System/Policy
WGA authorizes strike if freelance contract expires with GBH, WNET and PBS SoCal
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The Writers Guild of America voted to authorize a strike if the current contract expires Thursday.
FY24 fundraising analysis highlights diversity of sources as key to success
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Even in the face of declining audiences and high inflation, a CDP analysis finds that many public media organizations experienced new donor growth in FY24.
People
NPR Board appoints Haaga as interim chief, announces 10-percent buy-out plan
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Paul Haaga, a lawyer and financier who has served as NPR vice chair since last fall, was appointed interim president as the news organization unveiled a major workforce reduction.
People
Saul Landau, investigative filmmaker, dies at 77
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Saul Landau, a filmmaker who made investigative documentaries for PBS, died Sept. 9 from cancer. He was 77. Landau’s death was announced by the Institute for Policy Studies, where he was a fellow for four decades. He made more than 40 films over his lifetime.
People
Pubcaster’s memoir details creative early years at WQED
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A Secretly Handicapped Man, out in October, is not only the story of Norbert Nathanson’s place in the history of public broadcasting, but also the tale of his struggle with his own body and society’s attitude toward him: He was born without feet and one hand.
Quick Takes
Departing PBS digital head Seiken will aim to transform London’s Telegraph
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Jason Seiken, PBS’s outgoing head of digital media, soon will oversee all editorial operations across Britain’s Telegraph Media Group, with editors of both the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph reporting directly to him, according to MediaWeek. The newspapers recently restructured their editorial staff of 550, laying off 80 print-based journalists and recruiting 50 digitally focused positions, MediaWeek reported. Seiken, who starts next month, will work to transform the Telegraph into a “fully integrated, entrepreneurial multimedia news organization.” “This appointment is vital to the future of our business and in achieving our ambition to become the foremost English-language multimedia news and content provider,” said Murdoch MacLennan, chief executive of Telegraph Media Group. “There could not be a better person for this crucial role than Jason Seiken.”
Programs/Content
With credits gone, NPR’s off-mike staffers get silent treatment
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NPR ended the practice Aug. 30 of crediting the off-mike staff behind the scenes of its newsmagazines, citing evidence that the lists of names cue listeners to tune away. The network had been considering the change for some time, said Margaret Low Smith, senior v.p. of news. In addition, credits could not accommodate all staffers, so those named “ended up being a select slice of people,” Smith said. And stations aren’t always consistent in crediting their own staffs during the newsmagazines.
Programs/Content
Don’t mess with the Met: WFIU reverses course on weekend schedule
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An outcry from listeners prompted WFIU-FM in Bloomington, Ind., to announce Aug. 13 that it would restore classical programming to its schedule, less than two months after taking much of the music off its airwaves.
Quick Takes
WTJX in Virgin Islands hires controversial former government official
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Marc Biggs, a former U.S. Virgin Islands official convicted of accepting bribes in exchange for government contracts, went to work this week as facilities coordinator for WTJX, the PBS member station in St. Croix, reports the Virgin Islands Daily News. Biggs was property and procurement commissioner for the island territory when he was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison in 2008. He is currently on home confinement as his sentence comes to an end. “I know his hiring might be a little controversial,” said Osbert Potter, station c.e.o., “but we’re an equal employment opportunity entity.
People
Board selects Sukhdeo to run WPBT in Miami
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Dolores Sukhdeo is the new president and chief executive officer of WPBT-TV in Miami, the station’s board announced Tuesday. She replaces Rick Schneider, who takes over this month as executive vice president and chief operating officer of WETA in Arlington, Va. Sukhdeo joined the station in 1998 as v.p. for facilities services and was promoted to c.o.o. in 2003. She began her television career in 1990 in the international newsgathering division of Disney/ABC News. She also serves as president-elect of the board of the International Women’s Forum of South Florida and is chair of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Board’s Nonprofit Business Committee.
Programs/Content
After War disputes, PBS focuses on Latino experience with Latino Americans
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As the first major television documentary series to tackle a comprehensive history of U.S. Latinos spanning some 500 years, PBS’s six-hour Latino Americans comes freighted with big expectations.
People
Seiken, PBS Digital head, will exit pubcaster for London-based post next month
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Jason Seiken, PBS’s innovative head of digital media who exhorted stations to embrace a more videocentric future, will leave the public broadcaster in October to take over as chief content officer and editor-in-chief at the Telegraph Media Group in London. PBS President Paula Kerger told public television executives in an email today that Seiken has done “a truly extraordinary job” over his nearly seven years at PBS. Under his leadership, PBS launched local-national digital initiatives, including the COVE video site and Bento website toolbox for stations. It also pioneered the Webby Award–winning PBS Digital Studios and pushed PBS.org and PBSKids.org to large increases in traffic. Kerger added that “on a personal level, I know that this move makes the most sense for Jason and his family, as they have been interested in moving back to London for some time.”