On a second try, BBC is seen likely to win regulatory approval for BBC3, a new British TV channel for ages 25-34, says the Guardian in London.

Cory Doctorow, NPR’s principal critic during this whole linking debacle, still finds plenty to dislike about NPR’s revised policy. The latest article in Wired also includes some of his comments.

WFUV’s folkie listeners and the New York Botanical Garden’s orchid-lovers conflicted politely at yesterday’s FCC hearing in the Bronx, giving the New York Times lots of material for cultural stereotyping. The issue: WFUV’s half-built tower, which the Garden says ruins the skyline. Herewith: WFUV’s side and the Garden’s side. Nothing about the tower has been easy: its federal subsidy was held up by First Amendment issues.

Responding to widespread criticism (see posts below), NPR revised its linking policy today. You no longer need to request permission to link to its site. But NPR still seeks to bar framing of its pages, and says it reserves the right to withdraw permission for any link.

Charlie Rose had open-heart surgery June 25 to repair a faulty valve, reports USA Today. The talk-show host could be back to work within a week, says his exec producer (second item).

With CPB money, WNET launches African American World, a website about the AfAm experience that isn’t an adjunct of any particular TV show. The site is planned so that other stations can integrate it into their websites.

Reacting to a Providence Journal editorial suggesting the merger of Rhode Island’s WSBE with Boston’s WGBH, Rhode Island pubcaster Susan Farmer says the Journal might as well be swallowed by the Boston Globe!

The Online Journalism Review joins in condemning NPR’s linking policy. Also, BoingBoinger Cory Doctorow and NPR ombud Jeffrey Dvorkin both appeared on Minnesota Public Radio’s Future Tense to discuss the controversy. (RealAudio required.)

Former U.S. Treasury Sec. Robert Rubin will be the first guest on MPT’s newly revamped Wall Street Week with Fortune, says the L.A. Times.

A Baltimore Sun article attempts to capture the frantic activity behind the scenes at A Prairie Home Companion.

The Associated Press profiles Tavis Smiley, host of a new show on NPR.

As Maryland PTV readies its new Wall Street Week for debut on Friday, the Wall Street Journal reports that former host Louis Rukeyser has taken three of its four underwriters and kept airtime on public TV stations serving 60 percent of the population.

TV critic Tom Shales refuses to donate “money to a ‘public’ TV that has been privatized within an inch of its life,” according to his Electronic Media column.

After its “Stupid Pills” wear off, PBS moves Masterpiece Theatre back to Sunday nights, says Lisa de Moraes of the Washington Post.

Last year was a good year for the Independent Television Service. ITVS had weathered its first 10 years as a funder and presenter of independent productions for public TV. It was feted with retrospectives at museums and film festivals across the country, which highlighted such fare as The Farmer’s Wife, La Ciudad, First Person Plural, The Devil Never Sleeps and Still Life with Animated Dogs. And it brought in a new executive director, Sally Jo Fifer. Having worked nine years as executive director of the nonprofit Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC), Fifer was uniquely qualified to steer the difficult course between stations and independents.