System/Policy
CapRadio alleges theft in lawsuit against former GM Jun Reina
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The lawsuit against Reina and other unknown defendants seeks at least $900,000 in damages.
GBH, community group reach tentative agreement on sale of CAI home
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The Woods Hole Community Association plans to close on the GBH-owned building Thursday.
Quick Takes
Pacifica relieves WPFW manager of duties, urges staff to keep quiet
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Pacifica has placed John Hughes, g.m. of WPFW in Washington, D.C., on paid administrative leave and appointed an outside consultant as interim g.m., according to a member of the Local Station Board.
System/Policy
Redefining public media for the future
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Public media is made up of hundreds of storefronts in communities large and small, each of which has a unique window into America, its people and their stories. These storefronts — local public TV and radio stations — have built public media’s greatest asset: our unique relationships with listeners and viewers, local businesses and governments, and anchor institutions in the arts, philanthropy, education and social welfare. Yet at Public Radio Capital we increasingly hear from public media executives facing competitive and financial challenges that threaten their stations’ economic foundations and thus their effectiveness. Let’s face it: The public media business model isn’t changing. It has already changed in dramatic ways.
People
PBS programs win three at 2013 Creative Arts Emmys
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American Masters and Downton Abbey led the opening round of the annual Primetime Emmys Sept. 15 by claiming three Creative Arts Emmys for PBS. American Masters, a production of New York’s WNET, topped the category for outstanding documentary or nonfiction series. Credit for the Emmy went to Susan Lacy, executive producer; Julie Sacks, supervising producer; Prudence Glass, series producer; and Jessica Levin, producer. The Emmy for direction in nonfiction programming was awarded to Robert Trachtenberg for his direction of the American Masters biography “Mel Brooks: Make a Noise.”
Programs/Content
The Key raises WXPN’s profile as valued music curator
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With The Key, we’re able to better reflect the diversity of the Philadelphia music scene, give local bands a platform to showcase their music in multimedia formats and position XPN even more centrally in the market conversation around local music.
Programs/Content
Flatow moves Science Friday to PRI distribution
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Science Friday, the weekly NPR series hosted by Ira Flatow, is pairing with Public Radio International in a new distribution deal to take effect in January 2014. The agreement calls for Science Friday, a signature element of NPR’s science coverage since its 1991 launch, to continue as a weekly radio broadcast under PRI distribution. In addition, Flatow and his producers will collaborate with PRI series The World, The Takeaway and Studio 360 to develop multi-platform content around science topics. “We’re excited to work with PRI to expand their science and technology coverage,” Flatow said in a PRI news release. “PRI shares our vision of serving the public by telling compelling stories about timely issues.
Quick Takes
Alec Baldwin ending WNYC’s Here’s The Thing
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Alec Baldwin, the actor and diehard public radio fan, will be ending his own popular podcast and pubradio program after two seasons due to a lack of funding, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
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.”