In this Q&A, Karen Everhart talks with This American Life producer Alex Blumberg and NPR reporter Adam Davidson.

... Friendly began toying with an idea for a permanent source of funding for noncommercial television. In the spring of 1966 he began considering the possibility that synchronous satellites might provide the magic potion for the fourth network....

We can see much of a new value proposition for public media in a new pattern that we can all copy and adapt.

Pubcasters in Europe are getting serious about comedy. Some 500 met in Lucerne, Switzerland, this week, according to The Associated Press, “to debate ‘The Boundaries of Laughter’ and try to come up with a formula for comedies that would tickle residents from Reykjavik to Dubrovnik.” As Eurovision TV director Bjorn Erichsen said, “We have 75 members at the EBU. Why are we not able to produce comedy for all?” The EBU, or European Broadcasting Union, is made up of public broadcasters serving 650 million viewers in 56 countries.

The local Morning Edition host at WCAI in Cape Cod, Dan Tritle, sure is looking forward to the new Star Trek movie. So he’s a Trekkie? Yes indeed, so much so that he once jogged at a science-fiction convention with George Takei, a.k.a. Sulu in the original 1960s series. “I was a fan from the very first episode” in 1966, he tells South Coast Today.

Talk about multitasking. As part of a whirlwind, 45-plus city promotional tour for National Parks, Ken Burns threw out the first pitch at the Florida Marlins’ game yesterday. He also used the opportunity to pitch something else: His upcoming baseball doc. “We just started editing what we’re calling The Tenth Inning,” he told The Palm Beach Post of the project, tentatively set to air on PBS in September 2010. “There’s so much that’s gone on and we’re going to really tell the story, good and bad. There’s been enough water under the baseball bridge since 1992, (which) was the last action we described.”

Here’s a preview of the “The National Memorial Day Concert.” It’s the 20th annual airing of the presentation from the capitol on PBS. This year performers include pop singer Katharine McPhee; country crooner Trace Adkins; classical artists Denyce Graves, Ling Ling and Robert McDuffie; Broadway singers Brian Stokes Mitchell and Colm Wilkinson; and readings from actors Katie Holmes, Laurence Fishburne, Joe Mantegna, Gary Senise and Dianne Wiest, as well as former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Three pubTV stations have applied to the FCC for a new class of translators that will help them fill in DTV coverage gaps in their service areas, according to Broadcasting & Cable. KNPB in Reno, Rocky Mountain Public Television in Denver and WTVI in Charlotte, N.C., are among 14 stations have submitted 20 applications for the translators. Eight others are asking for temporary translators.

Springfield, Ill., PBS affiliate WSEC is receiving about 20 calls a day since its channel was recently shifted from its usual spot on Comcast cable to a higher digital tier, according to The State Journal-Register newspaper. “You would have to pay for an upgrade — if you just have the basic service, even those who have a digital set can’t get us,” said Jerold Gruebel, station CEO. The channel’s move was made because of a 2005 agreement between the Association of Public Television Stations and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association which says that in cities with more than one PBS station, cable providers may designate one station as the “primary” and other stations as “secondary.”

Here’s an interesting arrangement: In Brevard County, Fla., the Florida Today newspaper will be providing regular weekday TV programs for PBS affiliate WBCC, owned by Brevard Community College. The two daily news shows will air at 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. There’ll also be at least two prime-time specials each quarter focusing on local issues. “Television is a logical extension for us,” said Bob Stover, executive editor of the Gannett-owned daily paper. James Drake, president of the community college, said the deal “will enable us to fulfill our public broadcasting potential.” The school will pay the newspaper $25,000 a quarter for the shows.

The estate of Antiques Roadshow appraiser Richard Wright, who died March 1, will go up for auction in October, Skinner Auctioneers & Appraisers has announced. Included will be Wright’s extensive collection of dolls and doll accessories, “one of the most prominent doll collections to be seen in the auction world for many years,” according to a statement from Skinner. Wright was considered a leading expert in doll appraisals.

Conservative website CNSNews (Motto: “The Right News. Right Now”) polled various members of Congress on this pressing question: Which better reflects American values–Fox’s American Idol or PBS? Most replies were, well, politically correct. Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., said, “How about … none of the above. American Idol is very much a cultural phenomenon, and certainly there are more viewers of that than the PBS system, but I enjoy both of them.” A similar cop-out from Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va. “I have to leave that to everybody else to make their decision,” Forbes said. “I don’t think most people look to either American Idol or PBS broadcasting for all of their values.”

Colorado Public Radio has laid off Stephanie Wendt, a classical-music host based in Minnesota. A memo to the staff said the change “reflects our ongoing need to address Colorado Public Radio’s continued financial situation.” The station has been struggling; earlier this year its bond rating was downgraded, according to a Current story in March.

The Sponsorship Group for Public Television, a sales organization for producers, is now pitching to underwriters on kid’s shows including Arthur and Clifford to run spots for as short as a week, The New York Times is reporting. Current reported in October 2008 that pubcasters had been advocating for such a move; the Sponsorship Group had previously offered only yearlong sponsorships. “We’re trying to be more flexible,” Suzanne Zellner, veep for corporate sponsorships for WGBH, told the Times.

The late “happy trees” pubpainter Bob Ross is a very tough act to follow. But Anne Mimi Sammis is picking up the palette. And there’ll be guest-star artists! According to a press release, Love to Paint with Mimi is a 13-episode series to be available in HD and SD via satellite feed from NETA. Check out her website to see the painter and sculptor with Queen Elizabeth.