NPR’s Robert Siegel, senior host of All Things Considered, will receive the 2010 John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism, Columbia University announced today (Sept. 23). Siegel was chosen “in recognition of his extraordinary career at NPR where he has engaged millions of listeners with journalistic rigor and professionalism for more than 30 years,” the announcement said. A nine-member committee selected Siegel for the award, which comes with a $25,000 prize. The honor will be presented Nov. 6 at a dinner at Columbia University’s Low Library in New York.

“The Grace of Silence,” the new book by All Things Considered host Michele Norris, reveals painful parts of her family history, reports the Christian Science Monitor. While researching her ancestors, she discovered that soon after her father came back home to Alabama after World War II, he was grazed by a policeman’s bullet. Norris said the title refers to her father’s attitude after that incident. “He was part of a generation of black men and black veterans who were marginalized in the military and society and had every reason to be angry. It was easy to see how they’d become malcontents and grouse their way to their end of their lives.

PBS NewsHour’s Jim Lehrer spoke on a panel Wednesday (Sept. 22) addressing “The Death of Old News” at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, reports the Las Vegas Sun. Lerher talked about how the program is partnering with news websites including ProPublica, GlobalPost and NPR to reach a broader audience.“I couldn’t care less if someone is watching the program on their pink iPod, just as long as they are watching,” Lerher said. The event was sponsored by the Black Mountain Institute, a center for writers and scholars at the university.

Katy Perry’s snug-fitting gold bustier proved a bit much for her appearance on Sesame Street. Her “Hot & Cold” music video with Elmo has been pulled from an upcoming show, Us magazine reports. Sesame Workshop told the gossip mag that the decision was made following “feedback we’ve received” after the video went up on YouTube. It’s since been removed from Sesame’s YouTube channel, but is still available through Perry’s channel. (Oh and by the way: Look closely and you’ll see there’s flesh-colored netting up to Perry’s neck topped by a dainty bow.) The pop singer debuts on Sesame Street on Dec.

Starting Oct. 4, West Virginia students get help with their homework for free, says the Register-Herald in Beckley, W.V. The Homework Hotline show, approaching its 20th year, airs Mondays through Thursdays on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. It started out by offering assistance to students while the show was on the air. Now, teachers often later correspond with the kids by e-mail or phone to ensure everyone gets help. “The teachers that work with the show are very dedicated,” said Dennis Adkins, executive director of West Virginia Public Broadcasting. “They stay and answer questions long after the cameras are turned off.”

The Republican candidate for Lucas County (Ohio) auditor on Wednesday (Sept. 22) accused Toledo’s WGTE-TV/Channel 30 of favoring the Democratic incumbent, according to the Toledo Blade. Gina Marie Kaczala said she was told by a WGTE production assistant that part of her two-minute campaign speech for broadcast was “inappropriate.” Kaczala later discovered that the assistant’s brother-in-law is on the staff of the incumbent, Anita Long. Marlon Kiser, president WGTE, denied Kaczala’s charges. He said that part of her speech was negative, and the station does not allow attack statements in its candidate statement segments. Kiser told the paper that a station attorney who specializes in Federal Communications Commission regulations advised him to allow Kaczala to read the speech, which she did.

A seven-minute video of a free-climbing tower technician “has the broadcast engineering community abuzz,” says the TV Broadcast website. Free climbing “meaning no safety lines are used,” the narrator says. “It’s easier, faster, and most tower workers climb this way. . . . Free climbing is dangerous, of course, but OSHA rules do allow for it.” But a source in the story says the Occupational Safety and Health Administration does not consider free climbing an acceptable technique. In the video, an engineer takes an elevator to 1,600 feet, then free climbs the rest of the way to the top of the 1,768-foot TV tower.

University of Minnesota Vice President Karen Himle, who pulled the plug on a documentary that was to run on Twin Cities Public Television in October, is being asked to resign by a sustainable agriculture advocacy organization, according to the local Star-Tribune. Himle canceled the broadcast of “Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story,” which was produced by the university. The paper reported that Himle is married to John Himle, c.e.o. of Himle Horner Inc., a PR firm that represents the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council, an agribusiness advocacy association; he denied any role in the cancellation. The Land Stewardship Project is calling for her to step down.

Shae Hopkins, executive director of Kentucky Educational Television, has dropped out of a fundraiser for Birthright of Lexington, which provides assistance to women with unplanned pregnancies, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader. “Unfortunately, a normal vetting process of this event was not taken,” KET spokesperson Tim Bischoff told the newspaper in a statement. “Although Birthright International has a philosophy of avoiding direct involvement in political advocacy, after further consideration and out of concern that her participation could lead to the perception that she and/or KET are endorsing a particular cause, Ms. Hopkins has decided not to participate.” Hopkins was scheduled to be a celebrity auctioneer for the nonprofit’s Bid & Buy 2010 event on Nov.

It’s a good thing Ken Burns brought his glove to the Orioles-Red Sox game in Boston on Tuesday (Sept. 21). Yup, he snagged a foul ball. Burns is on one of his amazingly energetic promotional tours (Current, Oct. 13, 2009) for his latest PBS doc, Tenth Inning, which airs Sept. 28 and 29.

“I want this show to always have one piece in it where someone listens to it and says, ‘You know what I heard on the radio today?’ and talks about it at the dinner table,” Madeleine Brand says in a Los Angeles Times feature on the Sept. 20 debut of her new morning show for KPCC in Pasadena. “Intellectually stimulated and delighted at the same time,” she says. “My goal is for it not to be reheated broccoli.” The Madeleine Brand Show airs weekday mornings at 9 a.m. — the same timeslot as Day to Day, the NPR newsmagazine that Brand cohosted until its cancellation last year.

Seventeen child-care providers were honored on Capitol Hill yesterday (Sept. 21) in ceremonies sponsored by KCET and WETA. It’s the third such outreach event for KCET’s A Place of Our Own and Los Ninos en Su Casa. Members of Congress helped present the awards, and PBS President Paula Kerger spoke. The child-care providers previously were selected as “Caregivers of the Week” by their local pubcasting stations.

NPR’s social media team launched the NPR Tumblr, a short-form blog that will feature photos and quotes that play to the strengths of the blogging platform. Tumblr launched in 2007 and has more than 8 million users; it’s distinguished by its visual appeal and the ease with which users can post and share photos, text, links, music and video. In today’s first post, featuring an arresting image of a monarch butterfly, NPR’s Andy Carvin cites Fresh Air’s Tumblr as the inspiration for the network’s foray onto tumblelogging. In July, NPR hit a major social media milestone when its Facebook page surpassed one million fans.

WNET, WGBH and nine other broadcasters are signatories to several cease and desist letters to the Seattle startup ivi, which is selling Internet access to their live TV signals. And ivi has responded by filing a Complaint for Declaratory Judgment of Copyright Noninfringement (PDF) in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday (Sept. 20), in what it calls “a preemptive move to discourage needless litigation from big media.” All that then prompted the National Association of Broadcasters to issue a strongly worded statement Tuesday (Sept. 21). “It is blatantly illegal to steal broadcasters’ copyrighted works and signals,” said NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton.

Rumor has it that Ira Glass of This American Life is making a cameo appearance on the season premiere of The Simpsons. “Elementary School Musical” also co-stars . . . Jemaine and Bret. All you Flight of the Conchords fans may commence squeals of joy, while you Ira Glass fans continue your enthusiastic applause.