Programs/Content

Ombud answers watchdog’s concerns about public radio’s America Abroad

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The ombudsman for America Abroad, a monthly public radio show covering foreign policy and international affairs, has responded to criticism from the media watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting regarding a recent show about developments in energy technology. In a May 31 blog post, FAIR said that the April episode of America Abroad  “sounded like an infomercial” for fracking, the hydraulic fracturing process used in natural gas production. FAIR pointed out that the show was funded by the Qatar Foundation International, a philanthropy funded by the royal family of Qatar. Qatar is a leading exporter of natural gas — in 2011, it was the world’s top exporter, according to the International Gas Union. FAIR also took issue with the appearance on the show of Henry Jacoby, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor involved with a study about the future of natural gas. The MIT Energy Initiative, which produced the report, includes oil and gas companies as members, and the study’s advisory committee included representatives from natural-gas industry groups.

Programs/Content

Fred Rogers’ production company moves out of WQED

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The Fred Rogers Co., the production company that continues to create new PBS Kids series a decade after the death of its founder, last week moved out of its original home within Pittsburgh’s WQED and into a larger office on the city’s South Side. Rogers, the star and creator of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, was one of the founders of WQED, according to Kevin Morrison,  Rogers Company c.o.o.  “So when he formed his own nonprofit to make Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood in 1971, it was natural to stay in the building, especially since the series used the studio there,” he said. The last episode of the iconic PBS children’s show, which was primarily a live-action production, was shot in WQED’s studio in 2000. Since then, the company has developed new animated series for PBS Kids — including Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and the forthcoming Peg + Cat — and has outgrown its office space within WQED’s facility. The move “was an emotional goodbye for all involved,” said George Hazimanolis, WQED spokesperson.

Programs/Content

WBUR microsite explores Mass. drug lab crisis

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In late May, WBUR published “Bad Chemistry: Annie Dookhan and the Massachusetts Drug Lab Crisis,” an online report on a former state chemist charged with falsifying drug test results for at least 34,000 legal cases.

CPB

Gains, losses spread unevenly across pubcasting stations

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Reductions in tax-based support for pubcasting have shortened the financial gap between public television and radio stations, accelerating public TV’s decade-long financial decline and demonstrating resilience within segments of the public radio system.

Quick Takes

Andrew Golis departing Frontline, bound for Atlantic

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Andrew Golis, director of digital media/senior editor at Frontline, is leaving to join Atlantic Media, home to Atlantic magazine, as “entrepreneur in residence,” Golis revealed on his blog. “Joining Atlantic Media is both a thrilling and deliberate step for me,” Golis writes. “As our news media has morphed and remade itself, I’ve become more and more convinced that the important fault line is not between left and right, or fact and opinion, but between those outlets that profit from opening their audiences’ minds and those outlets that profit from closing them.” Golis joined Frontline in March 2011. Previously he was founding editor of the Upshot blog network at Yahoo!

Quick Takes

Frontline teams up with Univision for investigative doc debut

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For the first time, Frontline is sharing a film premiere with another American broadcaster, according to the New York Times. On June 25, PBS’s investigative news show will debut Rape in the Fields, and on the Spanish-language network Univision it will be titled  Violación de un Sueño (Violation of a Dream). Raney Aaronson-Rath, Frontline deputy executive director, called the Univision arrangement an “experiment” designed to bring in new viewers. PBS and Frontline are “not reaching as much of the Hispanic audience as Univision is reaching,” she noted. Each organization will stream the film online and cross-promote the documentary on the air.

People

CPB recognizes Moore, an author and youth advocate, as a pubcasting “Thought Leader”

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Wes Moore, the host of Beyond Belief on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and author of the bestseller The Other Wes Moore, won CPB’s Thought Leader Award, which honors those who assist public media in the areas of education, journalism and the arts. A U.S. Army combat veteran who serves on the board of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and as founder of STAND!, an organization that supports youth caught up in the criminal justice system, Moore also hosts the forthcoming PBS primetime series Coming Back, which chronicles the returns of nine veterans from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Wes Moore is an inspiring advocate for America’s youth and a champion for public media’s American Graduate initiative,” said Patricia Harrison, CPB president. The award was presented during the PBS Annual Meeting in Miami Beach, Fla.  
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