The board chairman and the interim head of the Association of Public Television Stations met with the FCC Wednesday (July 7) to talk spectrum. In an interview with Broadcasting & Cable, Lonna Thompson, APTS temporary CEO and general counsel, said she told officials that pubcasters were “open to ideas” and dialogue about maximizing the use of the spectrum, but not at the expense of the service stations provide. “[M]erely saying ‘let’s transition them all to broadband’ isn’t the answer because many of the audiences we serve don’t have access to broadband,” she said. APTS Board Chairman Rod Bates, g.m. of Nebraska Educational TV, “provided a first-hand pitch on the value of his spectrum,” B&C said.

NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg is the recipient of this year’s prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award, CPB announced today (July 8). CPB has presented the honor since 1977 to individuals who “foster public radio’s quality and service and shape its direction.” It’s named for the legendary newsman who championed high-quality journalism during his three-decade career. Totenberg has been with NPR for 35 years. Her reports air regularly on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition. And no doubt she’s the only Murrow Award winner with a carry-all named after her: The Nina Totin’ Bag. (“Due to extremely high demand … now in its second edition!”

About a dozen North Carolina Senators on Tuesday (July 6) watched unaired news footage that the state’s public TV network had been ordered to provide, reports Bloomberg Business Week. The subpoena from the Senate Judiciary Committee was part of its ongoing investigation into Alocoa’s efforts to secure a new federal license for hydroelectric dams. UNC-TV on July 5 turned over news report footage, data and records on the issue, prior to broadcast. Steve Volstad, a spokesman for UNC-TV, told local TV station WRAL that the network decided not to fight the subpoena because state law requires public agencies to turn over information sought by any legislative committee, and UNC-TV attorneys weren’t sure the footage would fall under the state’s 1999 press shield law.

The local pubcasting station iPhone app, announced in January, has been okayed by Apple and is now available in its iTunes store, says the Nieman Journalism Lab. It’s a free download from PRX and WBUR in Boston. One cool feature: There’s also an alarm clock that will play WBUR to wake you up. That idea was suggested by a listener. Although this one is WBUR-centric, its developers hope other stations develop similar apps using its open-source license. Here’s more info from PRX.

Primetime Emmy nods are out and PBS was the fifth most-honored network with 32. Topping the list was HBO with 101, then ABC with 63, CBS with 57 and NBC with 48. Masterpiece‘s “Return to Cranford” (above) received seven nominations, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea from Ken Burns had five, and “Emma” on Masterpiece scored four. A total of 512 nominations were announced early today (July 8). Visit the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences site for this complete list (PDF).

Well, it’s official. National Public Radio is now just NPR, reports the Washington Post. “Much like the corporate names KFC or AT&T, the initials now stand for the initials,” the paper notes. NPR hasn’t formally announced the rebranding but has told its staff and affiliates to use only the initials on the air or online. NPR President Vivian Schiller first publicly mentioned the change in June at D8, the Wall Street Journal‘s All Things Digital conference.

After a decade, sustaining members have given four times as much, net Everywhere you look these days, there’s a different message on the state of the economy: the Dow is up, the Dow is down, hiring is up, the recovery is jobless. If anything is certain, it’s that the outlook remains very uncertain. It’s a genuine blessing, therefore, that sustaining members can put a little more certainty into your station’s life. Since Minnesota Public Radio began its sustaining member program in 2007, it has revolutionized the way we generate financial support from our audiences. Sustaining members take a step beyond those who commit to a year of monthly gifts on their credit card or through their bank.

The Green Bay (Wisc.) City Council continues its debate on assisting Wisconsin Public Television with its $350,000 deficit left over from the massive LZ Lambeau Outreach in May (Current, June 8, 2010). Members of the council’s finance committee voted July 6 to provide WPT $25,000; the issue returns to the full council July 20, according to the Green Bay Press Gazette. The council is trying to decide whether the city should donate part or all of its $48,665 in expenses for police protection and other services during the tribute to Vietnam veterans, which drew some 70,000 visitors to the city May 21-23.

Deborah A. Cowan is the new chief financial officer at NPR, the network announced today (July 7). Cowan is currently senior v.p. of finance at Radio One Inc., the nation’s largest radio broadcaster targeting African-American and urban audiences. Before joining Radio One in 2001, she held financial positions with IBM and Coopers & Lybrand. She succeeds Jim Elder, who came on as CFO in 2000. Cowan’s first day is Aug. 2. She’ll report to Debra Delman, senior v.p.of strategic operations and finance.

The incentives ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million per station could give an extra push to CPB’s ongoing matchmaking efforts.

After what she termed a “difficult deliberation,” NPR v.p. Debra May Hughes is leaving the network and her post at the top of Public Interactive, which offers website development services to the pubcasting community. Her departure is effective Aug. 31. Hughes said in a letter to colleagues that “the time is right to step down from the helm of Public Interactive and chart a new course,” but didn’t mention what that would be. Hughes began her pubcasting career 14 years ago by launching Car Talk‘s site and steered PI through transitions to new parent companies Public Radio International and NPR.

Documentaries On-Demand, featuring PBS programming, will begin this autumn, reports Multichannel News. It’s a partnership with content distributor Gravitas Ventures. The package will offer 30 hours of PBS-distributed docs and indie titles including those from American Experience and Independent Lens. Some will debut on VOD ahead of their PBS broadcasts and before DVD release. No word on pricing.

An HIV-positive Muppet will be a co-host of the new Nigerian Sesame Street, reports the international entertainment news site C21Media.com. The show is a coproduction of Sesame Workshop and Nigeria’s Ileke Media. It’ll be a three-year run funded by a grant from the United States Agency for International Development. A portion of the money also will go to outreach for the nation’s 25 million preschool children. One host of the 30-minute show will be an HIV-positive girl named Kami. The other is a boy Muppet whose name will be chosen through a national text-message vote. “It is our hope that the series will make a strong impact among Nigerian children and their families, addressing relevant social issues, as well as providing them with a strong foundation of basic literacy and numeracy that will instill an interest in and lifelong love of learning,” said Sesame Street Nigeria exec producer and director of business development Yemisi Ilo.

In international pubcasting news, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has selected a new head of France’s pubTV network — after changing a law to do so, according to Expatica.com. He named Remy Pflimlin, 56, of the press distribution company Presstalis, to lead France Televisions. The move aggravated several lawmakers. “The naming of the president of public television by the chairman of the republic is the crowning of a process of putting France Televisions under political and financial control,” Socialist Senator David Assouline said. Previous leaders of France Televisions were selected by an independent regulator; last year, Sarkozy passed a reform allowing the president to choose pubmedia execs.

After losing 18 percent of its budget in state funding cuts last year, WVIA in Pittston, Pa., ended its fiscal year 2010 on June 30 with a surplus, reports the Times-Leader newspaper. “We’ve got a better station today than we had a year ago,” President and CEO Bill Kelly told the paper. “If you had told me that a year ago, I’d have told you you were nuts.” It hasn’t been an easy journey, however. More than seven positions were eliminated and the remaining 38 full-time staffers took a 5 percent pay cut and furloughs. Kelly took a 15 percent salary reduction and management took 12 percent.