People

Luoma, Cornwell recognized for achievements in local scheduling

By |

In a citation honoring Maine Public TV’s Kelly Luoma as the Charles Impaglia Programmer of the Year, PTPA lauded her “for tirelessly advocating for the audience and the programming community within public television, even when it is not politically correct . . . [and for] the singular achievement of increasing a station’s viewership every year since the digital transition, while the system has shown whole week and primetime declines.”

In another award presented during last month’s PTPA meeting in Miami Beach, Fla., Kentucky Educational Television’s Craig Cornwell was lauded for achievements in local scheduling. TRAC Media Services, which manages PTPA, cited Cornwell “for ensuring that local productions always get prime placement, for understanding a market where Best of the Joy of Painting often equals the Antiques Roadshow repeat on Saturday .

Quick Takes

Houston Public Media fires director of operations and communications head

By |

The ongoing shakeup at Houston Public Media continues, with the termination of two more employees, reports Culture Map Houston. Gone are Debra Fraser, director of operations and stations manager, who joined KUHF in 1988 and had also served as news director, reporter and  local host of All Things Considered; and Emily Binetti, director of communications, who has been with the station since 2006. “Houston Public Media began a major restructuring of its personnel and operations in October 2011,” Richard Bonnin, University of Houston’s marketing and communications interim associate vice president, told Culture Map Houston. “Today’s action, in which the positions of two employees were eliminated, is a continuation of that restructuring initiative to position Houston Public Media for the future.”

People

Ibargüen recognized with PBS “Be More” award

By |

PBS has honored its former chair Alberto Ibargüen for his contributions to civic engagement. Ibargüen, c.e.o. of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and former PBS Board chair, received the PBS “Be More” Award celebrating individuals in pubTV who embody the spirit of helping Americans discover more, experience more and “be more.”

The former publisher of the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald leads Knight Foundation efforts to promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. “PBS applauds his commitment to informed and engaged communities, integrity and independence in journalism, and helping people reach their highest potential by ensuring that everyone has access to information that helps them understand more and be more,” said PBS President Paula Kerger. The awards were presented during the PBS 2013 Annual Meeting in Miami May 15–16. Send awards notices to [email protected].

Programs/Content

PBS buys more of what works in primetime

By |

As public television’s chief program exec and top producers unveiled highlights of the fall 2013 primetime schedule at the PBS Annual Meeting May 13–16 in Miami Beach, Fla., the network also signaled its willingness to invest in genres with track records of building viewership and differentiating public TV from its cable competitors. PBS paired with BBC Worldwide to acquire Last Tango in Halifax, a hit contemporary British drama starring Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid as childhood sweethearts who reunite after 60 years apart. Call the Midwife, a drama that PBS chief programmer Beth Hoppe bought to boost Sunday-night viewership in fall 2012, will return for a third season in 2014. PBS’s strategy to build affinities between programs scheduled together during primetime, initiated last year, appears to be paying off. As network and member-station programmers in Miami celebrated their recent ratings successes, they also looked ahead at plans to build on them.

Programs/Content

WYSO explores industrial city’s reinvention

By |

The recession in Dayton provides the backdrop for ReInvention Stories, a multimedia Localore project that brought together the Association of Independents in Radio, a local NPR station, and a pair of Academy Award–nominated veteran documentary filmmakers.

Quick Takes

OK Go’s Tiny Desk concert makes for an epic NPR move

By |

In a single video, for the song “All Is Not Lost,” rock band OK Go performed both the last-ever Tiny Desk concert at the former NPR headquarters and the first-ever concert at its new building. As Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton, Carl Kasell and others packed up and moved equipment from one location to another, the band played continuously (with the help of some creative editing) and even worked in some public radio–specific lyrics. OK Go, whose bandleader Damien Kulash formerly worked as an engineer for Chicago Public Radio, filmed the bit over two days in late March during NPR’s actual crosstown move. It took the crew 223 takes and six separate assemblies and disassemblies of the titular desk, according to Boilen. To all future Tiny Desk performers: The bar has been raised.