System/Policy
White House nominates two new CPB directors as three depart
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Board nominees announced last week are Carol Kellermann and Adam White.
Covering Guam’s military, politics and culture: Inside KPRG’s first newsroom
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“I compare what I’m doing here to missionary work in the sense that the idea and knowledge of public radio isn’t well known in Guam,” says News Director Naina Rao.
People
CPR, WBEZ, WUOT, WBGO lead 2013 PRNDI winners for pubradio news
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Presented by NPR’s Scott Simon in Cleveland June 22, Public Radio News Directors Inc. honored the best local public radio news in 16 categories based on the size of stations’ newsroom staff. In addition, PRNDI recognized stations for standout news reporting edited by a national producer; these awards were presented in several categories without consideration of newsroom size. Top winners among this year’s contenders were Colorado Public Radio, Chicago’s WBEZ, WUOT of Knoxville, Tenn., and WBGO in Newark, N.J., which each received four first-place awards in their divisions. Miami’s WLRN and WBFO in Buffalo, N.Y., both topped three categories. CPR, WBEZ, and WLRN competed amongst stations with the largest newsrooms: Division A, for newsrooms staffed by five or more full-time journalists.
Programs/Content
PBS NewsHour website redesign to integrate upcoming weekend program
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In addition to launching a weekend edition of the PBS NewsHour, New York’s WNET has secured a contract to create an integrated website for the flagship series and its new sibling. The WNET Interactive Engagement Group (IEG), a subsidiary that specializes in developing customized WordPress platforms, will complete the web development project by December, but aims to make some enhancements before the Sept. 7 launch of PBS NewsHour Weekend. That new Saturday and Sunday evening news show will originate from the New York City pubcaster, while the weekday NewsHour maintains its longtime home at WETA in Arlington, Va. The redesign will be the first major back-end overhaul in 10 years for the NewsHour’s website, which is built on a homegrown content management system (CMS), according to Vanessa Dennis, online art director.
Quick Takes
After teasing Carmen Sandiego fans, PBS says there are ‘no plans’ to bring show back
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“There are no plans for Carmen Sandiego to return to PBS’s schedule,” the network told Current, after teasing fans with a Tumblr post.
People
PBS and APT programs win 14 Daytime Emmys
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Among 14 Daytime Emmys awarded to public TV programs, APT’s Travelscope won in Creative Arts categories for direction and sound mixing.
People
Herbert Allison, ProPublica director, dies at 69
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Herbert Allison, Jr., a financial executive who served on the Board of Directors of nonprofit investigative newsroom ProPublica, died July 14 at his home in Westport, Conn. He was 69. Family members said he died of a possible heart attack.
People
Lary Lewman, host and narrator at MPT, dies at 76
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Lary Lewman, an actor and longtime narrator for Maryland Public Television, died July 11 in his Clarksville, Md., home from complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 76.
People
Pubcasters capture 21 national Edward R. Murrow Awards
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WLRN in Miami won large-market radio Murrows for feature reporting and use of sound. Chicago’s WBEZ also won for news documentary and hard-news reporting. The award for investigative reporting went to KQED and the Center for Investigative Reporting, both based in San Francisco, for “Broken Shield: Exposing Abuses at California Developmental Centers.”
Quick Takes
Zimmerman verdict protesters damage windows at Youth Radio in Oakland, Calif.
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Youth Radio, the Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit that trains young people in media production, sustained shattered windows during local unrest on Monday following the George Zimmerman not-guilty verdict on July 13, it reported in a blog post. At least six people were arrested during protests in Oakland, the Los Angeles Times reported. “Youth Radio has a 20-year history of carving out a safe space — and a creative outlet — for young people like Trayvon” Martin, the teenager that Zimmerman was charged with shooting, the post noted. The organization also created a video that captured frightening footage of the sidewalk-to-ceiling windows being smashed, and shows youngsters involved with the media project reflecting on the incident. “I guess I felt kind of betrayed a little bit,” said one, “because what we do at Youth Radio is so in line with what people were protesting against and for, which is making young people of color feel that their lives have value and that their voices matter.”
Programs/Content
Arbitron reports new benchmark for pubradio news/talk audience
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Audiences for news and talk stations delivered more than half of public radio’s listening in 2012, according to Arbitron’s annual study on public radio audience trends. The average quarter-hour (AQH) share, an Arbitron term describing the percentage of public radio listeners who tune to a specific format, hit 51.7 percent for pubradio news and talk stations last year, an 2.7 percent increase from 2011 and a precedent for the growth of public radio’s most powerful format, according to Arbitron’s “Public Radio Today 2013.” The study, which looked at audience trends across all stations and formats in 2012, found that public radio’s total audience remained at 32 million, or 12 percent, of all radio listeners. The number of weekly listeners grew by 7.5 percent, or 1.2 million, to a total of 18 million. Triple-A stations contributed to the gains by boosting the format’s weekly cume to 3.4 million listeners, an increase of 8.7 percent.