In an interview with John Diaz, editorial page editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, PBS documentarian Ken Burns says: “I think we ought to just take pause and reflect on what this extra-marketplace programming means to us.” He also points out that the relatively small investment in public broadcasting produces “a dividend we can’t do without, especially in this commercial era.” Diaz agrees, noting in the column today (Jan. 23) that “Americans who want a depth of programming that doesn’t necessarily produce celebrity hosts or big ratings or high profits will now have to fight to keep Congress from cutting off funds to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.”

The Nonprofit Journalism Hub, a recent project of the Voice of San Diego, is looking for nonprof university-sponsored news organizations for its growing list. It’s aiming to “bring together myriad resources to help communities create their own successful nonprofit news organizations.” Interested? Submit your organization for inclusion here.

A district court judge in Seattle has refused to grant a declaratory ruling that ivi TV’s service does not violate broadcast copyright protection, Broadcasting & Cable is reporting. The suit, filed in September, was a “a preemptive move to discourage needless litigation from big media,” according to ivi founder and c.e.o. Todd Weaver  (Current, Oct. 4, 2010). Soon after that suit was filed, PBS, WNET.org, WGBH and 22 other plaintiffs asked the U.S. District Court in New York to keep ivi from selling their TV signals online. That action is still pending. The Seattle-based ivi captures and encrypts TV stations’ signals and distributes them through a web app to subscribers who pay it $4.99 a month.

KLRN in San Antonio premiered Texas Week With Rick Casey on Thursday (Jan. 20). Casey, a longtime columnist with the local News-Express as well as the Houston Chronicle, said the public affairs show will offer “a quieter discussion about important issues.” The show’s blog provides a look behind the scenes as the program was developed.

The University of Houston is merging its HoustonPBS/Channel 8 with its NPR station KUHF-FM/88.7 into one organization called Houston Public Media. The city’s CultureMap arts news website is reporting that TV and radio staffers were told in a meeting Thursday (Jan. 20).

Four public broadcasters are among the 2011 fellows for the Peter Jennings Project for Journalists and the Constitution March 4-6 in Philadelphia. The announcement of the 36 professional and six student fellows coincides with today’s (Jan. 20) posthumous induction of the longtime ABC News anchor into the Academy of Television Arts and Science Hall of Fame. Fellows include Carrie Johnson, Justice Department correspondent for NPR; Angela McKenzie, Initiative Radio; Amy Radil, KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio; and Paula Wissel, KPLU-FM. The annual conference allows journalists to explore constitutional issues.

Legendary movie critic Roger Ebert will wear a prosthetic chin on his new show, he revealed in his blog Wednesday (Jan. 19). “That’s not to fool anyone, because my appearance is widely known,” Ebert wrote, referencing his facial disfigurement from several surgeries following thyroid cancer. “It will be used in a medium shot of me working in my office, and will be a pleasant reminder of the person I was for 64 years.” The fitting and creation of the new chin took two years. “Two original models were too stiff, so that my head held upright reminded me of Erich von Stroheim in ‘Grand Illusion,’ ” he quipped.

South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley wants to cut $20 million out of the state’s budget, and $9.5 million of that would be funding to South Carolina Educational Television, according to The State newspaper. Haley announced the proposed reductions in her state of the state address Wednesday (Jan. 19). State money is about half of SCETV’s $19.8 million budget. South Carolina faces a budget gap of more than $800 million.

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), a longtime pubcasting supporter, is the new ranking member of the House Communications Subcommittee, the first woman to hold the title. The vote was 14 to nine among committee Democrats. She’s a co-chair of the Public Broadcasting Caucus.

Conservative House Republicans today (Jan. 20) presented a proposal to cut $2.5 trillion in federal funding over the next 10 years. The “Spending Reduction Act of 2011” would slash money to 55 agencies and programs, including zeroing out CPB, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. “House leaders are unlikely to adopt such radical cuts,” according to the Washington Post.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) has come to public broadcasting’s defense in a piece on the Hill’s Congress Blog today (Jan. 20). “National public broadcasting is very cost effective and an excellent example of a public-private partnership maximizing value for the taxpayer,” he writes. “The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) annually receives around .0001% of the federal budget. Cutting CPB’s funding would save Americans less than half a cent a day,” and would result in the loss of of PBS, “considered by the public to be the second-best use of taxpayer dollars, outranked only by defense spending.”

Here’s the next best thing to being there: NETA has posted videos of many of the sessions.

Details are out on the new Masterpiece Trust, a funding initiative to mark the 40th anniversary of the PBS icon series. For $25,000, donors receive on-screen recognition on at least three programs, and part of their gift goes to their local PBS station. That part of the donation “would be determined jointly between the station and WGBH,” Masterpiece spokesperson Ellen Dockser told Current, “by considering the station’s involvement, the donor’s intent, and the goal of generating additional support for Masterpiece content.” More than $200,000 has been raised so far. The program is aiming for 40 donors, one for each year.

The Ford Foundation today (Jan. 19) announced a five-year, $50 million project to help fund social-issue filmmakers. JustFilms will invest $10 million a year over the next five years to back movie makers who often lack funding, the foundation said in a release. Heading up JustFilms will be respected documentarian Orlando Bagwell. Partnering are the CPB-backed ITVS and the Sundance Institute. The institute’s Sundance Film Festival kicks off Thursday. “With JustFilms, the Ford Foundation is mapping out new ways to connect the dots between storytelling, technology, and change,” ITVS President Sally Fifer told Current in a statement. “ITVS looks forward to continuing our work with Ford and independent filmmakers to inspire and connect people through television, new media and innovative outreach.”

WNKU, a Triple A public radio station broadcasting into Cincinnati on 89.7 FM, will triple its potential audience with the purchase of two commercial country stations in Ohio, WPFB in Middletown and WPAY, Portsmouth. The $6.75 million deal was signed today, according to Public Radio Capital’s Erik Langner, who brokered the deal for WNKU. The sale will be financed through tax-exempt bonds to be issued by WNKU licensee Northern Kentucky University. “Year after year, the number one complaint we hear is in regards to signal strength and reach,” said Chuck Miller, g.m. “WNKU will no longer be Greater Cincinnati’s best kept secret.”