Quick Takes
MacArthur grant supports reporting, audience engagement at Chicago Public Media
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The grant is part of a larger initiative to “strengthen inclusive journalism” in the city.
Quick Takes
Chicago Public Media seeks to expand WBEZ news staff
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CEO Goli Sheikholeslami discussed the plans at a City Club of Chicago lunch event, reports Crain’s.
Quick Takes
Chicago Public Media reportedly eyeing purchase of WKCC
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Kankakee Community College announced in June that it would try to sell the station.
Quick Takes
Ira Glass starts own company for ‘This American Life,’ ‘Serial’
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This American Life host and creator Ira Glass has acquired full ownership of the show, breaking away from his longtime home at Chicago Public Media.
System/Policy
While NPR employees negotiate, staffers at two stations approve first union contracts
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NPR staffers are taking to Twitter to call attention to union negotiations.
Tech
Chicago Public Media announces plan for digital upgrades, products
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The station also hired its first chief digital officer.
Tech
Chicago Public Media, The Lens among Knight Prototype Fund recipients
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The Knight Prototype Fund announced the projects receiving funding for 2015, including four public media and nonprofit news organizations.
System/Policy
As newsrooms expand, employees at several stations push to unionize
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Public media employees have increasingly sought to organize unions during the past two years, spurred by expanding newsrooms, shifting management priorities and a desire for more influence in strategic planning.
Programs/Content
This American Life opts for self-distribution, with PRX as pipeline to stations
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The producers of public radio’s This American Life will take over distribution of their show starting July 1, using Public Radio Exchange to deliver the program to stations. TAL and Public Radio International, its distributor of 17 years, announced in March that they would part ways effective July 1. Under the agreement announced Wednesday, Chicago Public Media and Ira Glass will handle distribution and underwriting, while Marge Ostroushko will be responsible for marketing and station relations. Ostroushko handled those duties before PRI picked up the show in 1997. “We’re excited and proud to be partners now with PRX,” Glass said in a statement.