More public radio stations than ever could change hands this year, reports an Associated Press article spurred by KQED’s recent acquisition in Sacramento.

Mister Rogers was one of the first programs that I can remember watching. I was, of course, part of the show’s target demographic back then. I can’t recall much from my preschool years, but I do know that I loved the trolley, I loved the neighborhood and I loved Fred Rogers.Like many early loves, it faded with age and distance. I moved on to programs intended for older kids: flashier, action-oriented, violent in the ways that caregivers and watchdogs lament and children adore. For the most part, I forgot about Fred and his neighborhood, reminded only on occasion by the parodies that proliferated in the ’80s as yesterday’s innocents grew into sarcasm and despair.

Frontline‘s producers objected to similarities between their PBS public affairs documentary series and the ABC reality show, Profiles From the Front Line, reports the Boston Globe. [scroll down to third story]

“What Mr. Rogers could have taught Michael Jackson” in Sunday’s New York Times.

J.J. Yore, new v.p. of programming at Marketplace Productions, hopes to collaborate with L.A. station KPCC on projects such as a series about pop culture, reports the L.A. Times.

The Washington Post profiles Amy Goodman, host of Pacifica’s Democracy Now!: “Her Edward R. Murrow comes always with a twist of Emma Goldman.” Goodman was also in the news when she was arrested at a anti-war protest at the White House. Pro-peace reporting from Goodman and others increased Pacifica’s take in its latest round of fund drives. Not surprisingly, Pacifica’s news probably soothes more minds than it changes, notes a Houston Chronicle article.

Wielding a grim financial analysis of public TV by a big-name consulting firm, CPB has begun a campaign to glue together a consensus supporting three initiatives to end the stagnation: catching up with other nonprofits in attracting “major gifts” of $1,000 or more from donors; improving station efficiency, especially by consolidating operations; using program research more effectively and taking other unspecified steps to re-examine public TV’s “approach to national programming.” CPB President Bob Coonrod and Chief Operating Officer Kathleen Cox discussed the initiatives in a Current Q&A. Coonrod said the CPB Board called for the consensus building in its statement of objectives adopted in fall 2002.

Fred Rogers occupied a quiet corner of the tumultuous television landscape, but his influence was profound and borne of the kindness, love and honesty he inspired in people.

The FCC changed the dates of this month’s filing windows for translator applications. (PDF, Word, text.)

Ad agencies seeking soundtracks to hypnotize consumers have found a hipness pass in Santa Monica’s KCRW-FM, reports Business 2.0.

Inspired by public radio stations on Cape Cod, KPLU in Tacoma, Wash., has started its own “KPLU Soundscapes.”

“Reality TV has pushed the envelope so far that An American Family seems almost quaint,” said Alan Raymond, co-director of the 1973 PBS reality series, in the New York Times.

“The old-fashioned idea of the airwaves as public property still excites both ends of the political spectrum . . .,” reports The Washington Post‘s Marc Fisher from the FCC’s media consolidation hearing in Richmond.

NPR’s Bob Edwards interviewed Pacifica’s Brian DeShazor about the radio network’s efforts to preserve its valuable archive of historic audio tapes. NPR’s page includes an extended version of the DeShazor interview and clips from archive recordings.

The Onion needles NPR’s Corey Flintoff this week–see fifth item, “News in Brief.” (Warning: gratuitous explicit language.)