If you wanted some archival news, which would you buy? A video clip from ABC News @ $1.99 or an article from the New York Times archive @ $3.95? Noted in AdWeek and a World Association of Newspapers blog.

Helen Mirren won a Primetime Emmy for her performance in Elizabeth I, an HBO/Channel 4 drama that also received the statuette for outstanding miniseries. Barry Manilow was PBS’s winner in last night’s live Emmy telecast, winning for his performance in a fundraising program.

The New York Times reports on a lawsuit filed last week that seeks to protect the First Amendment right to publish online parodies of Barney, the PBS Kids character that some adults love to hate.

Some children’s and consumer advocates aren’t happy about PBS’s plan to add banner ads to PBSKids.org beginning Oct. 1, reports the Los Angeles Times. “Children are basically inundated with marketing and the PBS website was in some ways a sanctuary,” said Susan Linn, a psychologist and co-founder of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood in Boston. “This is just one more step in the commercialization of PBS and children’s programming.” Said a PBS spokesman: “This is going to be very smart and respectful, and anything that will appear online will be in the spirit of what is on PBS on air.”

Alaska Public Media is laying off seven workers to offset a growing deficit, reports the Anchorage Daily News. The network’s president attributes the shortfall to declining state support and rising costs in programming and other areas. Alaska Public Media operates the Alaska Public Radio Network and TV and radio stations in Anchorage.

WQED-FM in Pittsburgh is reducing the chatter during its classical music programming and making its selections more accessible to casual listeners, reports the city’s Post-Gazette. “We’ve recommitted to the classical music format — and to make sure every show we offer is speaking in a contemporary, welcoming, down-to-earth voice,” says Susan Lyons, executive director.

Ira Flatow, host of NPR’s Talk of the Nation Science Friday, discussed media coverage of science at a biotech conference in Denver Wednesday. Check out the anecdote from Flatow’s days at CBS: “You want me to wear a white lab coat, don’t you?” Flatow has started a nonprofit, TalkingScience, to draw more attention to developments in science.

A Washington Jewish Week profile of NPR’s Daniel Schorr features details about Schorr’s early days rarely reported in other write-ups. “In preparation for his 1929 bar mitzvah ceremony, Schorr went to a local cheder (Jewish primary school) where his Hebrew prowess earned him a gold watch and a train ride to Philadelphia,” writes Paula Amann.

The audience for WVXU-FM in Cincinnati grew 20 percent over the last year since the station was acquired by Cincinnati Public Radio and went all-news, reports the city’s Post. “I think our success will probably be a blueprint for … other markets,” says CPR president Rich Eiswerth. CPR’s WGUC-FM, which became all classical, saw no audience growth. Meanwhile, KAZU-FM in Pacific Grove, Calif., has attracted more listeners since an all-news switch, reports the Santa Cruz Sentinel, while community station KUSP-FM has lost some listeners and missed fundraising goals in recent years.

A sign of the times? Check out this photo of the mixing board in the main air studio at Pacifica’s KPFA-FM in Berkeley, Calif. And remember, it was a Pacifica station that brought about the establishment of broadcast indecency rules.

CPB announced yesterday that it has awarded $7.74 million in grants to 85 radio stations for converting to digital broadcasting.

Dennis Haarsager posts a speech delivered at this year’s Public Radio Development and Marketing Conference by Bill Kling, president of Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media. “With audiences increasingly in control of when and where they listen, it is no time to take them — or our stature in the community — for granted,” he says.

Andy Carvin announces on his weblog that he’s joining NPR as senior product manager for online communities. “In this role, I’ll essentially act as NPR’s Web 2.0 strategist, helping them develop new initiatives that encourage greater public involvement in NPR’s online activities,” he says. “These activities could take a variety of forms: online social networks, wikis, blogs, mobcasting, citizen journalism, original content sharing.” Carvin runs the Digital Divide Network and has worked for years on web education projects.

The Washington Post reports on performances by Suzanne Vega and other musicians in the virtual world of Second Life. Vega’s appearance was staged by public radio’s The Infinite Mind, which has built Second Life headquarters.

News and Notes host Ed Gordon tells Richard Prince he’s frustrated with “internal strife” at his show, while NPR says it has been working with Gordon to improve his performance. (Earlier column by Prince. Via Romenesko.)