Ex-Sen.Specter moderates the pilot of The Whole Truth, a public affairs debate series proposed by Maryland Public Television.
Moderation didn’t work any more in politics, so Arlen Specter is trying what may be a better fit: moderating a Sunday-morning debate.
The former Pennsylvania Republican (and then Democrat) shot a pilot Nov. 29 for The Whole Truth, which he’s developing with Maryland Public Television. Two other ex-senators were guests: Evan Bayh, a Democrat from Indiana, and Fred Thompson, a Republican from Tennessee. The topic for discussion was the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission, which held that political spending has First Amendment protection. “We’re interested to see where this goes,” Steven J. Schupak, MPT’s s.v.p., content enterprises, told Current. Plans could include 13 half-hour episodes. The Whole Truth premieres on MPT at 8 p.m. Eastern on Jan. 13, 2012.
With CPB’s help, KPCC will expand its local Madeleine Brand Show into a national newsmag with a focus on Latino and other ethnic interests.
That’s according to want ads staffing up the weekday morning call-in talk Madeleine Brand Show, The expanded show is part of a One Nation Media Project funded by a $1.8 million CPB grant to KPCC/Southern California Public Radio.
KPCC is seeking a co-host "for a two-hour national newsmagazine that will evolve from The Madeleine Brand Show with a focus on the Latino and other ethnic communities /interests/ issues," according to its want ad.
Brand was co-host of NPR's L.A.-based Day to Day with Alex Chadwick, which was discontinued amid network budget cutbacks. The show is produced by Kristen Muller, Steve Proffitt and Sanden Totten. Regular contributors have included Luke Burbank and John Moe.
In addition, SCPR will launch “three distinct online channels” on emerging communities, public education and criminal justice, each with a journalist acting as its host, according to a CPB news release Dec. 6.
The grant will also support a series of live events that will explore timely issues in Los Angeles. SCPR held the first such event last week. “All in the Familia: L.A. Latino Business in the 21st Century” featured a conversation about how the involvement of younger generations is changing the city’s Latino-owned mom-and-pop businesses.
SCPR, a sister organization to Minnesota’s American Public Media, has explored expanding service to Latinos with CPB backing in the past. In 2006 it conducted research that informed the creation of the now-defunct L.A. Public Media (Current, July 20, 2009). The broadcaster considered collaborating with Fresno-based Radio Bilingüe on the project that became L.A. Public Media but eventually withdrew from the project.
College stations are bringing the morning show of Chicago Public Media’s Vocalo into neighborhoods where its FM signal doesn’t reach.
Two hours of the “edgy humor and ... culturally relevant” talk on Vocalo Morning AMp is simulcasting to the north on WLUW at Loyola University and to the west on WRSE at Elmhurst College, as well as on Vocalo’s beam from northern Indiana. The station also offers a new, free, live-streaming app for iPhone and Android phones.
Latino Public Broadcasting announced funding of 16 programs.
Films include Children of Giant by producer/director Hector Galan, which exposes the events and emotions that transformed small town Marfa, Texas — where George Stevens produced the epic film Giant; Farewell, Ferris Wheel from producer/director Jamie Sisley, a look at U.S. carnivals endangered by immigration restrictions on workers; and Tales from a Ghetto Klown a profile by Benjamin DeJesus of actor/playwright John Leguizamo. Here's the news release with the full list of funded projects.
Nebraska pubradio units in Lincoln and Omaha are swapping programs to relieve budget tightness.
Both come from campuses of the University of Nebraska. NET Radio from Lincoln will provide Lora Black’s weekday afternoon classical music programs and KVNO from Omaha will share its oversight classical stream, allowing NET Radio to drop a programmed feed, the Lincoln Journal-Star reported.
To sweeten the Comcast-NBC merger, NBC is cozying up to pubradio.
Philadelphia’s NBC station will work with pubcaster WHYY and its hyperlocal news project NewsWorks. NBC’s station in Los Angeles similarly will work with American Public Media’s KPCC-FM. NBC’s San Diego station hooked up months ago with the nonprofit newsroom voiceofsandiego.org. All 10 NBC TV stations will work on projects with nonprofit newsroom ProPublica. The partners will share such things as story development, footage, technical facilities, personnel, promotional time and website connections.
This online version contains information about The Madeleine Brand Show beyond what appears in the print version.
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