach members and donors through cellphones and tablets, using software for creating mobile-friendly pledge forms. According to DMW, the new service will be more effective than the text-to-give format many stations have experimented with because it doesn’t rely on cellphone carriers to collect money and allows for larger donations. It also offers more opportunities for individualized communications. Mobile giving can be an important revenue stream, but stations should view it as more than just dollars and cents, said DMW President Debbie Merlino. “It’s really important to not just think of this as another channel for revenue only,” she said.

Plus: A familiar scam gets a makeover, and reasons to love Zoom.

Blue Ridge PBS in Roanoke, Va., launched a multicast channel Monday that returns children’s programming to its afternoon schedule. President James Baum said the station focused on afternoon educational programming until several years ago, when viewers “started constantly asking for how-to programs” during that time. Back then, the station had only its main channel and one multicast for the World Channel. The new multicast channel, called SW Virginia Public Television, will be locally programmed with do-it-yourself shows in the mornings and animated educational programs from 3 to 7 p.m. Evenings feature public affairs and lifestyle content as well as entertainment and documentaries.

Plus: A remembrance of David Candow, and a community radio host's legal threat.

A U.S. District Court judge in Kentucky has denied a public television station’s request to dismiss a lawsuit from a Libertarian candidate who wants to participate in a televised debate next week. U.S. Senate candidate David Patterson, along with the state and national Libertarian parties, filed suit Sept. 28 in U.S. District Court in Frankfort, contending state licensee Kentucky Educational Television violated his First Amendment rights by excluding him from the debate. Patterson also asked the court to order KET to include him in the Oct. 13 forum, where incumbent Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is scheduled to appear with Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes.

The dustup, or at least perceived dustup, between Harper’s and PBS is getting more attention, with the magazine’s publisher sharing more details with the Columbia Journalism Review. Last week, the New York Post first reported that PBS yanked ads from upcoming issues of Harper’s after an essay critical of the network ran in the magazine’s October issue. Today CJR reports that PBS confirmed it pulled an ad from this month’s issue, but the network declined comment on whether it yanked the other ads. “[T]o have done such a petty thing does make me suspicious,” MacArthur says. CJR‘s David Uberti adds: “Pulling advertisements is an age-old tactic for businesses facing media criticism to seek retribution.

NPR President Jarl Mohn, who stepped into the role July 1, announced today a new COO and the departure of Kinsey Wilson, executive v.p. and chief content officer since February 2012. The new COO is Loren Mayor, currently senior v.p. of strategy. Mohn also shuffled NPR Music, which formerly reported to Wilson, to report to the network’s senior v.p. of news. Eric Nuzum, v.p. of the programming division that comprises NPR’s non-news shows, will report to Chief Marketing Officer Emma Carrasco. UPDATE (Oct 6, 2:53pm):  In an interview with Current, Mohn said the reorganization underscored the organization’s commitment to its journalism and news programming.

An “overwhelming” number of board members at five major public television stations have links to the corporate and financial sectors, a new study by Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting has found. FAIR, a progressive media-reform group, looked at occupations of current trustees at WNET in New York; WGBH, Boston; WETA, Arlington, Va.; WTTW, Chicago; and KCET, Los Angeles. Of the 182 members, 84 percent have corporate backgrounds. “Another 14 members appear to be on the board because of their families’ corporate-derived wealth,” the report said. Seventy-five board members are financial industry executives; 24 are corporate attorneys. Board members without corporate ties were rare, the study noted.

Plus: American Graduate Day carriage grows, and a NewsHour segment prompts scrutiny.

The five winners of American Graduate’s Raise Up hip-hop and spoken-word competition performed their original poems on the stage of Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center during a star-studded celebration Sept. 28. The Raise Up competition aimed to include more young people in conversations about high-school dropout rates. It came about through a partnership between CPB’s American Graduate initiative and Youth Speaks, a San Francisco–based nonprofit that seeks to empower young people through writing and performing. The contest was part of the American Graduate: Lets Make It Happen initiative, which focuses on helping communities reduce dropout rates. “One of the thing [American Graduate] wants to do is make sure that they’re bringing in perspectives from everybody involved,” said Erika Pulley-Hayes, v.p.

Public Radio International will launch a multimedia program focused on women’s empowerment with a grant of about $1.28 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Across Women’s Lives is a “journalism and engagement initiative” examining the connection between women’s empowerment and health and economic development. The program highlights personal stories of women in Africa and India and looks at women’s lives from infancy to old age. The project’s content will be featured on PRI’s global news program The World and online. Additional content includes short video documentaries and educational tools to help listeners learn more about the topics covered.

An FCC-sponsored report projecting huge potential paydays for television broadcasters in next year’s spectrum auctions could prompt public TV licensees to reconsider decisions about participating in the complex proceeding. A full-power station in Los Angeles could fetch up to $570 million by giving up its assigned channel, while a similar property in New York might generate up to $490 million, according to a report by the investment banking firm Greenhill & Co. Issued Oct. 1 to spur interest in the voluntary proceeding, the report broadens the pool of prospective participants by projecting jaw-dropping values for TV channels outside of the top 30 markets.

Pittsburgh’s WQED implemented layoffs this week as part of what it called a “minor reorganization” to help bring expenses in line with projected revenue. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Tuesday that WQED laid off three full-time employees and one part-time employee. The station also reduced five full-time employees to part-time and cut four vacant positions from its budget. “With the start of its new fiscal year on Oct. 1, 2014, WQED will reorganize staff to reflect the changing media landscape,” the station said in a prepared statement. “The changes will not be noticeable to viewers of WQED’s multiple television signals, its multiple radio streams or in its educational mission in the community.