A sign of the times? Check out this photo of the mixing board in the main air studio at Pacifica’s KPFA-FM in Berkeley, Calif. And remember, it was a Pacifica station that brought about the establishment of broadcast indecency rules.

CPB announced yesterday that it has awarded $7.74 million in grants to 85 radio stations for converting to digital broadcasting.

Dennis Haarsager posts a speech delivered at this year’s Public Radio Development and Marketing Conference by Bill Kling, president of Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media. “With audiences increasingly in control of when and where they listen, it is no time to take them — or our stature in the community — for granted,” he says.

Andy Carvin announces on his weblog that he’s joining NPR as senior product manager for online communities. “In this role, I’ll essentially act as NPR’s Web 2.0 strategist, helping them develop new initiatives that encourage greater public involvement in NPR’s online activities,” he says. “These activities could take a variety of forms: online social networks, wikis, blogs, mobcasting, citizen journalism, original content sharing.” Carvin runs the Digital Divide Network and has worked for years on web education projects.

The Washington Post reports on performances by Suzanne Vega and other musicians in the virtual world of Second Life. Vega’s appearance was staged by public radio’s The Infinite Mind, which has built Second Life headquarters.

News and Notes host Ed Gordon tells Richard Prince he’s frustrated with “internal strife” at his show, while NPR says it has been working with Gordon to improve his performance. (Earlier column by Prince. Via Romenesko.)

Before Eyes on the Prize returns to PBS Oct. 2 [2006] for its first broadcast in 13 years, PBS.org will unveil a major website built around content from the seminal documentary series. The site will offer streamed historic video from key moments in the civil rights movement, including speeches of the Rev. Martin Luther King. Nearly two hours of clips in all will be accessible on the Web in perpetuity. In October, American Experience brings back Henry Hampton’s 1987 television series, which redefined the way Americans talked and learned about civil rights and social justice. Hampton’s first six Eyes programs, which cover the movement from 1954 to 1966, air in two-hour installments on Mondays beginning Oct.

NPR’s Juan Williams assails today’s African-American culture as “a virtual blueprint for failure” in a much-read Washington Post op-ed. “Where is the civil rights groundswell on behalf of stronger marriages that will allow more children to grow up in two-parent families and have a better chance of staying out of poverty?” he asks. “. . . Where are the exhortations for children to reject the self-defeating stereotypes that reduce black people to violent, oversexed ‘gangstas,’ minstrel show comedians and mindless athletes?”

The Washington Post‘s Marc Fisher gives Sirius the edge in the public-radio category in a side-by-side comparison of satellite radio services.

College and community radio stations in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest are creating the Northwest Community Radio Network, a network for sharing content and expertise. Stations are meeting in Seattle next month. (Related article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.)

The Columbia Journalism Review examines the resurgence of personal narratives on public radio via StoryCorps, Transom, the Public Radio Exchange and This American Life. “We are social beings, and our lives got kind of fragmented — our media lives, our civic lives, our personal lives,” says independent producer Rob Rosenthal, director of the radio program at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. “Listening to these kinds of stories on the radio can connect us to one another.”

The Center for Social Media has produced a 13-minute video about the Beyond Broadcast conference held at Harvard Law School in May. Conference participants discuss the growing popularity of participatory web media and its potential in the public sphere. (Current‘s Beyond Broadcast coverage.)

Did you work at WKNO in Memphis? The pubTV station promises “great music, food and drinks” at its 50th anniversary staff reunion Sept. 30. Details on the station website or through 901-458-2521.

Sesame Street is being destroyed by “idiot cuteness,” writes LA Times columnist Joel Stein. He blames “patronizing, baby-talking Elmo” and finds other adults who hate the furry red one.

Nguyen Qui Duc, host of public radio’s Pacific Time, is leaving the show Sept. 14 to return to Vietnam with his mother. “I had a lot of opportunity in this country, which has given us a lot,” Nguyen tells the San Francisco Chronicle. “But here, I’m on the computer 24 hours a day. Over there, I feel warmer in Vietnam. I have time for friends.”