Nice Above Fold - Page 390

  • Supreme Court declines to review ban on political ads on public TV

    The Supreme Court rejected a request Monday from the Minority Television Project (MTVP), licensee of public TV station KMTP in San Francisco, to review a circuit court ruling that upheld a ban on political and public-issue commercials on public television. The justices turned down the case without comment, allowing the December 2013 decision of the 9th Circuit Court to stand, which upheld barring the advertisements. In its petition, MTVP asked the court to overturn its 1969 decision in Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, which allowed the government to restrict some broadcast content. That aspect of the case prompted amicus briefs from organizations including the libertarian-oriented Cato Institute.
  • GSU considers options to keep student-run WRAS programming on FM

    Georgia State University announced Friday that it is searching for a new FM frequency for student-hosted music programs, which will soon be cut from daytime hours on GSU’s WRAS-FM. Starting Sunday, GSU will air public radio news and talk programming provided by Georgia Public Broadcasting from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., replacing the student music shows. The agreement, announced May 6, has drawn criticism from GSU students and WRAS fans. In its announcement, the university said it has hired engineers and media consultants to look into broadcasting the student-produced content on an FM translator. That idea was first suggested by a group of WRAS supporters known as Album 88 Alumni in a proposal sent to the university Wednesday.
  • Editor says merger in St. Louis has boosted web traffic, strengthened reporting

    The organization resulting from the merger of the St. Louis Beacon and St. Louis Public Radio is already realizing benefits from the union, six months after it took effect. That’s according to the editor of the combined news organization, who gave a progress report on the collaboration June 20 at the annual Public Radio News Directors Inc. conference in Arlington, Va. “It’s not easy, day-to-day, but it’s paid off,” said Margaret Freivogel, who also founded the Beacon. The new newsroom operates under the banner of St. Louis Public Radio. Freivogel told attendees that public radio stations are in an ideal situation to pursue collaborations and bring the strengths of their multimedia coverage to new audiences.
  • CBC to cut an additional 1,000-1,500 jobs by 2020

    Shows that air on U.S. public radio will once again be spared.
  • Friday roundup: PRX enlists Jacapps for station apps; FCC divulges data on interference

    Plus: an interview with the creator of Vicious, and a boost for Reading Rainbow from Seth MacFarlane.
  • Pubcasters welcome Supreme Court decision against Aereo

    PBS and New York’s WNET joined major commercial networks Wednesday in hailing a U.S. Supreme Court decision that found the business model of Internet TV service Aereo in violation of the 1967 Copyright Act. In a 6-3 decision, the high court held that Aereo’s business model of charging subscribers for access to an individual antenna and DVR service for over-the-air broadcasts violates the 1967 Copyright Act. The majority found Aereo’s operations more akin to those of a cable company, regardless of the technology it employs, binding the company to the same rules governing broadcast transmissions. Those rules require cable companies to pay networks for the content they transmit.
  • Susanne Aikman, AlterNative Voices host, dies at 69

    Aikman hosted the Native American culture show for more than 20 years, while working as a floor director for Colorado Public Television.
  • New Hampshire Public Radio acquiring small classical station WCNH-FM

    New Hampshire Public Radio is purchasing WCNH-FM, a 250-watt classical station that has been broadcasting from the state network’s Concord studios for two years. WCNH’s owner, Highland Community Broadcasting, was formed in 2000 to apply for a low-power FM license to air classical programming when NHPR transitioned from that format to news and talk, according to Scott McPherson, NHPR’s operations and finance v.p. Highland later applied for and received a full-power license in a 2007 FCC filing window. In 2012, WCNH asked to use NHPR’s studio and automation equipment to produce and air content. In exchange, NHPR aired WCNH’s classical content on its Classical New Hampshire HD2 channel.
  • Frontline receives nearly $6 million in two grants

    Frontline, public television’s investigative news showcase, announced two major donations Wednesday, including the largest grant from individuals in its 30-year history. Most of the $5 million from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler, longtime supporters of producing station WGBH, will create a reporting endowment for the program to ensure the series’ long-term sustainability. The remaining $1.5 million will support existing programming and digital efforts over four years. Meanwhile, a two-year, $800,000 gift from the Ford Foundation will back a new cross-platform Enterprise Journalism Group. The funds will pay for initial recruits for the in-house group of digital journalists and producers. The gift brings the Ford Foundation’s 55-year support of WGBH to almost $20 million.
  • WGBH's Taylor leaves imprint on kids' content, Gilbert to exit Marketplace, and more comings and goings in pubmedia

    Kate Taylor, an influential children’s media executive and producer at WGBH, is leaving public broadcasting in July after 42 years. Taylor joined the Boston pubcaster’s mailroom in 1972. She worked on the original version of Zoom from 1973-77 and executive-produced the updated version in 1997. She also served as associate director of children’s and cultural programming at PBS from 1982-86 until returning to WGBH as director of children’s programs. During her long career, she won a Peabody Award and multiple Emmys. “The productions that have benefited from Kate’s talents have changed the face of children’s media,” said Brigid Sullivan, WGBH v.p.
  • Temple University axes nonprofit news site AxisPhilly, shifts focus to other ventures

    The Center for Public Interest Journalism at Temple University shuttered nonprofit news website AxisPhilly June 13 after two years of reporting that earned national recognition but failed to meet the school’s expectations for local impact. Yet CPIJ, which is operated by Temple’s School of Media and Communications, is embarking on another digital news venture. It is helping to launch Brother.ly, a Philadelphia-focused news startup headed by Jim Brady, former editor-in-chief of Digital First Media. CPIJ launched AxisPhilly in 2012 with a two-year, $2.4 million grant from the William Penn Foundation. The site’s first director, Neil Budde, left after the first year as CPIJ looked to restructure the site to make it self-sustaining.
  • New NPR president Mohn starts job facing big expectations

    The successful broadcaster and investor's to-do list includes bolstering NPR's finances and stepping up collaborations with stations.
  • University licensee trims Arizona Public Media by $2M over five years

    Arizona Public Media will lose $2 million in support from its university licensee over the next five years starting July 1. Over that time, the University of Arizona’s annual cash contribution to AZPM will fall 4 percent a year, from $2.6 million to $600,000. University leadership “is working with us to identify sources of new revenue,” General Manager Jack Gibson told Current. The university has weathered nearly $200 million in cuts since 2007 due to reduced state appropriations. Administrators “have turned up the heat wherever they could to recover working capital,” Gibson said. “They’ve looked hard at nonacademic units at the university,” including the dual licensee.
  • Pacifica's WBAI seeks new home for transmitter

    With its current location atop the Empire State Building threatened, Pacifica’s WBAI-FM in New York is looking to relocate its transmitter. In an FCC filing submitted Tuesday, Pacifica asked for permission to move its transmitter to the Condé Nast Building at 4 Times Square. Pacifica is also asking for a boost in power from 4,300 watts to 10,000 watts in order to maintain its current coverage area. In a June 19 report to Pacifica’s board, interim Executive Director Bernard Duncan said the Empire State Building’s management had returned two rent checks and that eviction from the location was imminent.
  • University of Washington files to transfer KEXP license to friends group

    The move comes as KEXP conducts a $15 million capital campaign for a new headquarters.