Pubcaster and blogger John Proffitt is leaving his home of nine years, Anchorage, Alaska, and venturing back to the Lower 48 and KETC in St. Louis. He’s taking a new position at the station, director of digital engagement. In a post at his blog Gravity Medium, Proffitt said that over the past few years, KETC has “embarked on a remarkable transformation, developing closer relationships with their community and using media to solve problems.” He cited its collaboration with the nonprof news site the St. Louis Beacon, now housed in the station (Current, March 30, 2009), and its multi-media and outreach work on the mortage and economic crisis (Current, July 14, 2008).

Longtime producer and station exec Fred Flaxman has written a “tongue-in-cheek” memoir of his life in broadcasting, Sixty Slices of Life … on Wry: The Private Life of a Public Broadcaster (Story Book Publishing). Flaxman is currently producer and presenter of classical music program Compact Discoveries, distributed by PRX. He worked as v.p. for national programming at WTTW in Chicago and spent time in management at KUAT-TV in Tucson, Southern Oregon Public Television, and WXEL in West Palm Beach, Fla. So no doubt he has plenty to talk about in his book.

Current’s office in suburban Washington, D.C., remains shuttered as another severe winter storm is battering the region. This week’s issue also is delayed. Need to reach an editor? Email probably is the best way. Above, cars buried after the first round of snow, as captured by Currentron Dru Sefton in her District of Columbia neighborhood.

Due to the impending arrival of yet another massive winter storm, the White House has moved a concert of civil rights music up one night, reports the Washington Post. “In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement” will now take place tonight in the East Room tonight instead of tomorrow evening. Performers scheduled to appear include Joan Baez, Natalie Cole, Bob Dylan, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, John Mellencamp and Smokey Robinson. PBS will carry the program Thursday night, or viewers can watch live streaming video here. The federal government, schools and businesses remained closed today after the first storm hit last weekend with up to 30 inches of snow.

Steven Waldman, senior advisor to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, says saving journalim “is not our job.” However, “we are looking at it in terms of preserving certain functions, in which I do include accountability journalism.” Waldman is exploring possibilities for a report to the commission on the future of news in an uncertain time, and sat down for a Q&A with Broadcasting & Cable’s John Eggerton.

Sesame Street gets a new neighbor soon: Carrie Underworm, who looks and sounds very much like country superstar Carrie Underwood. She’ll debut Thursday. Get a sneak peek here.

Longtime public radio journalist Gregory Shanley, 49, a statewide talk host on Iowa Public Radio, died Jan. 26 [2010] in Iowa City.

If any news subject lends itself to coverage by multistation collaborations, it’s the environment of places like the Ohio River Valley, a region of 25 million people who share the river’s assets and liabilities. Louisville Public Media’s WFPL is leading plans to build a pubradio reporting consortium for the region, starting with a public conference this month.

APTS Capitol Hill Day has been canceled for now. Spokesperson Stacey Karp said that due to the blizzard, there’s a good chance that local businesses as well as Congress will be “severely disrupted for several days.” Station reps were scheduled to meet tomorrow and Monday, and visit members of Congress on Tuesday. APTS is considering rescheduling or using alternatives such as webinars or video conferences.

The White House yesterday nominated Dick Lobo, president and chief executive of Tampa PBS station WEDU-Ch. 3, to head the International Broadcasting Bureau. The federal bureau runs Voice of America and two other broadcasts aimed at Cuba, Radio and TV Marti. Lobo, 73, still must be confirmed by the Senate. Lobo recently retired after seven years heading the Tampa station and 23 in commercial TV. He had worked in overseas broadcasting earlier; President Clinton appointed him head of USIA’s Office of Cuba Broadcasting in 1994. Lobo’s wife, Caren, supervised Florida fundraising for Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential election.

Text donations for disaster relief in Haiti topped $35 million earlier this week, and donors’ sudden willingness to use mobile phones for charitable contributions makes text-giving look like a promising way for pubcasting stations to raise money. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. WXPN in Philadelphia and KQED in San Francisco began experimenting with text-giving programs last year and had modest results. ‘XPN asked for text donations during its XPoNential Music Festival last July. “We didn’t make a lot of money, but we learned a ton about how to make it work,” said Melanie Coulson, a Development Exchange Inc.

The FCC announced today it is giving Native American tribes a priority (PDF) for broadcast radio licenses in their communities. The FCC statement notes that while more than a million Native Americans and Alaska Natives live on some 55 million acres of tribal lands nationwide, only 41 radio stations are currently licensed to native tribes. The new Tribal Priority gives license precedence to federally recognized Native American Tribes and Alaska Native Villages, or companies controlled by tribes on their land. Here’s the order (PDF). In a related statement (PDF), Commissioner Michael Copps explained that the current allocation priorities, intended to provide fair distribution of radio service across America, have not worked for tribal lands.

The Way We Get By, an indie doc produced in association with WGBH Lab, has won best documentary in AARP Magazine’s annual Movies for Grownups Awards. The honors recognize outstanding productions for the 50-plus audience. The film was made through the Independent Television Service’s LINCS (Linking Independents and Co-Producing Stations) initiative.