ByA. Rima Dael, CEO (National Federation of Community Broadcasters) |
Defunding CPB would devastate smaller stations, particularly those reliant on critical systems like the Public Radio Satellite System, the Emergency Alert System and SoundExchange agreements.
Jane Nebel Henson, a puppeteer and philanthropist who was the widow of Jim Henson and founder of The Jim Henson Legacy, died in her Connecticut home April 2 after a long battle with cancer. She was 79.
Attorneys for Iowa Public Radio are negotiating a settlement with fired C.E.O. Mary Grace Herrington, the Des Moines Register reports. Herrington was terminated in February by the station’s board in a closed meeting. IPR is at risk of being sued because the board publicly discussed personnel matters after it voted to terminate Herrington’s employment, board Chairwoman Kay Runge said.
InsideClimate News, the Brooklyn-based nonprofit environmental journalism outlet, won a 2013 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting. The award was announced by the Pulitzer Committee April 15.
Kathleen Megargee, a freelance television journalist who hosted programs on Pittsburgh’s WQED and the former New Jersey Network, died March 23 from natural causes at her home in Bensalem, Penn. She was 58.
WESAT from the new NPR headquarters, a set on Flickr. Current was on hand April 13 when Weekend Edition Saturday launched the first broadcast from NPR’s new $201 million headquarters on North Capitol Street in Washington, D.C. Click here to view as a slideshow.
The Texas Tribune, an online news nonprofit that produces in-depth stories about Texas government and policy, received $1.5 million from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation April 14 to explore new revenue models for local journalism.
The story of how Monty Python’s Flying Circus star John Cleese became a pitchman for Milwaukee Public Television’s Great TV Auction dates to 1987 and “has as many curves as the Monaco Grand Prix,” writes Milwaukee Journal Sentinel TV/radio columnist Duane Dudek. You can listen to Cleese’s two 60-second radio spots here. The auction runs April 26 through May 4 and is the largest pubcasting event of its kind in nation, raising more than $1 million annually.
WVIA, the PBS member station for the Scranton, Pa., area, is a guest star in the final season of the hit NBC sitcom The Office. The series, based on a BBC show of the same name, follows the quirky lives of employees in the local branch of Dunder Mifflin Paper Co., all subjects of an ongoing but unnamed documentary project. This season, the fictional film crew and their movie project are slowly becoming part of the plot as the real series winds down. And the documentary crew is revealed to be working for WVIA. In fact, “in the last couple shows the plot points revolve around us,” said Tom Curra, WVIA e.v.p. “I can’t tell you more than that.
Marita Rivero, vice president and general manager for radio and television at producing powerhouse WGBH, is stepping down after nearly 30 years at the Boston station. Effective in June, Rivero will be succeeded by Liz Cheng as g.m. for television and Phil Redo as g.m. for radio. Cheng is currently g.m. of WGBH’s national digital multicast channel World, which she will continue to oversee. Redo is managing director of 89.7 WGBH and WCAI. Rivero will remain of counsel to WGBH leadership, today’s announcement noted.