System/Policy
NPR CEO warns of ‘hostile environment’ ahead for journalism, scrutiny of pubmedia
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“We should be well prepared at every moment to talk with enthusiasm about the purpose and value of public media,” CEO Katherine Maher said.
Current (https://current.org/page/598/)
“We should be well prepared at every moment to talk with enthusiasm about the purpose and value of public media,” CEO Katherine Maher said.
A declining rate of growth among Passport users is exposing cracks in new donor programs at TV and joint licensees.
NRK, the Norwegian public broadcasting network, is at it again. “In its latest experiment with live coverage of mundane events,” The Associated Press reports, the network will air five hours of an attempt to break the world’s record for knitting. Yes, five solid hours of knitting. This, from the network that brought viewers five days straight of the “action” on a Norwegian cruise ship as it slowly wound its way along the coastline. The Nov.
NPR Digital has altered the latest version of its Composer software used by stations for tracking playlists and scheduling programs. Composer 2.0, which replaced the earlier Composer Pro product, rolled out in beta this spring. The changes respond to feedback from classical-music stations, who said the new version, as well as its predecessor, didn’t fit their needs. The software couldn’t accurately track scheduling of symphonies and extended performance credits, according to St. John Flynn, p.d. of Classical 91.7/Houston Public Media and president of the Association of Music Personnel in Radio. Composer’s developers plan to adapt the software by revamping the user interface for classical music and adding new playlist entry fields, said Stephanie Miller, director of station relations for NPR Digital Services.
In launching her own media company, Maria Hinojosa sought to bring a “consistent presence” of a Latina journalist to PBS and take over production of NPR’s Latino USA.
An Aug. 29 update of Department of Justice policies for enforcing marijuana laws did little to clarify whether public radio stations should air underwriting announcements for marijuana dispensaries, according to one communications attorney’s analysis. At least one station has aired spots for local dispensaries, while others have turned away interested underwriters. The hesitation stems in part from a lack of clarity surrounding the federal government’s enforcement of marijuana laws in states that have legalized medicinal or recreational use of the plant. In its Aug.
Classical music is a big part of the cultural fabric of Bloomington. But WFIU wasn’t aiming to eliminate local music programming.
WEDU’s Too Close to Home, which was previewed to a packed theatre before its Sept. 26 broadcast debut, reports personal stories behind a troubling trend in the Sunshine State: Florida has become a huge destination state for human trafficking, ranking third in the nation.
A $56.8 million technology project equipping public television stations to help deliver geo-targeted emergency messages to mobile devices has reached an important milestone. PBS WARN (Warning Alert and Response Network) connected to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s alert aggregator on Aug. 6.
CPB has granted KEET-TV in Eureka, Calif., a waiver to receive its fiscal 2014 Community Service Grant despite its failure to raise the required minimum in non-federal financial support (NFFS), according to Karen Barnes, the station’s director of programming and content, writing in the local Times-Standard. The station, one of the smallest in the pubcasting system, has never met its mandated NFFS, and has received waivers based on its rural location and limited resources. CPB tightened its CSG policies in 2010. “CPB issued a waiver for KEET again this year but put the station on notice,” Barnes wrote. “KEET must demonstrate a significant increase in NFFS in order to receive federal funds in the future.”
About 40 percent of KEET’s $1.5 million budget comes from federal funds, Executive Director Ron Schoenherr said in the article.
A majority of staff members at Chicago Public Media signed a petition requesting union representation and presented it to CPM interim C.E.O. Alison Scholly Sept. 25, according to the broadcast union SAG-AFTRA, which seeks to represent staffers through its Chicago chapter.
Leaders of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, the company behind the PBS NewsHour, are negotiating to transfer ownership to co-producer WETA in Arlington, Va., according to an internal letter sent Tuesday to staffers. Program founders and original co-anchors Jim Lehrer and Robin MacNeil wrote that their reasons for relinquishing ownership at this time include “the probability of increasing our fundraising abilities” for the weeknightly news magazine. The New York Times reported in June that the program was in financial trouble and had received infusions of cash from PBS several times over the past year. Currently, Lehrer and MacNeil share ownership with Liberty Media, which acquired a majority interest in MacNeil/Lehrer Productions (MLP) 18 years ago. Liberty owns interests in various media, communications and entertainment businesses including SiriusXM, Barnes & Noble and the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball franchise.