This American Life raises money directly from its listeners, so why can’t NPR? Pubradio marketing and research consultant John Sutton says the field is forgoing millions in listener contributions by prohibiting NPR from asking for direct support, and he makes a case for lifting the ban. NPR can play an effective role in soliciting donations from lapsed donors and in making appeals for additional gifts, he writes: “NPR can leverage its brand and economies of scale to conduct direct mail and email acquisition campaigns. What seems cost-prohibitive to many local stations is very affordable on a national level. All that’s needed is a model for making sure that all boats rise together.”

The Evangelische Omroep channel of the Dutch public broadcasting system has canceled plans for a comedy show in which “non-religious comedians were asked to poke fun at Jesus,” according to the NRC Handelsblad website. Some viewers threatened to cancel their membership. The working title: Loopt een Man Over het Water, or Man Walks Over Water — a play on the “A man walks into a bar…” jokes. [Initials of Dutch broadcaster corrected.]

For the first time, Buffalo’s WNED has premiered a show at the Television Critics Association tour. Actor Donald Faison (Dr. Turk on Scrubs) is hosting Your Life, Your Money, the station’s program aimed at young adults. “No one teaches you how to save your money, ever,” Faison told the Buffalo News. “This show does that — or at least sets you down the right road.” It premieres Sept. 9.

The upcoming Sesame Street parody of the hit show Mad Men, announced on the Television Critics Association press tour, inspired the Flavorwire site to make a few casting suggestions. Prairie Dawn as Peggy Olson? Brilliant.

There’s heartwarming story that’s circulating in the blogosphere about a homeless man from Phoenix who passed away and left a $4 million estate. His name, Richard Leroy Walters, can be heard on funding credits that began airing on public radio last month: “Support for NPR comes from the estate of Richard Leroy Walters, whose life was enriched by NPR, and whose bequest seeks to encourage others to discover public radio.” All Things Considered host Robert Siegel uncovered the story of Walters’ life and the gifts he bequeathed. You can read or listen to it here.

Even though school will have started by then, about 300 public-media folks will get to go to camp on the weekend of Oct. 17-18 [2009] — NPR and PBS’s first national PublicMediaCamp. Plans will be announced this week, says Andy Carvin, NPR senior strategist, social media desk.

A new federal lawsuit alleges that WYCC, a PBS member licensed to City Colleges of Chicago, violated terms of its government grant funding and broke federal tax rules for charities, according to an exclusive story on the Chi-Town Daily News website. Under alleged direction of then-Chancellor Wayne Watson, WYCC paid to produce free videos of powerful politicians and friends of the chancellor, says an internal college e-mail obtained by the investigative site. The political programs, produced between 2002 and 2006, prompted a state ethics investigation. When the station’s former manager, Maria Moore, complained about the political projects, she was fired.

Too many couples were splitting up before the offspring came along. Or they lived together grumpily, keenly aware they shouldn’t have had that second date. Ellen Schneider and her crew saw it was time for an intervention. Schneider’s San Francisco company, Active Voice, has published a 25-page booklet to turn things around: “The Prenups: What Filmmakers and Funders Should Talk About Before Tying the Knot.”

PBS announcements from the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena: — Curious George is getting his own app. The Curious George Coloring Book App “is designed to encourage color experimentation across a full spectrum of hues,” according to PBS. There’s a palette with 45 colors, 48 coloring pages and a personal art gallery. Kids can email artwork or post to Facebook pages. It’ll cost $2.99. — At PBSKidsGo.org, Wilson & Ditch: Digging America, produced by the Jim Henson Co., will take kids ages 6 to 10 on a cross-country adventure with two gophers as they explore America. There’ll be webisodes, a travel blog, on-location audio podcasts and original comics.

WVIZ-TV and WCPN-FM in Cleveland will lay off nine staffers and make “double-digit percentage” cuts to executive salaries, according to the Plain Dealer newspaper. The station anticipates a 7 percent reduction in its fiscal 2010 budget. Layoffs will occur Oct. 1. Facing pay cuts are COO Kit Jensen, president and CEO Jerry Wareham and CFO Robert Calsin. The stations are under the umbrella corporation of Ideastream.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday okayed the fiscal 2010 Labor-HHS appropriations bill, recommending a $450 million two-year advance appropriation for CPB, up from $430 million for FY 2011; $36 million for public television and radio digital conversion, content and services; $10.7 million for Ready To Teach; $28.5 million for Ready To Learn; and $10 million for financial assistance to pubTV and radio stations impacted by ongoing economic problems. The House had already approved $440 million for CPB, $40 million for station financial aid, $36 million to continue the digital transition and $25.4 million for Ready To Learn. A statement from PBS noted that the fed appropriation makes up about 18 percent of system revenue, “essential seed money that makes public service media possible in this nation.”

The current issue of Library Journal highlights a June report, Partnership for a Nation of Learners: Joining Forces, Creating Value (PDF), that details work between the Institute of Museum Library Services and CPB promoting community collaborations. Among the projects cited is an effort in Iowa to improve reading skills among Hispanic parents. Partners were Iowa Public Television, the State Library of Iowa and the Iowa Department of Education.

Call it Fred 2.0 or Mister Rogers’ cyber-neighborhood: The much loved pubcasting kids show has a new web site, reports The Boston Globe. “Although some of the content is decades old, the look of the site is radiant and fresh with bright primary colors, ” the paper notes. Cathy Droz of Rogers’ Family Communications production company says, “It’s reintroducing Fred.” One video clip: Rogers testifying before the Senate in 1968 to try for more funding for his show and other PBS programs.

Dual-licensee KPBS in San Diego is looking for its first director of news. Also, Keith York, head programmer for 12 years, is moving to oversee corporate fundraising. And John Decker, director of radio programming, will add television to his duties. That’s all part of a wide-ranging reorganization as the station also increases its focus on news and works to spend less on top-level executive salaries, according to the Voice of San Diego website. Spending on new media also will grow by 15 percent to $1.05 million. Two years ago that figure was $539,000.