Israel “Izzi” Smith signs on at NPR in November as director of programming. His predecessor in the job is Eric Nuzum, who was promoted to v.p. of programming earlier this year. Smith has worked as a pubmedia consultant for almost 15 years, helping to introduce and manage programs such as Radiolab, PRX’s The Moth Radio Hour and State of the Re:Union. “Izzi is a true ‘connector,’ always trying to link good ideas, people and stations to serve audiences in bigger, more inclusive ways,” Nuzum wrote in a Sept. 5 memo announcing the hire to NPR staff. Smith’s primary responsibilities will be working with programs as well as on-air fundraising and promotion teams.

An infusion of CPB funding is allowing the Independent Television Service to add more features to OVEE, the online engagement tool that ITVS calls “the world’s first fully functional social screening platform.”

A new agreement between Southern Oregon University and Jefferson Public Radio settles the months-long dispute between the two parties over control of the 22-station radio network and related real-estate projects that had caused concern among university auditors. The mediated settlement, announced Aug. 27, splits JPR’s radio activities from the theater restoration projects that a related nonprofit, the Jefferson Public Radio Foundation, had undertaken in recent years. Southern Oregon University will assume control of all 22 stations in the JPR network, seven of which are now owned by the foundation. Meanwhile, the foundation’s theater properties will be controlled by Jefferson Live!, a new limited-liability corporation to be established as a subsidiary of the JPR Foundation.

Chicago’s WTTW said today (Sept. 7) that it has signed on as a founding member of the Digital Convergence Alliance, the multi-station master control centralcast facility lead by WJCT in Jacksonville, Fla., and has been actively involved in its design. “WTTW has a long history of quality content creation,” said Dan Schmidt, WTTW president, “and combining our master control operation frees up resources to create more.” The station plans to put all savings into content; no jobs will be eliminated. The alliance, the second hub operation in pubcasting after Centralcast LLC in New York, is funded by a $7 million grant from CPB.

SoCal Connected, KCET’s investigative news program, is moving to a weeknight format for its fifth season, beginning Oct. 29.   “We will continue to investigate the inner workings of Los Angeles and surrounding communities, while offering a daily recap of local headlines,” said Bret Marcus, executive producer, in the Sept. 6 announcement. Last season, SoCal Connected won 16 Los Angeles Press Club Awards, more than any other TV station, including its Public Service Award for exposing lavish spending at the Housing Authority of Los Angeles — only the second news organization to receive the honor. KCET was forced to shut down production of new episodes a few weeks earlier than usual last year, after losing U.S.

Chicago’s WBEZ is revamping its flagship newsmagazine, Eight Forty-Eight, into The Morning Shift with Tony Sarabia, reports Time Out Chicago media critic Robert Feder. It’ll also start 10 minutes earlier, at 8:50 a.m. weekdays. “The move is an opportunity to dive in earlier to news and stories that are relevant to our listener community,” Torey Malatia, president and CEO of Chicago Public Media, told staffers Thursday. The program’s original name honored the station’s Navy Pier address, 848 E. Grand Ave. The station has been mulling changes to the show since last November.

In The Life, the first and only nationally broadcast lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) newsmagazine, is going off the air in December, after 20 years. The announcement came Wednesday (Sept. 5) from In The Life Media Co-Chairs Henry van Ameringen, who had contributed $1 million to the show in March, and Jayne B. Sherman. “Creating high quality, in-depth journalism is expensive,” their announcement said. “However, we are committed to using our available resources to reach the broadest possible audience. New digital technologies provide the way forward for ITLM’s work to live on. ITLM has entered into conversations with other organizations to create a web-based, open-source repository of our video archive documenting the LGBT movement.”

Rebecca Eaton, executive producer of Masterpiece, is a new entry to Vanity Fair’s annual “The Powers That Be” list, squeaking in at No. 24 on the roll of 25. Just below her, actor Alec Baldwin; above, Matt Blank and David Nevins of Showtime. Vanity Fair said of Eaton, “Great reviews and solid ratings have been the norm during Eaton’s 27-year tenure at the helm of both Mystery! and Masterpiece, but with Downton Abbey she has given the newly glamorous PBS its most talked-about show since the early 1990s.” It also predicts a good year ahead for her. Others on the list include media titan Rupert Murdoch, music supercouple Jay-Z and Beyonce, and Comedy Central stars Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.