A unique nonfiction film that its producers call “a road movie on the web” is getting attention within the indie production world, according to the Independent, a news site for media makers. Viewers interested in “Prison Valley” sign into Twitter, Facebook, or create an account on the film’s site. Then the movie, from French producers David Dufresne and Philippe Brault, begins in a car driving along Skyline Drive in Cañon City, Colo., heading toward an area that’s home to 13 prisons. There are opportunities to take detours into additional interactive content, and visitors see the names of others who are watching.

An inventory of “existing spectrum allocation, assignment and utilization” is already under way, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a letter to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.). Broadcasting & Cable reports that a bill mandating the inventory by the FCC and National Telecommunications and Information Administration has passed the House and is awaiting action in the Senate. The FCC soon will vote on a proposal to free spectrum in the mobile satellite services band for terrestrial broadband. Then, probably sometime during the next few months, will begin reclaiming 120 MHz of broadcast spectrum for that broadband.

BBC Worldwide is about to launch a news website for American audiences, BBC.com, according to Advertising Age. The site, produced by a staff of ten journalists based in Washington, D.C., will cover politics and general news, and is expected to go live today. “[T]his latest effort is part of the company’s ambitions to nab more U.S. online media dollars, and the inception of BBC.com underscores the importance of original content to that strategy,” Ad Age reports.

America needs one news service to broadcast internationally, drawing on the strengths of both public and commercial media, writes Lee Bollinger, president of Columbia University, in today’s (July 14) Wall Street Journal. America’s broadcast news industry was designed to have private owners operating within public regulations. Currently, “American journalism is not just the product of the free market, but of a hybrid system of private enterprise and public support,” he writes. In today’s globalized world, other countries have strong national media: The BBC in Britain, China’s CCTV and Xinhua news, and Qatar’s Al Jazeera. But news broadcast internationally from the United States originates from Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty — developed during war “as tools of our anticommunist foreign policy,” Bollinger said.

WNET/Thirteen will launch on Sept. 21 “Mission U.S.,” the first in a series of educational online games targeting “teens and tweens” nationwide, according to a press release. It’s part of CPB’s $20 million American History and Civics initiative, which was announced in 2005 and funded seven grantees in 2007 (Current, July 9, 2007). The first of 10 “missions” is “For Crown or Colony?,” which takes place just before the American Revolution in Boston. Players follow Nathaniel Wheeler, a 14-year-old printer’s apprentice. According to the release, “Nat’s fate rests in players’ hands: Should he complete his apprenticeship and support the Patriots’ cause, remain loyal to the crown, or leave Boston, taking a new job at sea?”

The Washington Post‘s Reliable Sources columnists are reporting that a cutting remark rocker Paul McCartney made during the taping of a PBS “In Performance at the White House” concert was omitted from the program. His comment came near the end of the June 2 performance, after he received his Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from President Obama (above, PBS image). After one more song, McCartney told the crowd, “After the last eight years, it’s good to have a president that knows what a library is.” The Huffington Post said a rep for producing station WETA explained that McCartney’s comment came after the program had officially concluded.

Robert Coonrod, CPB president from 1997 to 2004, has been chosen CEO of media and communications company InterMedia, the firm said in a press release. The appointment was announced by Richard Carlson, chairman of the InterMedia Board, who served as president of CPB from 1992 to 1997; Coonrod had worked under him there for many years. InterMedia provides cloud communications services to small- and mid-sized businesses. He joins InterMedia from his post as COO of the nonprofit Meridian International Center.

Robert Fish, president of Rhode Island PBS, died July 9 at his home in Snug Harbor, Rhode Island. He was 65. He was a member of the Rhode Island Telecommunications Authority, and president of the Rhode Island Broadcasters Association since 2008. Michael Isaacs, chairman of the telecom authority, said Fish could “turn adversity into advantage. He brought that kind of thinking and leadership to the public television station here in Rhode Island. It was a new perspective from someone who had broadcasting experience in a different arena. Bob knew a lot of people and touched a lot of lives.” His career included serving as g.m.

CPB is backing the National Federation of Community Broadcasters as its service provider for African American public radio stations. The decision, announced after a meeting of African American station reps at NFCB’s Community Radio Conference last month, adds a third ethnic radio group to NFCB’s roster — African American Public Radio Stations (AAPRS). This is a new group — not the preexisting, similarly named African American Public Radio Consortium led by Loretta Rucker, which applied unsuccessfully for the grant. NFCB already provides an organizational umbrella for Native Public Media and Latino Public Radio. “We have experience and a track record of dealing with the diversity of our industry,” said new NFCB President Maxie Jackson, who forged strong relationships with many African American station execs during his previous jobs as a station programmer and consultant.

The funding of a documentary on former Secretary of State George Schultz is coming under scrutiny by The New York Times as well as FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting). It’s a three-part series titled “Turmoil and Triumph” that began on PBS Monday (July 12) and runs the next two Mondays, produced by Free to Choose Media. Sources for financial backing for what the Times dubs “this tribute” include the Stephen Bechtel Fund (where Schultz was president for seven years, as well as a board member), and Charles Schwab (Schultz was a board member on the Charles Schwab Corp.).

When Maryland Public Television invited candidates to do interviews for its website, one literally replied, “Go to hell” — because he feels that public broadcasting is on television, not on the Web. Larry Unger, MPT’s chief operating officer, said the station has done televised debates for some statewide offices in the past. This year, it is conducting short interviews with statewide and Congressional candidates to be posted on its website. “People don’t want to sit through a program and watch interviews with all of the candidates,” Unger said. “That would take a really long time. This way, they can do what they want, and all of the interviews will be available to them.”

WNIT staffers are no doubt pretty thrilled about their new digs in South Bend, Ind.,considering their old offices were in “a cluster of manufactured homes,” points out local CBS affiliate WSBT. The Michiana (that’s Michigan/Indiana, to you non-Midwesterners) pubcaster is moving into WSBT’s former studios, complete with two massive screens broadcasting to the street from a glass corner of the building. WNIT President Mary Pruess said, “It’s the kind of public television station this region deserves, a true community resource.” The station is going from 8,500 square feet to 30,000. Schurz Communications, which owns WSBT and the South Bend Tribune, donated the property and some equipment.

KMBH, owned by the Catholic archdiocese in Harlingen, Texas, won’t get permanent all-Catholic programming on one of its digital channels after all — a deal it had been planning for years (Current, April 21, 2008). The Brownsville Herald reports that the agreement between the station and GospaTV, which began broadcasting on a KMBH multichannel in June 2009, has fallen apart and its broadcasts probably will end July 24. The paper said that GospaTV missed two $60,000 payments to the station, most recently on June 1. GospaTV’s owner Fiat Communications counters that KMBH didn’t provide certain benefits and services as stated in the contract.

The Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) has put forth an interesting idea: If the FCC allows more big media company mergers, it should require the companies to pay for public affairs programming on pubTV. The suggestion was part of WGAE’s comments to the commission Thursday (July 8) during its quadrennial review of media ownership rules, according to Broadcasting & Cable. “[I]f media conglomerates insist on being permitted to consolidate their hold on the media marketplace, in exchange they can be required to contribute assets to public programming,” said WGAE. The Guild represents thousands of TV writers, editors and producers in entertainment and news.

WAMU, 88.5 FM in Washington, D.C., last week began broadcasting in Ocean City, Md., as WRAU 88.3 FM, Ocean City Today reported today (July 9). The new channel will carry WAMU’s programming as well as local news, traffic and weather. Caryn Mathes, WAMU g.m., called WRAU “a great opportunity to build and grow the audience.”