Nice Above Fold - Page 395

  • This American Life opts for self-distribution, with PRX as pipeline to stations

    The producers of public radio’s This American Life will take over distribution of their show starting July 1, using Public Radio Exchange to deliver the program to stations. TAL and Public Radio International, its distributor of 17 years, announced in March that they would part ways effective July 1. Under the agreement announced Wednesday, Chicago Public Media and Ira Glass will handle distribution and underwriting, while Marge Ostroushko will be responsible for marketing and station relations. Ostroushko handled those duties before PRI picked up the show in 1997. “We’re excited and proud to be partners now with PRX,” Glass said in a statement.
  • Dorothy Peterson, CPB program officer, dies at 79

    Peterson worked on several projects for CPB and the National Endowment for the Humanities and mentored younger CPB staffers.
  • Tuesday roundup: Pubmedia inspires poetry volume; ESPN prez responds to Kirk's "whining"

    • I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me! Granted, that’s probably not among the verses in The Liberal Media Made Me Do It!, a new collection of poems based on public broadcasting stories and shows. But the book does contain pubmedia-centric contributions from more than 50 poets who were inspired by Radiolab, Performance TodayA Prairie Home Companion and other fare. “For me, the greatest delight in receiving these pieces has been to recognize the stories I have heard on the radio, with the added dimension of another’s perception added in,” writes editor Robbi Nester.
  • FCC denies stations' bid for looser underwriting language

    A public radio licensee’s bid to boost underwriting revenue by skirting restrictions on credit language met with a flat rebuttal from the FCC May 15. The licensee of Phoenix’s KBAQ and KJZZ asked the Commission in March to approve a three-year “limited and controlled demonstration project” to relax limits on language in the stations’ underwriting credits. Maricopa County Community College District proposed allowing qualitative terms, such as “award-winning” and “experienced,” and information about sales, discounts and interest rates. Such wording is currently barred under FCC rules. Maricopa argued that the relaxed restrictions would help the stations increase underwriting income amid a challenging climate for public broadcasting funding.
  • Friday roundup: Barzyk unveils pet project; Senate drops patent-reform bill

    Plus: Sesame Street and the Great Society, and PRX looks at the technical side of distributing WFMT shows.
  • Aviators distributor scrutinizing show after revelations of apparent product placement

    The public TV program The Aviators has come under increased scrutiny from its distributor after Current revealed apparent product placement in the show’s on-air segments. Executive Producer Anthony Nalli removed a sponsorship page from the program’s website earlier this month after Current inquired about promises that sponsors could “expertly integrate their brands directly into the content of the show in a subtle, non-invasive and very effective manner.” Other pages on the site made similar offers. Nalli said the matter was a misunderstanding over wording. “I used the language of advertising, not of public television,” Nalli said. He noted that the program follows pubTV and FCC rules against product placement.
  • Students opposing WRAS deal get new support

    College Broadcasters Inc. and the Student Press Law Center are speaking out against a channel-sharing agreement that gave Georgia Public Broadcasting control of Georgia State University’s 88.5 WRAS-FM during daytime hours. Under the agreement announced May 6, GPB will program the station with news from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. The student organization that until recently controlled all programming will take over nighttime hours. The announcement surprised and disappointed the station’s student hosts, who set up a website to protest the agreement. In letters to the University administration, CBI and SPLC expressed support for the students and denounced the deal, which was made without notifying the programmers.
  • Public Radio International launches podcast network SoundWorks

    SoundWorks launched Thursday with four podcasts, and PRI plans to add more in coming weeks.
  • Winslow of NewsHour sees need for greater investment in public TV's news programming

    The final installment of our interview with Linda Winslow, outgoing executive producer of the PBS NewsHour.
  • Thursday roundup: Snap Judgment aims for Hollywood; WNYC's Rookies offer radio pointers

    Plus: First Look backs press-freedom groups.
  • Yore tapped as new g.m. of Washington, D.C.'s WAMU

    JJ Yore, co-creator of public radio’s Marketplace and a former v.p. and executive producer with American Public Media, will step into a station leadership role Aug. 1 as g.m. of WAMU-FM in Washington, D.C. “It feels great to be coming back to Washington,” said Yore, who lived and worked in the area before heading west to start Marketplace. “WAMU is a station I have been close to and listened to since the mid-80s. I was listening to Diane Rehm before she had a national show. I feel like this is a culture I understand deeply.” Yore served as v.p. and g.m.
  • Chuck Furman, founding program manager of WGVU, dies at 73

    Furman helped launch WGVU-TV in Grand Rapids, Mich., and served as its assistant g.m. in charge of community relations for 25 years.
  • Wednesday roundup: PBS ombuds criticizes network's treatment of Current; Poynter looks toward reinvention

    Plus: A WXXI totebag tweets, and a Network Operations Center opens in Florida.
  • PIC names executive director, KCETLink reorganizes execs, and more comings and goings in public media

    Pacific Islanders in Communications, part of the National Minority Consortia, has promoted Leanne Ferrer to executive director and announced two additional appointments. Ferrer, a filmmaker who joined PIC in 2008 and created PIC’s first series, Pacific Heartbeat, steps up from her job as program director. PIC also promoted Amber McClure from content coordinator to digital engagement manager and hired Cheryl Hirasa to direct program development and content strategy. The changes were announced May 1. Ferrer previously worked for Disney Films and PBS Hawaii. In her new role, McClure, who joined PIC in 2010, will manage all social media and PIC’s newly redesigned website, as well as focus on partnerships with stations.
  • NPR will cancel 'Tell Me More', eliminate 28 jobs to balance budget

    An updated version of this article was posted May 28. NPR announced today that it will cancel Tell Me More, its weekday midday show with an emphasis on news and issues relating to people of color, effective Aug. 1. The network will also eliminate 28 jobs in its newsroom and library, eight of which are currently unfilled. “Today we are announcing changes in the newsroom to ensure we remain a leader in a dynamic and intensely competitive news environment, while living within NPR’s budget,” said Margaret Low Smith, NPR’s senior v.p. for news, in a memo to staff. Smith said the restructuring aims in part to meet a mandate for NPR to balance its budget by fiscal year 2015.