Programs/Content

KCPT special examines gun violence as health-care epidemic

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KCPT in Kansas City, Mo., is examining gun violence as a health-care epidemic in a live hourlong call-in show this week. “It’s one of those nagging issues that simply won’t go away,” Nick Haines, executive producer, said in a press release. “Why do we accept such an unacceptably high death toll in our inner city? It would be easy for us to ignore the problem as unfixable. But we feel obligated as a public TV station to spotlight the problem and make a concerted effort to seek answers.”

Special Correspondent Sam Zeff will report on the city’s Aim4Peace program, which tracks violence, predicts where it may spread and then takes steps to prevent it.

System/Policy

Kentucky public radio stations evaluate advantages of working together

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Leaders of Kentucky’s public radio stations are considering how they might collaborate and consolidate operations, with a goal of cutting costs and boosting reporting on local and regional issues. Six of Kentucky’s seven public radio stations have enlisted Public Radio Capital to assess benefits of closer collaboration and to help advance the process if all agree to move ahead. Universities hold licenses to five of the stations and may need to join future negotiations as well. The state has some history of successful station mergers. In 1993, WUOL, licensed to the University of Louisville, and two stations operated by libraries merged under the auspices of the Public Radio Partnership, a newly formed community licensee.

Quick Takes

Florida-based centralcast hub for pubTV stations eyes December launch

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The Digital Convergence Alliance, a master control centralcast hub in Jacksonville, Fla., that will serve more than 11 pubTV stations, should begin broadcasting in December, reports the Florida Times-Union. By the end of March 2014, all station streams should be up and running, WJCT President Michael Boylan told the newspaper. In June, CPB gave the alliance $7 million for the project.

Development

Sharp staff cuts at Pacifica’s WBAI aim to save station

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Pacifica has laid off the entire news department of WBAI-FM and almost all paid staff effective Monday in an effort to keep the cash-strapped New York outlet solvent. Pacifica Interim Executive Director Summer Reese made the announcement on WBAI’s air Friday afternoon. Reese told listeners that she had arrived at the station by cab directly from negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which represents WBAI staff. “We have not been able to fully recover  . .

Quick Takes

Pacifica’s WBAI lays off news staff, most on-air talent

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This item has been updated and reposted with additional information. Pacifica’s WBAI-FM is laying off its entire news department and almost all paid staff effective Monday as the cash-strapped New York outlet  fights to stay solvent. Pacifica interim executive director Summer Reese made the announcement on-air on Friday afternoon. Reese told the audience that she came to the station by cab directly from negotiations with the SAG-AFTRA union. “We have not been able to fully recover, not only from the hurricane, but from many years of financial stress at this radio station,” Reese said, on Friday.

Programs/Content

Head programmer looking for “PBS twist” in scripted drama on Civil War

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PBS is commissioning a second scripted drama, Chief Programming Executive Beth Hoppe told Current at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour this week in Los Angeles. The latest script request is for a Civil War period piece, Hoppe said. “We’re really focusing on things that have historical accuracy and untold stories at their core, as we try to select what to bet on in the drama space,” she noted. “The Civil War is territory that PBS has a great track record for, so it’s a matter of finding that PBS twist.” She declined to discuss further details. In May, Variety reported that PBS had ordered a pilot script for Alta California, set in the 1800s and centering on an arranged marriage between two families, one Mexican-Californian and the other European American.

Quick Takes

PBS looking strong among younger viewers, entertainment news site reports

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PBS is the only broadcast network that is “dramatically up” in viewers 18 to 34 years old, as well as up in total viewers and holding steady in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic,  reports The Wrap, a digital news organization covering entertainment and media. Perhaps one explanation could be that PBS is putting as much content as possible online on YouTube, Netflix and Amazon. “It seems to act as a marketing tool for us to drive more television tune-in,” said Jason Seikin, PBS’s digital guru.