People

MPT promotes execs, APM announces changes, and more comings and goings in public media

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Maryland Public Television in Owings Mills promoted executives. Steven Schupak rises from s.v.p. and chief content officer to e.v.p. and chief operating officer at the Owings Mills station. George Beneman, chief technology officer, is now s.v.p. And Jay Parikh steps up to v.p. and head of MPT’s content division. “The promotions were due to the talents of these individuals coupled with restructuring to accommodate MPT’s fundraising campaign and Vietnam initiative,” said Larry Unger, MPT president, referring to a major event honoring veterans and their families that the state network is planning for April 2016.  “We are very excited for what the future has in store for MPT.”

Schupak joined MPT in 2003 after a three-decade career in television and media.

Development

Possibility of native ads on pubradio sparks concern

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DENVER — A public radio station’s foray into native advertising, which seamlessly integrates paid content into a website’s editorial fare, stirred strong opinions at a July 10 session at the annual Public Media Development & Marketing Conference. Attendees packed the room to hear about plans for native advertising on the site of Southern California Public Radio in Pasadena, Calif. The broadcaster received a $33,000 grant in April from the Investigative News Network and the Knight Foundation to experiment with native advertising, also known as sponsored content. Over the six-month pilot stage, which ends in December, SCPR will develop a native-advertising framework for online and mobile platforms. “SCPR believes that the framework emerging from this grant will map out the common ground between the interests of its audience, underwriters, and journalistic principles,” INN said in a statement about the grant when it was announced. “At its conclusion, the organization will be much closer to determining whether sponsored content is a viable revenue stream for mission-driven, nonprofit content producers.”

According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, native advertising encompasses “paid ads that are so cohesive with the page content, assimilated into the design, and consistent with the platform behavior that the viewer simply feels that they belong.”

In experimenting with native advertising, SCPR joins nonprofits Voice of San Diego and the Texas Tribune, which began placing native ads on their websites this year.

People

Masterpiece leads PBS slate of 34 Primetime Emmy nominees, and more awards in public media

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Downton Abbey and Sherlock: His Last Vow each picked up 12 primetime Emmy nominations July 10, earning the lion’s share of the 34 nominations for PBS programs.

Downton Abbey, a co-production of Masterpiece and Carnival Films, was nominated for outstanding drama series and outstanding directing for a drama series, while Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary Crawley in the period drama, was nominated for lead actress in a series. Four additional cast members are vying for Emmys: Maggie Smith and Joanne Froggatt, both nominated for supporting actress in a drama series; Jim Carter, nominated for supporting actor in a drama series; and Paul Giamatti, a contender in the category guest actor in a drama series. Downton Abbey also received nominations for five craft awards: art direction for a period series, costumes for a series, hairstyling for a single-camera series, music composition for a series and sound mixing for a comedy or drama series. Sherlock: His Last Vow, the third installment in the series presented on PBS by Masterpiece Mystery, was nominated for best television movie. Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Sherlock Holmes, was nominated for lead actor in a miniseries or movie; and Martin Freeman, who plays sidekick John Watson, was nominated for supporting actor in a miniseries or movie.

Margaret Low Smith

Margaret Low Smith, NPR’s senior news veep, will depart for The Atlantic

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Margaret Low Smith, NPR’s senior vice president for news, is leaving the network to take a position with The Atlantic as president of its live-event division, AtlanticLIVE. Smith has worked for NPR for 32 years, heading the news division since 2011. Before holding that job, she worked as VP of programming. She started at NPR in 1982 as an overnight production assistant for Morning Edition. “Her departure will be felt as profoundly as any in recent memory,” NPR Chief Content Officer Kinsey Wilson wrote in an email to station executives.

Programs/Content

Final Poirot episodes reach U.S. via on-demand service

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Three of the five final episodes in the Hercule Poirot detective series, a longtime favorite on Masterpiece Mystery!, will debut in the U.S. next month as an on-demand series available exclusively through online British content distributor Acorn TV. Masterpiece’s Mystery strand will present the broadcast debut of two detective stories, The Big Four and Deadman’s Folly, July 27 and Aug. 3, respectively. British drama fans who want to catch the series finale will have to sign up for Acorn TV, the subscription-based streaming service specializing in British drama. The distributor will provide the episodes via its website and Roku channel. RLJ Entertainment, which owns Acorn Media Group and Acorn TV, also controls a majority share in Agatha Christie Ltd., the company that manages Christie’s literary works.