Criticism of NPR’s partnership with Slate “sort of infuriated” staffers at the online mag, says editor Jacob Weisberg in Online Journalism Review.

Local people have organized a nonprofit to keep a public TV production facility going in Green Bay, Wis., after Wisconsin PTV closes it, the Green Bay Press-Gazette reports.

In a bid to boost its online listenership and raise its profile nationally, Santa Monica’s KCRW is sponsoring a series of concerts in the entertainment capital of the East Coast. The sponsorships help “cement who we are as a place that is breaking and taking chances on new music,” says Nic Harcourt, KCRW music director, in the LA Times.

Henry Hampton’s last documentary series, This Far By Faith, airs on many PBS stations tonight. The Los Angeles Times retells how the production faltered after Hampton’s death. Although a New York Times critic finds that dramatic reenactments and time sequences in early episodes are uneven, she ultimately describes the series, aided by its musical soundtrack, as “splendid viewing.”

Boston’s WBUR-FM reinstates Fresh Air today after airing it sporadically since the war in Iraq, reports the Boston Globe.

A House subcommittee is proposing that CPB take $100 million from its fiscal year 2004 appropriation of $380 million to pay for digital conversion and public TV’s new interconnection system. CPB says that would result in a possible 26 percent cut in operating grants to public TV and radio stations.

Tavis Smiley’s NPR show has taken off, but some listeners who aren’t black feel excluded. Network ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin considers their complaints.

The Onion reports that a college-radio DJ in Illinois believes he has a huge fan base. “Though ‘Rock Blossom’ is heard mainly by his girlfriend and a handful of friends who request songs while they get stoned, Haley said his show is distinctive because of his personality,” the paper says.

NPR and WOI Radio in Iowa will co-sponsor a radio-only debate with the Democratic presidential candidates Jan. 6, 2004.

The Pacifica radio network has begun moving back to its spiritual home of Berkeley, reports the Daily Planet.

The foundation of KBPS-FM in Portland, Ore., will buy its independence from the city’s school board. Public Radio Capital, which represented the station’s foundation during negotiations, was profiled earlier this year in Corporate Board Member.

The FCC should force commercial broadcasters to fund their local public brethren, argues Rich Hanley on MSNBC.com.

The new head of drama for Britain’s Channel Four plans to reposition the broadcaster as the “punk rock star” of TV drama, shifting away from big-budget period epics, reports the Guardian.

“Sure, Reading Rainbow is good for you, but is it any good?” A Seattle mother writing for the New York Times thinks so.

Filmmaker Michael Moore unexpectedly chipped in to help KVMR-FM in Nevada City, Calif., raise some cash during its fund drive. (Last item.)