WGBH and AARP are co-producing a web-only reality series, 5 Weeks to a New Life, focusing on “revitalizing a marriage and other relationships, staying sexually active throughout life, looking good without resorting to Botox, financing dreams and living a life with purpose,” they said in a statement. The program follows two married couples and four singles facing the challenges of middle age, with guidance from personal-growth experts. The content “was designed not only to spark our thinking about what we want, but to inspire us to move forward,” said Laurie Donnelly, executive producer of WGBH’s lifestyle programming.

Due to a nearly 17 percent cut in state funding, South Dakota Public Broadcasting is eliminating 10.5 full-time positions for the upcoming fiscal year. The pubcaster said in a statement that jobs are being cut from outreach and education, engineering, television, radio and marketing — 15 percent of the total staff will be gone as of June 8. In addition, it’s reorganizing the education and outreach department into an online-based service, and ending initiatives including Ready to Learn and the overnight and daytime educational TV programming block. “The cuts made to the FY2011 budget required a system-wide analysis,” said Julie Andersen, executive director.

Nightly Business Report has launched a news bureau in Denver as part of an agreement with Rocky Mountain PBS. The bureau, which opened Wednesday (June 1), will cover stories of national interest happening in the region. NBR also opened a Silicon Valley bureau last November and recently began broadcasting on Sirius XM radio as part of an ambitious expansion process planned by owner Mykalai Kontilai, whose NBR Worldwide purchased the show last year.

Former NPR President Vivian Schiller will join NBC News in July as chief digital officer, overseeing digital strategy of both NBC News and MSNBC. Her responsibilities include strategic oversight of NBC’s digital extensions on the web and in mobile, interaction with the joint venture that oversees the msnbc.com digital network, and directing new emerging properties such as EducationNation.com and theGrio.com. She reports to NBC News President Steve Capus, who said her journalistic background and digital expertise brings “a strong new pillar to the NBC News leadership team.” Schiller, who served as NPR president two years, laid the groundwork for a national and local digital service strategy between NPR and its member stations.

New Hampshire Public Television is eliminating some 20 full-time positions to offset an “impending loss” of $2.7 million in state funding, which will be a 30 percent reduction in its $8.8 million annual operating budget. NHPTV spokesperson Grace Lessner tells Current that the full-time staff of 49 will fall to 30 as of July 1. Most of the affected staffers were notified on Wednesday (June 1), spokesperson Lessner told Foster’s Daily Democrat. She said cuts come from all departments, including administration, production and content. “It was devastating,” she said. Remaining staff will receive salary cuts of  between 4 percent to 10 percent and reductions in the station’s staff retirement plan contribution.

Fifteen projects by 22 teenage filmmakers will receive grants through Project VoiceScape, a collaboration between Adobe Youth Voices and P.O.V., public TV’s longest-running showcase for indie nonfiction films. The Adobe and PBS Foundations jointly announced the grants today (June 1). Here is a list of the winning programs (PDF).

In her last column as NPR Ombudsman, Alicia Shepard credited NPR for demonstrating a commitment to transparency and accountability by employing a journalist as an internal critic of its news coverage. “They say this is the loneliest job in the newsroom – the public thinks you are a shill for NPR and NPR employees think you are an internal affairs investigative unit,” she wrote. “Often I’ve felt a bit like a security guard at a private party. Just my presence – and fear of being named in a column – may help to keep folks working hard to live up to the ethics and journalism standards that NPR has established.”

NBC News reportedly plans to hire former NPR President Vivian Schiller to lead its digital division. “People familiar with the company say Schiller, who once ran the New York Times’ Web site, will report to NBC News chief Steve Capus,” Peter Kafka reports for All Things Digital.

After Bill Kling retires on July 1 from atop Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media in St. Paul, he “plans to take his show on the road and use his influence to build up public radio stations across America,” according to the City Pages in Minneapolis. Kling reiterated to the paper his plans to raise $5 million a year for five years, to be used by four public radio stations (Chicago’s WBEZ, New York’s WYNC, and KPCC in southern California) to hire more reporters (Current, Oct. 18, 2010). Another $5 million per year will be donated to the greater public radio system.

WTVI, the PBS affiliate in Charlotte, N.C., is asking Mecklenburg County commissioners to restore a total of $1 million in funding that was cut in recent years, reports WFAE-FM. There’s no operating money for WTVI in the county budget, but the station gets help paying for equipment and studio space as well as about $100,000 to televise commission meetings. WTVI President Elsie Garner says the station won’t go dark immediately if the county refuses her funding request, at least “not in one year. But if you keep bleeding money, after awhile, yeah that’s the logical thing.” Garner denied to Current any rumors that WTVI may be considering dropping from PBS membership.

Ann Taylor, the bottom-of-the-hour news voice on NPR’s All Things Considered, is leaving after 21 years with the network. In a memo to staff, Managing Editor David Sweeney and Robert Garcia, newscast executive producer, say Taylor has anchored the spots “with great clarity of writing and authority of delivery.” The memo says Taylor wants to stop commuting weekly to Washington from New York, and her last day will be June 30. “Ann is one of the most gracious professionals both of us have had the honor of working with,” it says. “She’s unflappable on the air and is one of the most hard-working and adaptable broadcasters.

Frontline’s website is back up after being hit by hackers over the weekend. The group Lulz Boat claimed responsibility on its Twitter account Sunday night (May 29), mentioning retaliation for Frontline’s recent documentary, “WikiSecrets.” Frontline Executive Producer David Fanning said in a statement on the attack, “We see it as a disappointing and irresponsible act. We have been very open to publishing criticism of the film, and the film itself included multiple points of view. Rather than engaging in that spirit, this is an attempt to chill independent journalism.” The attack also involved PBS NewsHour and some PBS.org pages, which are still under repair but should be up soon.

Kate Dobrovolny, former station manager at WILL-AM-FM-TV in Champaign, Ill., who retired in April after 31 years at the station, is spending her summer right where she wants to be: In her garden. Meanwhile, the local News-Gazette reports, Illinois Public Media is conducting a national search for her successor. It’s also hired Debbie Hamlett as director of development to replace George Hauenstein, who left last fall. Hamlett was previously development and programming director at South Carolina ETV. Hamlett starts today (May 31). UPDATE: Current just heard from Hauenstein, who points out he did not retire, as the News-Gazette report states, but instead departed to become chief development officer at Vermont Public Television.

The Alternate Side, an HD Radio channel and online stream programmed by New York contemporary music station WFUV-FM, is expanding its broadcast footprint into morning drive-time. A six-hour music show, co-hosted by Russ Borris and Alisa Ali, will air on WNYE 91.5 FM, beginning June 1 from 6 a.m. to noon. The new programming deal supplants WNYE’s three-year relationship with KEXP in Seattle, which brought simulcasts of KEXP’s John in the Morning to New York’s airwaves in 2008. WNYE is part of NYC Media, owned and operated by the New York City government. The partnership with WFUV “provides the opportunity to improve our radio content and further workforce development in media at the same time,” said Katherine Oliver, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, which oversees the NYC Media group.