System/Policy

CPB finds pubTV stations committed to keeping spectrum

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Anxiety among public TV executives about channel repacking after spectrum auctions outweighs their enthusiasm for selling bandwidth, CPB s.v.p. Mark Erstling told corporation directors during their Sept. 17 board meeting in Washington, D.C.

CPB has commissioned Booz & Co. to research the effect of spectrum policy issues on the pubTV system for a white paper CPB will release early in 2014. The outcome of the upcoming auction to clear broadcast bandwidth for use by mobile devices is as critical to the future of public media “as the original noncommercial set-aside of public spectrum and the Broadcasting Act of 1967,” Erstling told directors. CPB’s greatest concern is loss of universal access to local public TV services, Erstling said.

System/Policy

FCC approves transfer of KSPS to Friends organization

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The Friends of KSPS, the nonprofit fundraising arm of KSPS-TV, has taken over as licensee of the Spokane, Wash., pubcaster from the local school district. The FCC approved the transfer, which includes the broadcast license, transmitter, tower and equipment. It was finalized Sept. 1. As part of the transition, the Friends of KSPS Board appointed Gary Stokes general manager.

Programs/Content

Colorado stations help raise $1.1 million in flood relief

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Broadcasters across Colorado, including several public media stations, raised $1.1 million Sept. 18 during Colorado Flood Relief, a live fundraiser. Torrential rains caused the massive flooding, which began Sept. 9. Floods have destroyed some 1,800 homes so far, with property losses statewide estimated at almost $2 billion, according to Reuters.

Quick Takes

Senators stress importance of international coordination on broadcast spectrum

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In a letter dated Sept. 20, a bipartisan group of senators tells the FCC that it is “essential” that the U.S. coordinate closely with Mexico and Canada over the quickly approaching broadcast spectrum auctions, reports Broadcasting & Cable. Signatories include members of the Commerce Committee and the chair of the Judiciary Committee, who insist that international issues be “addressed expeditiously.” Read a copy of the letter here.

Programs/Content

WBUR, KWSU among grantees in Knight’s community news challenge

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WBUR in Boston, Northwest Public Radio in Pullman, Wash., and The Lens, a nonprofit newsroom in New Orleans, are among 10 recipients of this year’s Knight Community Information Challenge grants to strengthen community journalism and promote government transparency. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation awarded a total of $545,000 to the winners, each of which raised additional matching grants from community-based funders. With $50,000 from Knight and a matching grant from the Boston Foundation, WBUR will establish a statewide education reporting project, Learning Lab. The station partnered with Glass Eye Media, founders of the Homicide Watch D.C. crime blog covering murder cases in the District of Columbia, to develop the idea. Learning Lab aims to provide a forum for ideas to improve schools in Massachusetts.

Programs/Content

With Jazz Night, WBGO and NPR Music will take fans into venues to listen, watch and chat

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NPR and WBGO-FM in Newark, N.J., are teaming up to produce Jazz Night in America, a series of radio broadcasts paired with live, high-quality video webcasts of jazz performances from venues across the country. The series will debut in April 2014, said Anya Grundmann, e.p. of NPR Music, who discussed the project with jazz programmers during a Sept. 18 conference session at the PRPD conference. Videos will stream on NPR’s and WBGO’s websites, and stations will be able to install a video player platform on their own sites to present the webcasts with their stations’ brands prominently displayed. The series will mark the most prominent visual presentation of live jazz performance in U.S. broadcasting since CBS presented concerts in the 1950s, said Josh Jackson, v.p. of content at WBGO.

Quick Takes

Eaton still on the hunt for ‘next really juicy’ adaptation for Masterpiece

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Masterpiece Executive Producer Rebecca Eaton was close to retirement a few years back — but no more, she tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Eaton is making the rounds in the press in anticipation of her 320-page book, Making Masterpiece: 25 Years Behind the Scenes at Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery! on PBS, out next month. She was pondering retirement, she said, “before lightning in the form of Downton Abbey struck and before I wrote the book. In the writing of the book, in relishing the success of Downton and the success of Masterpiece, I thought: ‘Wait a minute.