The Center for Social Media has made suggestions to President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team for advancing the “public media 2.0” agenda. In addition to working to increase broadband capacity, the center, part of American University’s School of Communication, advises that CPB be awarded stimulus funds “for digitally-savvy staffers to build social networks at local pubcasting stations.” Actions should be taken immediately, the center adds.

CUTFATT, the Coalition United to Terminate Financial Abuses of the Television Transition, is petitioning the FCC to change rules on digital TV patent licenses. The consumer advocacy group contends that manufacturers are overcharged for the technology, which raises the price on digital sets. CUTFATT wants the FCC to use a “patent-pool” system in which TV manufacturers would pay a flat rate of about $1 per set for the rights to all the necessary patents. Manufacturers in Europe and Asia are charged that fee. In the United States, the group says, manufacturers are charged $20 to $30 for the rights.

Support from new partner CPB is enabling the Patchwork Nation project to continue in 2009, past its original focus of the election year. The project examines the issues of concern and politics in 11 types of communities across the nation: Monied ’Burbs, Minority Central, Evangelical Epicenters, Tractor Country, Campus and Careers, Immigration Nation, Industrial Metropolis, Boom Towns, Service Worker Centers, Emptying Nests, and Military Bastions. The project’s other partners are the Knight Foundation and The Christian Science Monitor.

IdahoPTV says it needs six new digital translators to maintain coverage during and after the digital transition in February, reports Boise Weekly. More than 400,000 people in Idaho watch over-the-air signals; during a pubTVshow on DTV in November, some 2,600 viewers called in seeking advice. For IdahoPTV, buying more repeaters would need to be done through a privately-funded capital campaign. Peter Morrill, g.m., says broadcasters need opportunities from the FCC to apply for digital translator channels.

Pubradio marketing and programming consultants Deborah Blakeley and Israel Smith propose a 12-month audience growth goal for public radio stations and outline the steps needed to achieve it in “Thinking Audience,” the latest article published by Station Resource Group’s Grow the Audience project.

“We are among the smaller stations in the public radio system,” writes Tom DuVal, g.m. of WMRA and WEMC in Harrisonburg, Va., in an email appeal for year-end donations. “We cannot cut enough expenses without having a noticeable and undesirable impact on the quality of the service you receive.” Underwriting revenues have dropped sharply and decreases in government support and private contributions have added to the stations’ financial woes, DuVal tells the Daily News Record. Staff members have already taken 10 percent cuts in their salaries; lay-offs and cost-cutting program changes may come down next month.

Outgoing FCC Chairman Kevin Martin concedes in a Q&A with Broadcasting & Cable that challenges remain as the February DTV transition nears. One potential problem: Running out of money for converter boxes. The president-elect’s transition team favors a stronger call-center program to assist viewers; Martin is calling on state broadcasters to assist. As far as funding for them, “We have some money, but there are strict rules on the government process that I can’t comment on until the contracts are awarded.”

Best of Public Radio 2008, a year-end fundraising special that aired on 70-plus stations on Saturday, generated contributions totaling more than $130,000 through a special website, GivetoPublicRadio.org. John Sutton, one of the marketing consultants behind the campaign, reports that some listeners chose to make donations directly to their local stations. UPDATE: In an email, Sutton estimates that the campaign’s fundraising total could hit $200,000. Donations to the campaign website have topped $166,000 as of 1 p.m. today. Listener contributions via station websites may bring in another $35,000.

The idea behind “American Moxie,” an NPR series by Ketzel Levine, was to examine how ordinary Americans adjust when times get tough. But mid-way through reporting for the series, Levine learned that she was one of 64 NPR employees being laid off. “Every story that we all do, we’re always looking for the perfect ending,” Levine tells the New York Times. “And suddenly it was handed to me. It was not one of my choosing, but as a storyteller, what could make a better story?” Ketzel shares the story of her unexpected career setback on NPR.org (scroll down) and on her own blog, Ketzel Uprooted.

The FCC has released two reports (PDF) outlining changes in TV coverage areas from analog to digital for all 1,749 full-power TV stations in the country. Some 89 percent of stations (1,533) will see a net gain of viewers in the switch; 11 percent (196 stations) will have a net loss. The FCC posted detailed maps of each station’s coverage areas on its website, as well as maps of those stations with significant upcoming changes.

The National Telecommunications & Information Association (NTIA) is anticipating problems in the lead-up to digital conversion in February, according to Broadcasting & Cable magazine. NTIA says it may need up to $330 million more for its $40 DTV-to-analog converter box coupons, and reports there may be a shortfall of up to 2.5 million converter boxes. The FCC plans to spend about $10 million on call centers for questions and problems during the week of the DTV transition, estimating 350,000 calls per day Feb. 15-21. However, the FCC also says that would not be enough money or operators to handle the expected flood of calls.

Michael Davis’ new book, “Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street,” is getting attention in the press. The New York Times published a review on Dec. 26 headlined, “Brought to you by the letter S,” by James Panero, managing editor of The New Criterion. He laments what he sees as Davis’ focus on trivia: “Do we really need to know that (Joan Ganz) Cooney served boeuf bourguignon, ‘a traditional French country recipe . . . on Page 315 of the first volume of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” ‘ to Lloyd Morrisett at their 1966 dinner?” He calls the book, the 40-year-old program’s first complete overview, “a tireless if not altogether artful history of this unique place.”

RGV Educational Broadcasting Inc., owner of KMBH-TV in Harlingen, Texas, hopes to have a deal inked by Jan. 19 with recording company Gospa Records to provide programming for KMBH DT 38.2, its upcoming digital all-Catholic channel. The Brownsville Herald reports that Gospa will form a nonprofit arm to work with the station, with Gospa paying for time on the air. KMBH will earn $120,000 the first year and $240,000 for each of the remaining years of the five-year deal. In addition, KMBH will receive 50 percent of the money generated by commercials on the station. No CPB or PBS funds will be used in the deal.

A report on pubcasting is one of a series of new research papers from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. The project, titled, “Media Re:public: News and Information as the Digital Media Come of Age,” explores the potential and challenges of the emerging networked digital media environment, according to its website. One of the 11 papers, on public broadcasting and public affairs, is authored by Pat Aufderheide, director of the Center for Social Media at American University; Jessica Clark, director of the Future of Public Media project, also at American University; and Jake Shapiro, founder of Public Radio Exchange.

The board of WHQR in Wilmington, N.C., has laid off three of its top managers, including General Manager John Milligan, the Wilmington Star-News reported yesterday. The layoffs, intended to maintain the station’s “long-term financial viability,” the news release said, also include the news and development directors. In addition, the station eliminated its p.d. position, which is vacant. The station’s website lists about a dozen staff members and 10 on-air personalities.