System/Policy
California pubcasters escalate tower dispute
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KVIE and CapRadio have filed countering lawsuits laying claim to a transmission tower.
Texas Public Radio employees seek to unionize amid leadership transition
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The staffers say the union would “safeguard our organization’s future success.”
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People
Marcia Smith, president of Firelight Media, plans to step down
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Smith co-founded Firelight Media with filmmaker Stanley Nelson.
Tech
How public media can help shape ethical AI voice technology
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Following the controversy over OpenAI’s “Sky” voice, public media must aim to build tools that are imbued with cultural richness and represent all people while preserving cultural and traditional knowledge.
Obituaries
RRC President Joanne Church dies at 75
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With her late husband Tom, Joanne Church “introduced audience research to public radio” by founding RRC in 1981.
System/Policy
Boston’s GBH lays off 31 staff due to $7M budget gap
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GBH is also suspending the shows “Greater Boston,” “Talking Politics” and “Basic Black” but plans to “reinvent” them as digital-first programs, said CEO Susan Goldberg.
Obituaries
Larry Bensky, correspondent and anchor for KPFA and Pacifica, dies at 87
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“Larry’s brand of journalism — personality along with in-depth reporting — was a model for countless reporters and hosts coming up in the early days of community radio,” says Youth Radio founder Ellin O’Leary.
System/Policy
Wife of lawmaker critical of Arkansas PBS joins network’s governing board
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Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced May 6 she had appointed Maria Sullivan to the Arkansas Educational Television Commission.
System/Policy
NPR, stations object to proposed FCC rules on reporting outages
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More filing requirements would strain already limited resources, the broadcasters said in comments to the commission.
System/Policy
Public eye on NPR spurred editorial additions, says Chapin
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With NPR in the news, questions circulated about what the network wanted to do and what would be helpful, said Editor in Chief Edith Chapin.
People
Comings and goings: GBH News GM Pam Johnston to step down, Radio Bilingüe announces staff changes …
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Pam Johnston has worked as GBH’s GM of news since 2020 after years of working for “Frontline.”
Programs/Content
New MPR initiative aims to ‘make news more approachable’ for younger audiences
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With Reverb, “we want to reach as many people as possible and explain it in a way that is easy to understand and that’s not intimidating to our audience,” says reporter Nicole Ki.