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Jane Henson, puppeteer and philanthropist

Posted: April, 16, 2013
By Andrew Lapin

Jane Nebel Henson, a puppeteer and philanthropist who was the widow of Jim Henson and founder of The Jim Henson Legacy, died in her Connecticut home April 2 after a long battle with cancer. She was 79. Continue reading →

Walt Bodine, KCUR talk show host

Posted: April, 04, 2013
By Andrew Lapin

Walt Bodine, a broadcaster who helmed a signature local talk show on KCUR in Kansas City, Mo., for nearly three decades, died March 24 at the age of 92. Continue reading →

Roth retires after 45 years, Leonard takes helm at NET, and more . . .

Posted: May, 21, 2013
By Dru Sefton

KUOW President Wayne Roth, a former NPR Board chair and past recipient of CPB’s Murrow Award honoring outstanding contributions to public radio, will retire in September. During his 45-year career in public broadcasting, Roth provided strategic leadership to public radio on both the local and national levels. Continue reading →

Blazing her own path as a pubTV broadcast engineer

Posted: May, 08, 2013
By Erica Sánchez-Vázquez

The first television broadcast in China was transmitted in 1958. The first time that Ling Ling Sun watched a television program was 20 years later, when she was 18. Now she is engineering manager for television broadcast services at WOSU in Columbus, Ohio, and was recently appointed vice chair of the PBS Engineering Technology Advisory Committee. Continue reading →

Everhart promoted to Current managing editor

Posted: May, 01, 2013
By Current staff

Karen Everhart, a media reporter and editor who has covered public broadcasting at Current for more than two decades, has been promoted to managing editor. She joined Current in 1991 and has reported on the programming, politics and funding of both the public television and radio systems, as well as the growth of nonprofit news organizations specializing in investigative journalism and local news coverage. Prior to her March 2012 interim appointment, she was Current’s senior editor covering public radio and digital media. Continue reading →

Pat Perini, pubTV producer

Posted: April, 05, 2013
By Andrew Lapin

Patricia “Pat” Perini, a public television producer, director, writer and production executive for more than three decades, died Feb. 21 after a long battle with leukemia. She was 68. Continue reading →

WNET's new CTO revamped tech at MetLife Stadium; Kimmel to succeed WNIN's Dial; Hinman leaving pubcasting, and more . . .

Posted: April, 30, 2013
By Dru Sefton

David Hinman, executive director and general manager of KBTC-TV in Tacoma, Wash., is leaving to manage cable television and video services for Pierce County, Wash., which “allows me to participate more with the creative side of television, which I thoroughly enjoy and have missed." Continue reading →

Rivero exiting WGBH, Pruess heading to Quad Cities, AIR appoints Ferro to board, and more ...

Posted: April, 16, 2013
By Dru Sefton

Marita Rivero, vice president and general manager for radio and television at producing powerhouse WGBH, is stepping down after nearly 30 years at the Boston station. Effective in June, Rivero will be succeeded by Liz Cheng as g.m. for television and Phil Redo as g.m. for radio. Continue reading →

WETA's Bruns retiring, WGBH hires new national program exec, NFCB dismisses Jackson and more . . .

Posted: April, 02, 2013
By Dru Sefton

One thing that retiring WETA C.O.O. Joe Bruns will miss about public broadcasting is that “every day is different,” he told Current. “Not only on the air, but in all the challenges we face. And I’ll miss being mission-oriented." Continue reading →

Obama nominates two for CPB Board, Boston pair move from commercial radio to WGBH, and more ...

Posted: March, 12, 2013
By Dru Sefton

Jim Braude and Margery Eagan debuted Feb. 25 as co-hosts of Boston Public Radio, a midday news/talk show on Boston’s WGBH-FM. Continue reading →

The ‘ongoing process’ of diversity

Posted: December, 06, 2012
By Mike Janssen

Public radio stations trying to diversify their audiences, staffs and programming have found an increasingly active ally in NPR, whose leaders have been travelling to stations in recent months to help broadcasters walk the difficult walk of achieving diversity. Continue reading →

Why don’t more stations adopt 'sustainer' ways?

Posted: July, 09, 2012
Commentary by Valerie Arganbright and Barbara Appleby

Public radio stations have widely adopted sustaining-member programs over the last several years. Because of this, one might assume that a significant number of sustainers contribute to public radio every month. However, the reality for most public radio stations is quite the opposite. Continue reading →

Ready to Learn builds on digital-learning push with new station grants

Posted: April, 17, 2013
By Andrew Lapin

The Ready to Learn program backing educational media and outreach for children ages 2 to 8 is making digital learning through community engagement a priority, a change that will affect which stations participate in the program. Continue reading →

NPR cancels Talk of the Nation, pairs with WBUR in bid to bolster middays

Posted: April, 03, 2013
By Ben Mook and Mike Janssen

After more than two decades on the air, NPR’s Talk of the Nation will come to an end in June to make way for the newsmag Here & Now. Continue reading →

TPT launches Open Air, a new brand aimed at engaging young viewers

Posted: May, 21, 2013
By Andrew Lapin

Twin Cities Public Television describes its new Open Air programming and promotional initiative as “tailor-made to meet the demands of a new Minnesota public TV audience.” Continue reading →

Lacy coaxes creative talents to share stories of their lives

Posted: May, 20, 2013
By Barry Garron

The whole idea behind American Masters, the biographical series produced at New York's WNET, was to build a library of America’s cultural history. To meet that goal, Executive Producer Susan Lacy had to mount high-quality productions in sufficient quantity to make an impression on TV viewers and potential subjects. Continue reading →

Long Island psychic finds radio audience eager for forecasts

Posted: April, 22, 2013
By Mike Janssen

Listeners to WPPB in Long Island, N.Y., can listen to Morning Edition or the BBC Newshour if they want to know what’s happening now. But if they’re looking for an inkling of what’s going to happen, they can ask McMahon. Continue reading →

This Old House follows homeowners still recovering from Superstorm Sandy

Posted: May, 20, 2013
By Dru Sefton

Starting in October, This Old House on PBS will present a special eight-episode series about three sets of homeowners who are struggling to rebuild after destruction wrought by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. Continue reading →

Facing financial woes, KCETLink to focus on ‘transmedia’

Posted: May, 01, 2013
By Dru Sefton and Ben Mook

KCETLink laid off 22 full-time employees April 19, signaling another change of course in the Los Angeles public media organization's search for financial stability. Continue reading →

“If you can’t make it important, it’s probably not worth doing”

Posted: May, 17, 2013
Interview by Karen Everhart and Dru Sefton

In an extended interview with Current, Frontline creator David Fanning recalls how he came to work at Boston’s WGBH more than three decades ago, and how the show is positioning itself for the future. Continue reading →

Planet Money crowdfunder soars, PRI campaign falls short of goal

Posted: May, 16, 2013
By Andrew Lapin

Two of public radio’s three biggest distributors launched major crowdfunding experiments in the past month, with wildly different results. Continue reading →

PBS acquires new British drama to anchor Sunday nights

Posted: May, 15, 2013
By Dru Sefton

Aiming to build on its successful strategy to boost viewing on Sunday nights, PBS acquired a new hit drama from the BBC, Last Tango in Halifax. Continue reading →

With Digital Studios, PBS tailors programs for a web-only audience

Posted: April, 01, 2013
By Andrew Lapin

In a bid to attract younger viewers who don't tune in to broadcast TV, PBS Digital Studios has cultivated a slate of online shows at a fraction of over-the-air production costs. The network promises its push into web video will help member stations, as well. Continue reading →

CPT's mobile venture to share revenues with PTV outlets

Posted: May, 13, 2013
By Andrew Lapin

Connecticut Public Television has joined with a digital media company in rolling out a new mobile platform that will offer digital downloads of children’s programs. Continue reading →

Planet Takeout offers menu of stories

Posted: May, 08, 2013
By Erica Sánchez-Vázquez

Although immersive media is a new concept for public media production, in the case of Planet Takeout the process began with traditional documentary filmmaking techniques. Over nine months, documentarian Val Wang and producer Kelly Creedon visited some 100 Chinese takeout restaurants. Continue reading →

Roger Ebert, film critic and pubTV icon, dead at 70

Posted: April, 04, 2013
By Andrew Lapin

Roger Ebert, the legendary film critic who got his television start on Chicago PBS station WTTW, died April 4 after a long battle with cancer. He was 70. “Everyone at WTTW is deeply saddened by the loss of Roger Ebert, whose courageous battle with cancer in recent years was an inspiration to us all,” WTTW President Dan Schmidt said in a statement. Continue reading →

Mapping the places where ‘music is made all the time’

Posted: April, 18, 2013
By Mike Janssen

The music world of Austin, Texas, is now being shared with a global audience thanks to Austin Music Map, a website developed by the city’s public radio station, KUT. Continue reading →

New talking point on Capitol Hill: PubTV's role in education

Posted: March, 15, 2013
By Andrew Lapin

Public television’s strongest case for preserving tax-based support for stations and CPB centers on informing political leaders about the full range of public-service work that stations deliver to local communities, particularly in the field of education, according to the field’s lead advocates in Washington, D.C. Continue reading →

Pubcasters win eight Peabody Awards for outstanding electronic media

Posted: April, 08, 2013
By Theodore Fischer

Pubmedia and independent producers win eight Peabody Awards including PBS, which won two, one for “Summer Pasture,”a documentary about nomadic Tibetan herders and Why Poverty?, a PBS series about income inequality Continue reading →

Seeking the next $100 million

Posted: July, 09, 2012
Analysis by Mark Fuerst

A review of public stations’ financial data over the past 15 years shows that, despite their widely divergent revenue trajectories, public radio and television have both made great progress in implementing structural and cultural changes needed to pursue new revenues. Continue reading →

Michael Toms, co-founder of New Dimensions

Posted: February, 27, 2013
By Andrew Lapin

Michael Toms, the co-founder and co-host of the public radio program New Dimensions for four decades, died in his sleep Jan. 24 at the age of 72. The series is syndicated by 188 stations throughout the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Continue reading →

New alliance in Mile High City

Posted: February, 01, 2013
By Dru Sefton

The latest merger agreement from Denver combines three different breeds of public media — flagship pubTV station Rocky Mountain PBS, community-licensed jazz broadcaster KUVO-FM and investigative digital news outlet I-News Network — in a consolidation that aims to build strength through diversity. Continue reading →

Pubmedia-funded start-up accelerator Matter announces inaugural class

Posted: March, 06, 2013
By Andrew Lapin

The first start-up class of Matter, the media accelerator backed by Knight Foundation, KQED and the Public Radio Exchange, includes Localore partner Zeega. Continue reading →

Stanley Karnow, journalist and historian

Posted: February, 26, 2013
By Dru Sefton

Stanley Karnow, whose book Vietnam: A History was the basis of a critically acclaimed 13-hour documentary on PBS, died Jan. 27 at his home in Potomac, Md. He was 87. Continue reading →

GPB hires governor’s pick for plum job

Posted: December, 17, 2012
By Dru Sefton

When Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal recently approached Georgia Public Broadcasting’s top exec about appointing outgoing Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers to lead the state network’s proposed initiative promoting economic development, GPB chief Teya Ryan agreed to make the hire. Continue reading →

Storytelling ‘pop-up’ Hear Here builds bridge from KALW to Oakland

Posted: March, 14, 2013
By Dawn Morgan

Hear Here launched last spring as an experiment testing new ways to collect and distribute hyperlocal stories. About twice a month on both sides of the San Francisco Bay, KALW producers pop into local libraries and set up an impromptu studio. Continue reading →

Pubcasting tackles dropout crisis

Posted: August, 20, 2012
By Dru Sefton

The massive American Graduate project is all about potential — the potential of students who stay in school to graduate, as well as the potential of public broadcasting stations to serve as community conveners. Continue reading →

News, game-ified and powered by the crowd

Posted: October, 10, 2012
By Andrew Lapin

Documentary filmmakers, code developers and public media executives are creating more interactive takes on the news in order to draw audiences into deeper experiences. Continue reading →

Pipeline 2013

Posted: October, 09, 2012
Compiled by Theodore Fischer

This year's Pipeline survey lists 120 television projects planned, underway, or completed for future seasons on public TV, beginning with Winter 2013. Continue reading →

Full speed ahead for Public Media Platform

Posted: December, 17, 2012
By Andrew Lapin

After two-plus years of planning and prototyping a shared hub providing easy access to digital content from across public media, partners in the Public Media Platform will begin building the new technical system next month. Continue reading →

Pubcaster, college, for-profit news all meld in Macon

Posted: September, 24, 2012
By Andrew Lapin

A partnership between a public radio station, a private university and a for-profit newspaper is beefing up local news coverage in Georgia’s fourth-largest city. Continue reading →

Winning members at their doors

Posted: December, 03, 2012
By Dru Sefton

One of the most promising new membership initiatives to come along for public television in years doesn’t involve phone banks, on-air pitches or premium packages. It’s door-to-door canvassing, the grass-rootsy technique for talking up causes and soliciting donations face-to-face. Continue reading →

A proposal to abate viewer confusion

Posted: January 25, 2010

PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler wrote recently in his online column about what he views as a problem: that public television viewers are confused about where programs on public television come from and assume that everything on public TV originates at PBS. What … Continue reading →

Robben Fleming, one of CPB’s best presidents, ‘seemed to me the least interested in himself’

Posted: January 17, 2010

David Stewart, one of CPB’s original employees and later a writer and Current contributing editor, sent this letter after the death of Robben Fleming, a former president of CPB. To the editors: I was very sad to learn of Robben … Continue reading →

FM, web audiences elusive so far for innovative Vocalo

Posted: January 11, 2010

Chicago Public Radio’s board, staff and executives didn’t mince words in their latest strategic plan about their bold experiment known as Vocalo. “As a website Vocalo must be seen as unsuccessful so far.” Continue reading →

For NewsHour, one staff is stronger than two

Posted: January 11, 2010

They busted down newsroom walls, adding some space but much more humanity, doubling the number of desks, adding new editing stations and a fixed camera for quick shirt-sleeves standups. The broadcast and website now carry the PBS NewsHour title and they come from the same combined staff. Continue reading →

What’s the job for the Public Media Corps?

Posted: December 14, 2009

Modeled on programs like Americorps and Teach for America, the Public Media Corps will hire local residents as “fellows” for yearlong residencies at public broadcasting institutions. Their job there will be to identify local issues and use multiple media platforms to spark vigorous community engagement on the issues. Continue reading →

Back to the future: Here’s a way public TV can ramp up local news

Posted: December 14, 2009

Those calling for more local news from public media — and those experimenting with new ways to provide it — should examine a business model devised for commercial television more than 30 years ago. PM Magazine was an evening primetime news and entertainment show … Continue reading →

‘Tent-poles’ ahead

Posted: December 14, 2009

PBS is raising tent-poles to reinvigorate its primetime lineup. Over the next one to three years, it will shrink down a number of as-yet-unidentified series to high-profile special events, then use the freed-up production money and schedule space to nurture new shows it hopes will mature into icons. Continue reading →

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