The CPB Board today (Sept. 21) heard an ominous “State of Public Television” update that predicts that licensees haven’t yet seen the worst of declines in state support, underwriting and philanthropic giving. CPB management commissioned Public Radio Capital for a systemwide analysis of fiscal year 2008 and FY2009 to assess pubTV station solvency. During that time, non-federal funding fell 16 percent. Although federal support to stations increased, aggregate revenues “continued their steep downward trend,” the report said. Community licensees saw a 22 percent decrease in corporate underwriting, with national producing stations particularly impacted. Individual philanthropy is down 11 percent regardless of licensee type or station size.

Was NPR’s decision not to devote more airtime to Harry Shearer’s documentary on New Orleans–even if it was paid for as underwriting–a case of censorship, quibbling over credit language, or fainthearted journalistic commitment to covering problems with the levy system constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers? All three theories played out over the blogosphere after Shearer wrote for the Huffington Post about his difficulties in getting NPR’s newsmagazines to report on his documentary The Big Uneasy and in placing underwriting spots promoting its Aug. 30 debut. “NPR has decided its initials stand for nothing,” Shearer wrote, taking a jab at the network’s recent decision to abbreviate its name on-air.

The decision by the University of Minnesota to cancel broadcast of the documentary “Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story,” continues to generate controversy. The film, exploring agricultural pollution and possible solutions, had been set to air on Twin Cities Public Television on Oct. 5. The story was broken by the Twin Cities Daily Planet, a local news site. University News Service director Daniel Wolter told the Daily Planet that the Bell Museum is responsible for halting the release. That’s part of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences, and where the film was to premiere on Oct. 3.

Renowned movie critic Roger Ebert, who literally owns the trademarked thumbs-up/thumbs-down gesture, is returning to public TV, where he started his on-air career 35 years ago. Starting in January, Ebert will produce the weekly show Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies, and do a monologue for each episode. The balcony front-row reviewers will be Christy Lemire of The Associated Press and Elvis Mitchell of The Treatment on KCRW with additional opinions from movie bloggers Kim Morgan and Omar Moore. Ebert said he’d known Lemire and Mitchell for some time. “Kim and Omar I met online and admired.” The show will be distributed through American Public Television.

Patricia Torres-Burd is the new executive director of content at HoustonPBS/KUHT, the licensee announced today (Sept. 20). She will develop and coordinate local, national and international content initiatives across multiple platforms. She previously worked as g.m. at Locke Bryan Productions, a film and video company. Between 1995 and 2008 she was with several international broadcasting ventures including Latin America Broadcasting and RTV B92 in Serbia. She also previously worked at the station as unit director and series producer from 1991 to 1995.

Two Buffalo pubradio licensees may be moving toward a licensee management agreement under which independent nonprofit WNED would operate the university-owned WBFO, the licensees announced Sept. 15. SUNY’s University at Buffalo, which owns the stronger news station, WBFO, “is committed to remaining as the license-holder for WBFO and its repeater stations,” according to the joint statement. But the university also wants to reduce its contribution to operating costs. When its station manager took another job last fall, the university didn’t hire a permanent successor. The two are continuing “cordial and collaborative” talks and expect to conclude them by year’s end, the statement said.

NPR is looking for a new ombudsman, reports the Ombuds Blog (“News and Information For and About Organizational Ombuds”). The blog says it’s “one of the most high-profile News Ombuds in the U.S., and not the type of position for which there is often a public search.” Current Ombudsman Alicia Shepard was appointed in October 2007 for a three-year term. Think you have what it takes to explain the network and its news-gathering issues to the public? Click here for more information and to apply.

Here’s a piece of unfinished business: reporting back the results of Current’s reader survey taken at the start of the year, with thanks to those of you who responded. We delayed mostly because of the shortage of space in recent issues and not because the results were ugly. Indeed, 72 percent of respondents rated Current “quite useful” or “extremely useful” in their work. In my work, Current and current.org are this useful: Extremely useful: 31 percent Quite: 41 Somewhat: 24 Not very: 4 Not at all: 1 Readers also rated Current high in fairness, accuracy, readability and other qualities, as you’ll see in the chart below.

A new study for NPR identifies a much bigger potential news audience for public radio if producers craft shows to be more lively and conversational.

While our audience stereotypes may be better informed than they were 40 years ago, they can blind us to our potential for growth and change, with equally dangerous consequences. Today there are many indicators that we have room for audience growth on radio if only we expand our view of the potential.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday (Sept. 16) confirmed Dick Lobo, former c.e.o. of WEDU in Tampa, Fla., as director of the International Broadcasting Bureau, reports the St. Petersburg Times. He’ll oversee Voice of America and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which includes Radio and TV Marti; he ran the Cuba office in 1994 and ’95 under President Bill Clinton. The International Broadcasting Bureau is part of the larger Broadcasting Board of Governors, which distributes programs in 59 languages (check out Alhurra Television, serving 22 countries in the Middle East). “We’re trying to get out unfettered news and information about what our country’s role in the world is,” the 73-year-old Lobo said.

In a five-page letter Thursday (Sept. 16), outgoing Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media founder Bill Kling advises the FCC to ensure a “reasonable cost structure” and redirect Universal Service Funds (currently subsidizing phone access) “toward investment and innovation” for public broadband, reports MinnPost.com’s David Brauer. Kling, who announced his retirement Sept. 10, predicts that “public media’s largest audiences in 10 years will be in automobiles with mobile Internet ‘radios.’ … As the 2011 model cars emerge with mobile Internet ‘radios,’ ISPs and device manufacturers are moving demand from broadcast to wireless broadband.” Kling also suggests that the FCC require ISPs that develop private broadband networks “carry all relevant applications and programming from Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) qualified public service media organizations at no cost to the content producer.”

Remember Kachingle (Current, Nov. 23, 2009)? Seven months ago when the online micropayment service launched it was touted as a potential savior for cash-hungry online news entities. But Columbia Journalism Review checks in and doesn’t find a lot of money Kachingling around. The Kachingle medallions are on about 300 sites but none are major news organizations. The nonprof local news site Chicagotalks has received about $50 total from its 15 “Kachinglers.” The multimedia producer Common Language Project has received $66.70 from 16 supporters. Current checked back with a couple sources from our November 2009 story. “We think Kachingle has a lot of potential, and we have discussed with them how we might implement the service on MinnPost.com.

Hearings continue on the fate of the New Jersey Network. A 10-member panel heard testimony Thursday (Sept. 16) at Stockton College in Pomona on a proposal to cut all state funding to the New Jersey Network’s public radio and television and spin it off as an independent entity. “But after the second of three hearings, it was clear that neither lawmakers nor NJN executives had a solid strategy about turning the broadcaster into a money-maker,” writes the the Press of Atlantic City. At the meeting, Janice Selinger, acting exec director of NJN, said the network assumed that the legislature and governor would come up with a plan.

Where’s the quality American dramas and comedies on PBS? That’s what writer David Pierotti is wondering in the latest Independent online mag of indie production. He admits there is indeed fiction on PBS, but “it all comes with an accent. Every show references ‘queues,’ ‘lorries,’ ‘bobbies,’ ‘bangers,’ ‘blokes” and ‘bollocks.'” Why, he asks, “must the public station of the United States of America rely upon Britain’s hand-me-downs like some destitute street urchin?” He also has a few suggestions, including PBS creating, say, a Law & Order: Pittsburgh. “Why can’t a community entertain its audience while supporting, encouraging and facilitating the development of local talent?”