WFMT-FM in Chicago racked up 700 pledges in a six-hour period relying solely on listeners’ reactions to recorded performances of a Vera Gornostaeva, an 84-year old Russian pianist who spent most of her peak performing years trapped behind the Iron Curtain. WFMT ran a one-day pledge drive April 4 with the goal of collecting 700 pledges. For the drive, the station only played selections from a CD featuring recently remastered archived recordings of Gornostaeva performing compositions by Chopin. Listeners who pledged $40 received a copy of “Chopin Recitals” as a premium gift. WFMT played the CD four times, and pledges continued to pour in despite the repetition, according to Steve Robinson, g.m.

Plus: KCETLink has some laughs, the CBC cuts more than 600 jobs and WCRB searches for a sonic logo.

The spending plan, the House GOP's blueprint for balancing the federal budget by 2024, now goes to the Democratic-controlled Senate, which is widely expected to defeat it.

• PBS has promoted two of its programming execs. Michael Kelley, formerly v.p. of strategy and business affairs, ascends to s.v.p., programming and business affairs. In addition, Bill Gardner, formerly director of general audience programming, is now v.p. of programming and development, overseeing science, history, natural history, cultural and current events programming. Both joined PBS in 2012. “Mike’s strong business skills and strategic leadership coupled with Bill’s acute editorial judgment and significant development chops have been instrumental to the success of PBS, our producers and member stations nationwide,” Beth Hoppe, PBS chief programming executive, said in a statement. “These promotions recognize their programming vision and aim to set the team up for continued success.”

The grant will allow the PBS program to fund new projects and a digital technology fellowship.

CPB will convene two meetings about spectrum over the next two months, working to craft guidelines for public TV stations to use in deciding whether to participate in the upcoming auction, as well as exploring wider policy and technology issues. Broadcasters face several options as the FCC works to clear bandwidth for the growing number of wireless devices. A station can sell all its spectrum and get out of broadcasting completely, sell part of it and share a channel with another broadcaster, or opt out of the auction altogether. The auction is set for mid-2015. CPB is approaching spectrum issues in a “very measured” way, CPB President Pat Harrison told the board at its April 8 meeting in Washington, D.C.

Plus: CBC braces for huge losses, and the Fred Rogers Center honors Yo-Yo Ma.

Plus: Amazon's set-top box includes PBS content, and OETA launches programs about Native tribes.

Mike Janssen, a journalist who has reported for Current for nearly 15 years, has returned to the staff full-time as digital editor. Janssen’s hiring, which took effect April 1, expands Current’s editorial team and supports an expansion of coverage on Current.org, the website covering U.S. public media and nonprofit news organizations. Current, its sister newspaper, will continue to provide in-depth news coverage and analysis of the field, with a shift in emphasis to enterprise reporting. “Mike is uniquely qualified to help lead Current’s digital expansion,” said Karen Everhart, managing editor. “He sets high standards for reporting and narrative journalism; he knows public radio inside and out; and his leadership in using digital platforms to provide timely, original news coverage on Current.org

I have been following the recent events of the Pacifica radio network with great interest and even greater concern — even sadness. I am reading far too much misinformation — a thousand sparks, a million splinters, far too much “me-me-me,” no “we.” I was the Executive Director of Pacifica before the latest appointee, Summer Reese. Though I had years of experience in radio in various capacities, I came to Pacifica as an outsider, and it is from that perspective, as an outsider turned insider, that I am writing. Pacifica is not only failing, it is nearly moribund. The most recent episode unfortunately illustrates this point only too well.

Nine members of the Pacifica Foundation’s board of directors opposing last month’s firing of executive director Summer Reese filed a lawsuit Thursday asking the court to void the action and reinstate her. Calling themselves the Pacifica Board Members for Good Governance, the group filed a civil lawsuit in the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda. According to the lawsuit, Reese’s March 14 firing violated Pacifica’s bylaws and was “improper, unlawful and fiscally reckless.” Named in the lawsuit are the board members who voted for Reese’s removal, including Chairwoman Margy Wilkinson and Vice Chairman Tony Norman. The lawsuit does not seek monetary damages, only the overturning of the board’s decision and the immediate reinstatement of Reese.

• Detroit’s WDET-FM staged the New York premiere Friday of The Pleasure of Sound, a documentary featuring Radiolab‘s Jad Abumrad. In the short film, shot in Detroit in 2013, Abumrad and musician Matthew Dear discuss music and creativity. WDET will launch a crowdfunding campaign to cover distribution costs for the film in May and plans to distribute the documentary free to interested community organizations and pubmedia stations for screenings. The Pleasure of Sound previously screened in Detroit as part of a fall 2013 installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art. • NPR appointed Mark Memmott as its new standards and practices editor Thursday.

A collaborative news hub in New Mexico, sea level monitoring project in south Florida and music visualization project in Texas are among the 12 winners of this year’s Online News Association Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education.

Though its chances of advancing in Congress are considered slim, the proposed budget put forth this week by House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan would zero out funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Ryan said in the budget document released Tuesday that federal subsidies for CPB and the National Endowment for the Humanities could “no longer be justified.” “The activities and content funded by these agencies go beyond the core mission of the federal government,” the document reads. “These agencies can raise funds from private-sector patrons, which will also free them from any risk of political interference.” The proposed budget does not stipulate whether the zeroed-out funding would apply to the already appropriated two-year funding cycle, or whether it would be implemented after the forward-funded cycle.