Quick Takes

Mr. Selfridge is back in business for second season on Masterpiece

By |

Masterpiece announced today that Mr. Selfridge will return for a second season. The drama, starring Jeremy Piven as the American entrepreneur who founded Selfridge’s department store in London, reached nearly 15 million viewers over its eight-week run, averaging 4 million per episode. It also recently received a primetime Emmy Award nomination for music composition for a series.

Quick Takes

WLRN in Miami promotes Zuckerman to interim news director

By |

Alicia Zuckerman, senior editor for enterprise reporting at WLRN, will fill in as interim news director while the Miami pubcaster searches for a replacement for Dan Grech, who was dismissed July 8. General Manager John Labonia announced the appointment Thursday in an email to staff. “Please be assured that the recent changes within the department will in no way have a negative impact on the direction, strategic plan or current operations of WLRN Miami Herald News,” he said, referencing the station’s decade-long reporting partnership with the newspaper. Zuckerman started her public media career at New York’s WNYC, where she reported and produced for NPR’s On the Media and later worked in the local newsroom covering arts and other beats. Her reports have been picked up by NPR newsmagazines as well as major series distributed by Public Radio International such as The World, Studio 360 and This American Life.

Quick Takes

PBS scores 25 Emmy nominations for primetime programming

By |

Primetime Emmy nominations are out this morning, and PBS scored 25 nods from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences — 12 of which went to Downton Abbey on Masterpiece. Nominations for the hit Edwardian costume drama include those for lead actor Hugh Bonneville as Robert, Earl of Grantham; lead actress Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Crawley; and best drama series. Other category nominations for Downton include supporting actor (Jim Carter as Mr. Carson), supporting actress (Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham), writing (Julian Fellowes) and direction (Jeremy Webb). Also nominated are the Live from Lincoln Center production of “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel,” for special class program; Antiques Roadshow for reality program; the American Experience presentation “Death and the Civil War”; and American Masters for documentary or nonfiction series. A full list of the nominations is available at the Emmy website.

People

CPR, WBEZ, WUOT, WBGO lead 2013 PRNDI winners for pubradio news

By |

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

By |

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.

People

Herbert Allison, ProPublica director, dies at 69

By |

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.