During a conference at the U.S. Institute of Peace Feb. 28, the makers of human rights documentaries discussed the techniques and challenges of using modern technology to gain a following for a cause.

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.

The fourth season of the Minnesota Public Radio-produced St. Paul variety show Wits, which piloted as an MPR-only broadcast, will be the first debuting in national distribution. All MPR News stations carry the show, as well as “more than a dozen” other stations, according to MPR spokesperson Tara Schlosser. The season premiere, featuring Wait, Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me! panelist Paula Poundstone and rock musician Robyn Hitchcock, will tape March 15 at the Fitzgerald Theater — the regular home of Wits as well as A Prairie Home Companion — and be released for broadcast March 22.

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. His daughter Mary Clair Smoot, of Lexington, Ky., told the Cincinnati Enquirer that during her father’s years at WCET, “we eight kids were all enlisted to help ‘rubber stamp’ thousands of envelopes for mass mailings.”

In a new interview, former NPR C.E.O. Ken Stern tells Newsmax TV, a conservative media outlet, that public radio would be better off without federal support. Stern said that the small amount of governmental support the network receives “draws an enormous cost in terms of credibility, focus and the efforts they have to do to maintain that support.” “With that relatively modest funding,” he added, “they’d be smart to actually think carefully about going on their own with corporate, individual, institutional and foundation support.” Stern noted that his experience was in public radio, and he couldn’t address the specifics of PBS funding.

American Documentary, home to PBS’s independent film showcase POV, and StoryCorps, the oral history project heard on NPR, are each receiving $1 million as recipients of the latest round of MacArthur Foundation Awards for Creative and Effective Institutions, announced today. The grants help ensure the long-term sustainability of the winners, 13 organizations in five countries, according to the foundation. “The award is not only recognition for past leadership and success but also an investment in the future,” the Chicago-based foundation said in the announcement. “Organizations will use this support to build cash reserves and endowments, develop strategic plans and upgrade technology and physical infrastructure.”

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. “The re-formatted Boston Public Radio program reflects the continuing evolution of 89.7 and the growing WGBH News team, which draws significantly on the expertise of staff across radio, television and the web,” WGBH said in a press release.

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.

The HistoryMakers, a Chicago-based educational nonprofit that produces and archives personal stories of notable African-Americans, is offering free engagement toolkits as part of its “ScienceMakers: African Americans & Scientific Innovation” oral history project. The three-year National Science Foundation–funded initiative will produce interviews of 180 of the nation’s top African-American scientists, corresponding curriculum and public programs. Each scientist’s biography, along with activities related to their specific field and guidelines for aligning the content with classroom lessons, is available as a PDF toolkit. By registering at the site, pubcasters will have access to the “ScienceMakers” digital archive, which currently contains 40 three-hour interviews with an array of scientists.

Personal Audio says it has a patent covering the technology used in podcasting. A representative for the company said no public broadcasters should have received contact from him, but that has not been the case.

A radio broadcaster-turned lawmaker who chairs a key House subcommittee with oversight of CPB delivered a pointed critique to public TV station execs about their prospects for preserving federal aid in the 113th Congress. During a Feb. 26 breakfast hosted by the Association of Public Television Stations at the Library of Congress, Oregon Rep. Greg Walden (R) warned a roomful of station executives that they face an uphill battle in rebuilding bipartisan support for the field. Republican views of public broadcasting are colored by negative baggage carried over from the 2010-11 political scandals over NPR, and the notion that increased competition from cable and digital channels has made public TV less relevant to television viewers, Walden said.

The Iowa Public Radio Board of Directors on Monday terminated Mary Grace Herrington, its chief executive officer, reports the Gazette in Cedar Rapids. The vote was six in favor of dismissal and one against, Mark Braun, University of Iowa chief of staff, told the Des Moines Register. He said he voted against termination because he was new to the board and has had limited interaction with Herrington. Herrington joined IPR as its c.e.o. in January 2009. She oversaw operations, brand management, programming, audience development and all revenue channels; the station has an annual budget of $7.8 million. Previously she was assistant vice president for advancement operations at Creighton University in Omaha.