May 28, 2013 | Vol. 32, No.10 Reporter caught in twister among first on scene in Okla.
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College chooses bid aiming to auction all of KCSM’s spectrum Kerger urges pubTV ‘family’ to unite around shared mission
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NPR winds down StateImpact, but stations press onward By Mike Janssen
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PR has scaled back ambitious plans for StateImpact, its reporting partnership focused on public policy issues in eight states, but the project will live on among its 17 participating stations as the network shifts focus to new collaborative initiatives. When NPR launched StateImpact in the spring of 2011, it enlisted stations in Ohio, Indiana, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas,
Oklahoma, Idaho and New Hampshire to participate, but it intended to expand the project to all 50 states over time. That plan has been scuttled due to fundraising difficulties and a rethinking of news strategy at NPR, which has come under new leadership since StateImpact started. Participating stations, however, will carry on their reportage under the StateImpact banner and continue to use the websites that NPR developed for them during the two-year partnership. Some will
support the project with foundation grants, while others have budgeted internal funds. Stations will have to do it all without a key element of StateImpact — the intensive training and support provided by the seven-person team at NPR that oversaw the project. NPR’s journalists advised station reporters on strategies for covering big issues and introduced them to new reporting techniques in more than 400 hours of webinars, conference calls, and one-on-one training sessions.
The collaboration fostered a distinct brand of journalism visible on the StateImpact websites — data-rich, multimedia, interactive projects promoted via social media. Participating stations produced more than 7,000 original digital pieces and more than 700 broadcast stories for their stations, according to NPR, some of which landed on NPR shows. Station reporters and editors who took part in StateImpact say the training and Continued on page 12
PBS buys more of what works in primetime Expanding footprint for British drama, science docs By Dru Sefton
A Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid star in Last Tango in Halifax, a BBC romantic drama debuting on PBS this fall. (Photo: BBC)
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s 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. PBS is “taking greater control of our pipeline and our fate,” Hoppe said during a May 14 session previewing upcoming primetime shows. In addition to expanding the footprint of British drama through direct acquisitions, Hoppe is investing in PBS’s signature science and natural-history series, boosting their Continued on page 8
Volunteers take back Radio Catskill G.M., trustees resign in dispute over leadership style
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JFF Radio Catskill runs on hydroelectric power and the passion of volunteers who invested so much time and community pride in the station that they rallied to force a change in leadership when they felt it was going in the wrong direction. Founded 23 years ago by Malcolm Brown, a retired college professor and booster of alternative energy, WJFF attracted an eager and enthusiastic roster of volunteers to produce shows, mow the lawn and serve on committees and boards. But after the board of trustees backed a decision to cancel a popular locally produced show, years of goodwill that had accrued to WJFF began to dissipate rapidly, resulting in Continued on page 10
Jeffersonville Hydroelectric provides electricity that keeps the studios lit at WJFF, and its owner produces a show that’s appropriately titled Making Waves. (Photo: WJFF)
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2 | May 28, 2013 | Current
Unscathed by tornado, pubcasters band together to report, assist with relief By Andrew Lapin
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ne of the first reporters on the scene May 20 after a massive tornado struck the town of Moore, Okla., didn’t mean to be there. Joe Wertz, digital reporter for StateImpact Oklahoma, was trying to get home. Wertz, working out of KGOU-FM on the campus of the University of Oklahoma in Norman, and other station employees heeded storm warnings May 20 by leaving work early. Wertz lives in Oklahoma City about 20 miles north of Norman, and hoped to beat the storm home. Instead, he was sitting in traffic on Interstate 35 as it began to hail. “I was either in a really great spot or a
really dumb spot,” Wertz recalled. Worried about hail damage to his car, Wertz pulled off the highway and parked at a gas station in Moore. The tornado was tracking north, but Wertz, a native Oklahoman, assumed it would follow the trajectory of a similar 1999 storm and bypass his area. “It looked like it was going north, until it wasn’t, and at that point it was coming straight for us,” he said. Wertz huddled inside the gas station alongside employees and other motorists as the tornado came directly at them. He tried to record the sound but fumbled with the recorder button when the station’s power went out. As soon as the tornado passed, Wertz, carrying a camera and his recorder, got back into his car and left the gas station. He’d heard from a colleague that an elementary school had been
destroyed by the tornado, and he drove toward Plaza Towers Elementary School, one of two in Moore to be devastated by the storm, to interview people and take photographs. After parking at a nearby strip mall, he hoofed it on foot to the school. Later that afternoon, All Things Considered hosts Melissa Block and Robert Siegel interviewed Wertz live on his cellphone. His pho-
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An employee of the gas station in Moore, Okla., where StateImpact reporter Joe Wertz took shelter as a tornado ripped through town. (Credit: Joe Wertz) tographs of leveled houses and buildings were among the first photos of the destruction to be circulated by news organizations. NPR.org featured them on its homepage. The tornado, the deadliest of many to touch down in the greater Oklahoma City area last week, killed 24 people, including seven Plaza Towers students; injured more than 300; and destroyed many homes, businesses and schools. None of Oklahoma’s public stations was damaged by the tornado, but one employee of the state’s public TV network lost her home. Kallie Langham, graphic artist at Oklahoma City–based OETA, and her husband and dog are staying in a hotel offering free stays of up to 30 days to tornado victims whose homes were destroyed, according to Dan Scheidel, OETA executive director. Others had close calls. KGOU Membership Director Laura Knoll lives one block north of the storm’s path. She said the tornado narrowly avoided her house. All hands on deck Oklahoma has a small but tight-knit pubcasting community, so covering the storm and its aftermath required everyone on the team to cover for each other. For example, KGOU’s one full-time news reporter, Kurt Gwartney, also hosts Morning Edition. When Gwartney went to Moore to do field reporting May 21, the station’s operations director, Brian Hardzinski, took his morning air shift. “I think it’s pretty telling when your operations director can fill in as Morning Edition host that you have a pretty small Continued on page 19
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6930 Carroll Ave., Suite 350, Takoma Park, MD 20912 Web: Current.org Phone: 301-270-7240, extensions below Fax: 301-270-7241 Managing Editor Karen Everhart, x 33, karen@current.org Senior Editors Dru Sefton, x 39, sefton@current.org Ben Mook, x 32, mook@current.org Assistant Editor Andrew Lapin, x 34, lapin@current.org Associate Editor Mike Janssen, mike@mikejanssen.net Project Editor Steve Behrens, stevebehrens@mac.com Business/Circulation Manager Laura Rogers, x 38, rogers@current.org Advertising Director Kathleen Unwin, 877-745-8776, x 1 unwin@current.org Administrative Assistant Dorian Jones Director of Strategic Initiatives Mark Fuerst, 877-745-8776, x 2 Contributing Editors Louis Barbash, Theodore Fischer Editorial Intern Erica Sanchez-Vazquez Founder of Current, 1980 James A. Fellows, National Association of Educational Broadcasters Published 23 times a year as an editorially independent service of American University School of Communication, Washington, D.C., and funded in part by a grant from the Wyncote Foundation. Postmaster: Send address changes to address above. ISSN: 0739-991X. Copyright 2013 American University.
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WYSO project explores industrial city’s reinvention By Ben Mook
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he recession has come down especially hard on the manufacturing-heavy city of Dayton, Ohio, burdening its residents and prompting Forbes magazine to rank it among the country’s “fastest-dying cities” in 2008. This 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. With startup funding from AIR, WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar spent four months walking the streets of Dayton neighborhoods finding stories. After 70 interviews, seven people’s stories were selected to illustrate the city’s struggle to come back from the recession. “When we started this, we really didn’t know the answer to the question of whether or not Dayton would come back,” Reichert said. “At that point, all of the major corporations were going, and the question was, ‘What would we be as a city?’ So it turned out that reinvention was just the right question for the time.” “The answer is, ‘yes, Dayton is coming back,’ and there is a lot of energy to reinvent coming from a lot of places,” Reichert added. “This project is like taking a snapshot at a turning point in our city’s life.” Earlier this spring producers received
additional funding to continue the production for another year or two. WYSO g.m. Neenah Ellis said the ReInvention project has been a “true collaboration” and has turned out just as she hoped. Learning about Localore immediately sparked Ellis’ interest, and she knew just who to reach out to participate. “I knew it was a chance for a station like ours to engage local media artists to take the station to the next level in terms of multimedia production,” Ellis said. “They live nearby, so I just went down the street, knocked on their door and said, ‘We should do this.’” Reichert and Bognar, who have worked mainly in film, knew that incorporating radio would be a challenge. “One of the first things we asked was, ‘Where do you put the pictures if it’s radio?’” Reichert says. “But at the same time, we wanted to build on our strengths but also do something different, which this allowed us to do.” Reichert and Bognar collaborated on the 2009 HBO documentary The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant, an Oscar-nominated look at the closing of the assembly plant in Moraine, Ohio, where 2,500 workers and 200 management staff were laid off. Their 2006 film, A Lion in the House, was featured on PBS’s Independent Lens series and was nominated for a 2007 Independent Spirit Award for best documentary. Reichert has been nominated for two other Academy Awards for best feature documentary. Four of Bognar’s documentaries have screened at the Sundance Film Festival,
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Filmmaker Julia Reichert interviews Carol Coffey, one of the participants in ReInvention Stories. The Localore-backed multimedia project looked at how residents of the industrial city in southwestern Ohio are recovering from the recession. (Photo: Community Media Productions) and his film Personal Belongings aired on PBS’s POV. The filmmakers and WYSO quickly agreed on the idea of reinvention. Dayton, a city 20 miles southwest of the village of Yellow Springs, was hammered with plant closings and high unemployment, bringing to a close its days as a manufacturing powerhouse. In addition to a series of weekly radio features, ReInvention Stories includes an interactive website developed in collaboration with interactive producers Kara Oehler and Lindsey Wagner of Zeega, the public media startup that contributed to several Localore projects. The website tells the stories of seven
Dayton residents in an interactive “movie” that’s split into three “acts”: “Beginning – Who Was I?”; “Middle – What Happened?”; and “End – Who Am I Now?” Navigation bars at the top and bottom of the screen allow web viewers to sample different stories or change the order in which they are presented. One of the stories focuses on Holly, who recalls losing both her husband and her job as a traveling saleswoman of specialty footwear within four months. Suddenly finding herself a single mother with three kids and no company car or health benefits available, she decided to open her own store, selling footwear and orthotics.
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PBS NewsHour shuttle driver fatally shot by off-duty cop Julian Dawkins, the shuttle driver for PBS NewsHour’s Arlington, Va., employees, was fatally shot the night of May 21 in Alexandria, Va., by an off-duty deputy sheriff, according to local police. He was 22. Dawkins’s death was first reported May 22 by WJLA-TV, Washington, D.C.’s ABC affiliate. He had been working for the NewsHour since since 2010, according to a spokesperson for the NewsHour. “Julian was a hard worker and very dedicated to the NewsHour,” said Linda Winslow, e.p. “We are deeply saddened by the news of Julian’s death, and our condolences, thoughts and prayers are with his family.” Dawkins was cousin to Washington Mystics guard Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, who was signed to the team April 25. He had gone out earlier that evening to celebrate her making the team, his mother, Gwen Pratt Miller, told WUSA-TV, Washington’s CBS affiliate. The motive for the shooting is under investigation. Detectives questioned the deputy, Craig Patterson, May 22 before releasing him.
NPR, AIR unveil resource site for freelancers NPR and the Association of Independents in Radio have launched the Freelance and Station Contributor Resource Site, an online repository of information for reporters interested in filing stories with the network. “This first of its kind site includes Ethics Guidelines, examples of good freelance/station producer stories, ‘how stories go from idea to air,’ key editorial contacts, FTP filing guidelines, the most current AQH audience data for producers airing features on NPR programs, and more,” AIR Executive Director Sue Schardt wrote in an email announcing the site. Freelancers can sign up by visiting nprstations.org and filling out the registration form. Non-AIR members are also permitted to join by using the organization’s name. Schardt noted that many of AIR’s newest members are under 34 years old and have never worked with NPR. The site is dedicated to Bill Siemering, NPR’s first program director and a longtime AIR member.
California’s KCLU expands reach with new signals KCLU-FM in Thousand Oaks, Calif., will extend its range to the northwest next month when it begins broadcasting on a new full-power signal in Santa Maria and translator in San Luis Obispo. California Lutheran University, KCLU’s licensee, acquired KHFR and the translator May 6 from Family Stations Inc. The religious broadcasting chain is led by Harold Camping, whose frequent and faulty predictions of apocalypse have received widespread attention. The school paid $475,000 in the deal. The new signals sign on June 18 and will carry local news, traffic and weather.
Friends of the NewsHour website now accepting donations Billionaire investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett and WETA President Sharon Rockefeller are among founding members of the Friends of the NewsHour, a fundraising group that launched a website this month directly soliciting donations and major gifts for PBS’s weeknight news program. Friends of the NewsHour is sharing donations with local stations, although details about how the gifts will be split weren’t available at Current’s deadline. “Loyal viewers have long wanted to show their support for the NewsHour and its mission, and this campaign allows them to do so,” said MacNeil/Lehrer Productions President Bo Jones. Jones began work on the group in March 2012, modeling it after the Masterpiece Trust. Since its launch in January 2011, that major gifts program has raised $4.2 million for the icon series based at WGBH, $1.5 million of which has been allocated to partner stations. “Seismic changes in the media landscape — the expansion of cable, the growth of the Internet — have not only changed the way we deliver the news, it has altered the way news programs are funded,” Jones said. The website is friendsofthenewshour.org. Other founding members are Jim Lehrer and Robin MacNeil, the newsmen who created the show in 1975; John and Wendy Neu, of the Hugo Neu Corp., a recycling, real estate and green-tech investment firm; and Smithsonian Regent Roger Sant and his wife, Washington, D.C., philanthropist Vicki Sant.
Correction n American Masters, the PBS biographical series featured in the May 13 edition, has won a total of 24 Primetime Emmys, and its May 2012 debut of “Johnny Carson: King of Late Night,” attracted a record audience of more than 10 million viewers. These details were misreported in the article, due in part to erroneous information provided by the producer during an interview. The article also implied that architect Frank Lloyd Wright has been profiled by American Masters, but he has not. In addition, the subject of the series 200th profile was incorrectly reported to be a secret. American Masters announced in January that it had chosen Shane Salerno’s independent documentary about the late author J.D. Salinger for the milestone broadcast. n KNPB in Reno, Nev., has promoted Ruthie Smith to manager of educational services, to lead community education efforts. Smith arrived at the station a year ago as Ready to Learn coordinator. She began her career more than 20 years ago as director of marketing for the local Montrêux Golf and Country Club. An April 29 news item on the promotion erroneously reported that Smith had worked at KNPB earlier in her career
Current
Holm, left, ascends to chief content officer in Portland; Heckner will focus on R&D for WGBH-based pubTV fundraising cooperative; Chacón returns to WBUR to direct local radio and online news coverage.
John C. Phillips is joining Cleveland’s ideastream as chief financial officer, succeeding Robert Calsin, who is retiring after nine years in the post.
Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland has promoted Morgan Holm to senior v.p. and chief content officer, and hired Mike Foti as v.p. of engineering. Holm joined the statewide network 23 years ago as a reporter and worked in several roles, including v.p. of news and public affairs, a job that he held for the past seven years. His achievements as news chief include establishing EarthFix, a journalism collaborative among pubcasters in the Pacific Northwest that covers the region’s environmental news. In his new role, Holm oversees local content creation across all of OPB’s platforms. Foti currently directs engineering at WGBH in Boston, where he recently oversaw the integration of New Hampshire Public Television’s master control operations within WGBH. Foti begins at OPB on July 1.
WBUR-FM in Boston has hired Richard Chacón as executive director of news content, and promoted Tom Melville to news director from his previous role of executive editor of content. Chacón, who starts on June 10, takes a newly created position with responsibility for managing all local news content produced for radio and the web. This is his second stint at WBUR: Chacón began his career there in 1984 as an undergraduate at Boston University. He spent more than a decade at the Boston Globe in positions including ombudsman, deputy foreign desk editor, Latin America bureau chief and general assignment reporter. He’s also worked in public policy and public affairs, most recently overseeing a major capital campaign for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Charlie Kravetz, WBUR g.m., said Chacón’s “extensive journalistic background and leadership experience will help shape and guide our multi-platform newsroom of the future.” Melville has been executive editor of WBUR content since 2011. Prior to that, he was news director at New England Cable News. He joined the 24-hour news cable outlet in 1993, rising from chief political reporter to executive producer, assistant news director and news director. WBUR has a news staff of 75 journalists providing radio and digital content.
Phillips most recently spent nine years as senior v.p. for finance and administration at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio. He also worked in several positions for the Dannon Co. over 12 years. Phillips has served as a board member and chair of the Cleveland chapter of EconomicsAmerica, a local chapter of Toastmasters International, and a finance committee member of Catholic Campus Ministry Association.
The Contributor Development Partnership at WGBH, a fundraising cooperative backed by pubTV’s Major Market Group and CPB, has hired Brooks Heckner as associate director. Heckner will focus on research, development and piloting of new programs, as well as distribution of benchmarking reports to local stations. His previous experience includes working in account management and client service for firms including CVS, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, where he was responsible for various data-driven marketing programs, including direct mail and email. He also worked in marketing at the Baltimore-Washington regional office of the McDonald’s Corp. Professional organizations YPPubmedia, a nonprofit group affiliated with DEI that is dedicated to “connecting young professionals in pubmedia to supportive national networks,” has appointed seven members to its first advisory board. Serving are Chris Bay, interactive web producer, KDHX, St. Louis; Vanessa Harris, marketing director, Chicago Public Media; Chelan Lippincott, membership director, KBCS, Bellevue, Wash.; Andi McDaniel, interactive producer, Twin Cities Public Television, St. Paul, Minn.; Liz Mozzocco, music director, WAPS-FM, Akron, Ohio; Wynde Priddy, membership systems administrator, Colorado Public Radio; and Claire Radomski, membership manager, WFYI, Indianapolis, Ind. The organization currently has some 275 members who work at 149 public media stations and organizations. Membership is open to public media staffers ages 35 and under. Programming Dave Denis, WGBH senior director of product and operations, has been named this year’s WGBH Becton Fellow. The fellowship recognizes promising producers and content creators whose work at the Boston station is “emblematic of WGBH’s mission,” the Becton Fund said in the announcement. Continued on page 13
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Assignment: The World, the longest-running social-studies instructional TV program in the country, broadcast its last episode May 23. WXXI in Rochester, N.Y., which produced the ITV series for 54 years, announced the cancellation last week. “Assignment: The World has experienced an increase in news acquisition costs, which were unfortunately not offset by program funding,” said Elissa Orlando, WXXI v.p. for television, in the announcement. “WXXI is saddened by this decision, but will continue to discover new ways to serve the educational needs of students.” Every season, students could watch 32 weekly episodes, 15 minutes in length, in classrooms, either on the air or on-demand over the Internet. Teej Jenkins, the last host to anchor the show, presented a roundup of news events from the past week; teachers and students often interact with the show through writing prompts, issue questions and polls. Since 1976, the Assignment: The World poll has correctly predicted the outcomes of the last 10 presidential elections. The program was developed by Lloyd Kaiser when he worked for the Rochester Area Educational Television Association, forerunner of WXXI; Kaiser later became president of WQED in Pittsburgh. The
Teej Jenkins anchors the last broadcast of Assignment: The World, an ITV series that shut down production after a 54year run at WXXI.
first episode premiered in fall 1959 on two local commercial broadcasters. When they dropped the show in 1966, WXXI picked it up. In 1975 it started airing on pubTV stations statewide and in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine. The Agency for Instructional Technology began national distribution in 1982. The final episode was recorded May 21. Afterwards, WXXI hosted a small reception for the production team, former hosts and producers and WXXI staff, according to Kristin Tutino, publicist. “After 54 years of producing the show, it was a sad day,” she told Current. The series has received many honors, including two New York State Broadcasters Awards of Excellence, a Telly, a Gold Aurora, two Certificates of Excellence from the Central Education Network and a Wilbur Schramm Award of Excellence. — Dru Sefton
Classical WFMT in Chicago introduced a premium subscription streaming service offering access to its archives of Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin. The internationally syndicated classical-music series airs on 55 stations and draws a weekly audience of more than 400,000 listeners. “It’s a unique show, and Bill is a great host,” said Steve Robinson, g.m. of the WFMT Radio Network. “Since the show started, we’ve gotten something like 10,000 emails, and this has been one of the things people have repeatedly asked us to do.” At launch, the new streaming service offers 500 hours of content selected from the show’s 10-year archive. Programs will be added weekly until all 850 hours of Exploring Music are available. Listeners can choose among three options to gain
San Mateo college cuts deal with spectrum speculator for KCSM
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he San Mateo County Community College District has entered into an agreement with a spectrum speculator owned by private-equity firm The Blackstone Group. The contract, which had been recommended by the college chancellor, paves the way for public TV station KCSM to go dark if a wireless company buys its broadcast spectrum. The district voted May 15 to approve the bid offered by LocusPoint, based in Belmont, Calif. According to the San Mateo Daily Journal, LocusPoint will pay the district $900,000 a year to run the station for up to four years or until the auction is held. The two parties would then split auction revenues, with 63.5 percent going to the district and the remainder to LocusPoint. LocusPoint is 99 percent owned by Blackstone through its Tactical Opportunities division. A pair of veteran telecom executives owns the remaining 1 percent. Companies such as LocusPoint have been acquiring licenses to commercial and noncommercial TV stations in deals betting on big payouts from the FCC’s upcoming incentive auction of television spectrum. The district approved LocusPoint’s purchasing offer over those of three other bidders: Public TV Financing, an arm of Independent Public Media, a nonprofit working to preserve noncommercial spectrum; KMTP-TV, an independent public TV station licensed to Minority Television Project, Inc. in San Francisco; and the Oriental Culture and Media Center of Southern California, a nonprofit promoting communication among different cultures. Chancellor Ron Galatolo recommended LocusPoint’s bid as the best option for relieving the district from the financial burdens of running a public TV station. In a memo summarizing the offers, Galatolo described Public TV Financing’s bid as “problematic” because it wouldn’t end the district’s ownership of a PTV station, which is an explicit goal of the board. Independent Public Media’s bid was structured similarly to LocusPoint’s, but a clause in IPM’s bid would have kept the station on the air after the auction. Under the proposal, the district would find a broadcasting partner and split the auction proceeds with IPM while retaining some broadcast spectrum. IPM’s bid included an $800,000 up-front payment and $800,000 a year to fund operations until the auction was held, according to John Schwartz, IPM founder. In an interview with Current, Schwartz said his company’s goal had been to prevent the probable loss of a public television station. “This is a permanent, irretrievable loss to the service area,” Schwartz said. “Not only will the station be gone, but there will never be another station occupying that spectrum.” The district should have seen that its decision would affect more than just its bottom line, Schwartz said. “I’m coming from a fundamentally different place then they are,” Schwartz said. “I wouldn’t want to second-guess the district’s decision, but public television to me is a service that goes beyond the entity that holds the license. When you hold a public TV license you have a responsibility that goes beyond the station, like the service area.” — Ben Mook
Questions, comments, tips? mook@current.org
Continued on page 7
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NPR’s Code Switch digs into discomfort around race By Mike Janssen
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hen Southern country singer Brad Paisley shared his awkward view of race relations in his controversial song “Accidental Racist” last month, the team at NPR’s Code Switch couldn’t have asked for better timing. The unit devoted to multimedia reporting and opinionating on matters of race, culture and ethnicity had just debuted on NPR’s website and social media under the Code Switch banner April 7. Two days later, Paisley’s cringe-inducing tune, which also featured LL Cool J delivering the lines “If you won’t judge my do-rag / I won’t judge your red flag,” whipped up a frenzy of dumbfounded disgust on Facebook and Twitter. “It’s kind of a softball over the plate,” wrote Code Switch blogger Gene Demby in a blogged conversation with Matt Thompson, manager of the Code Switch team. Indeed, Paisley’s song pushed many listeners into the territory that Code Switch calls home — a zone where people of different races and ethnicities try to understand each other and stumble into sometimes uncomfortable conversations along the way. Backed by a two-year, $1.5 million grant from CPB, Code Switch marks a significant boost in NPR’s attention to race and ethnicity as a subject, as well as an attempt to foster deeper consideration of racial issues throughout the network’s journalism. “Race, ethnicity and culture are such a vivid and important part of so many news stories as they unfold, and that’s becoming increasingly so as the U.S. shifts demographically,” Thompson says. “The more reporting that we can have
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access: a $50 annual subscription offering unlimited streaming; monthly subscriptions at $7; and a promotional offer for “charter members,” a two-year subscription for $50, available for a limited time. WFMT invested nearly $100,000 to build the site, populate the archive and cover operating expenses, according to Robinson. Startup costs were underwritten by private donors. This is the first time archives of weekly editions of Exploring Music have been made available for online streaming. Robinson believes the classical-music audience is
the Making of… hear here
addressing those issues, the better.” Prior to Code Switch, only one NPR reporter focused mainly on racial issues — Karen Grigsby Bates, now on the Code Switch team — and there were no web pages devoted exclusively to the subject on NPR.org. Since Code Switch launched, Demby and others have written upwards of several blog posts a day, covering topics including music, breaking news, TV shows, changing demographics and more. Each unit member focuses mainly on a particular medium for their contribuDemby tions, but all pinch-hit across platforms. Demby and Thompson appear on NPR shows to weigh in on racial subjects, while radio reporters such as Bates and Shereen Marisol Meraji write blog posts. Kat Chow, a former production assistant at Boston’s WGBH, handles social media. “We’ve got this really nice hybrid universe, and these two worlds nicely complement each other,” Thompson says. The unit also aims to take advantage of blogging and social media to spur thoughtful conversations. An introductory post by Demby asked readers to share their stories of “code-switching,” occasions when they adapted their speech to suit a different social context. The stories, solicited during the blog’s first week, became fodder for additional blog posts and discussions on NPR shows. As anyone who has spent time reading comment threads knows, fostering civil discussion on the Internet about
wrongly stereotyped as older and technologically averse. “The image of the classical audience as not being comfortable with or aware of this kind of technology just isn’t correct,” Robinson said. “We are a different culture now, and things like streaming are ubiquitous.” Robinson is working on a similar service offering access to another gem in WFMT’s library: programs from Pulitzer Prize–winning author Studs Terkel, who made WFMT his broadcasting home from 1952 to 1997. “I see Exploring Music as just the beginning,” Robinson said. “We feel the more we have online, the merrier. I’ve always believed in the subscription model — if you have something of value, people will be willing to pay for it.” — Ben Mook
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Alaska Public Media introduced a new weekly web-first series in what promises to be its “larger video renaissance.” Indie Alaska, a weekly YouTube series profiling unique Alaskans, is co-produced with PBS Digital Studios and partially funded with a $10,000 Digital Entrepreneurs Grant from PBS. The show launched May 6 with an episode about a ski train polka band. Producers will deliver 52 episodes in total, with new ones debuting each Monday. Patrick Yack, chief content officer at Alaska Public Media, said the dual licensee plans to eventually repackage the episodes in a magazine-like format for TV broadcast and may adapt some for radio as well. The
Planet takeout ed Zed oMega
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hot-button issues can pose challenges. To that end, Code Switch’s administrators have taken the liberty to delete “lots of comments” on their blog posts, as Demby explained in a May 4 post. Some commenters have asked why racial issues are worth covering at all, while others have slammed topics of coverage, such as hip-hop. “To NPR: please find something else to broadcast, or put this kind of thing on in the middle of the night,” wrote one deleted commenter. “We encourage people to share their experiences about their own cultures, and, in trying to create a safe space for that kind of thing, we’re going to err against allowing people to say denigrating things about other cultures,” Demby wrote. By gently rocking the boat and taking listeners and web visitors outside of their comfort zones, Code Switch is also following through on an often-stated goal of NPR President Gary Knell, who wants to expand NPR’s reach to media consumers who might enjoy its content but are currently unfamiliar with it. When Demby announced that he’d been hired to blog for Code Switch, “my aunt didn’t know what NPR was,” he says. “There’s a whole universe of people who don’t listen to Morning Edition or All Things Considered, and they’re in my family.” n
network broadcast promo spots for the series in addition to promoting it through social media. The promotional campaign and multiplatform distribution plans distinguish Indie Alaska from other PBS Digital Studios series, which have primarily been kept off the air. “We just think it makes sense, at least for us, to try to have as broad of a distribution as possible,” Yack said, adding that the network wants to “transcend platforms.” Other multiplatform series will follow. Alaska Public Media added a new member to its production team as it prepared to launch Indie Alaska. Yack expects APM to largely self-fund its upcoming video projects. — Andrew Lapin
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8 | May 28, 2013 | Current
Primetime Continued from page 1
contributions to the national schedule by more than 30 percent. She commissioned 24 new episodes of Nova from Boston’s WGBH, up from 18 this year. Nature, from New York’s WNET, will premiere 19 new episodes, up from 13. The series are paired in PBS’s Wednesday primetime schedule. Big changes are planned for PBS’s Fridaynight public-affairs block, but they weren’t talked up in public sessions. PBS has canceled Need to Know, the newsmagazine series from New York’s WNET, and will replace it with Charlie Rose Weekend in July. Rose, who co-anchors CBS This Morning in addition to helming his PBS interview series on weeknights, will draw material from earlier broadcasts for the Friday show, which will be
fed at 8:30 pm. PBS announced the change during a closed meeting of the Public Television Programmers Association, according to a programmer who attended the session. Publicists for WNET and PBS confirmed the change. PBS will also introduce a new strand of historical discovery programming, Genealogy Roadshow, debuting Sept. 23 at 9 p.m. Produced by reality TV specialists at Krasnow Productions (The Weakest Link, Average Joe and Dog Eat Dog), the series will air over four consecutive Mondays. A Ken Burns documentary about President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address will air in November and be supported by an educational campaign. Station programmers reacted enthusiastically to Hoppe’s progress to date in reinvigo-
referring to new content on PBS. “There hasn’t been any kind of pipeline. But you can see a distinct difference now. Just in her short time there, Beth is changing the mindset at PBS.” “This is the strongest lineup of programs we’ve seen in years,” said Terry Dugas, content distribution manager at NET Nebraska. “There are so many shows, I don’t have enough time slots.” A ratings lift from Downton
In presenting her first fall schedule as PBS’s chief programmer, Hoppe said the network is “taking greater control of our pipeline and our fate.” (Photo: Snapshots Event Photography, PBS) rating PBS’s primetime line-up. “The last four or five years have been pretty fallow,” said Scott Dwyer, p.d. of San Francisco’s KQED,
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Buoyed by the ratings success of Downton Abbey, the Masterpiece Classics miniseries that became a mega-blockbuster this year with broadcast of its third season, programmers are enthusiastic about Hoppe’s latest find for the 8 p.m. Sunday primetime slot, which leads in to Masterpiece. Last Tango in Halifax was popular with British viewers and earlier this month won a 2013 BAFTA for best drama from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Like Call the Midwife, which debuted in the same timeslot last fall, Last Tango in Halifax gives fans of British drama a reason to tune into their local PBS station earlier on Sundays. “I think that will be a huge hit,” Dwyer said. “It’s right in our wheelhouse — a beautiful story of unrequited love.” It premieres Sept. 8 as the lead-in to Masterpiece Mystery! As for Downton Abbey, Masterpiece Executive Producer Rebecca Eaton announced that the Edwardian drama would premiere its fourth season Jan. 5, 2014. The third-season premiere of Downton in January helped boost PBS’s primetime Sunday audience to its current 2.2 average, up 25 percent from 1.75 a year ago. Hoppe reported to pubcasting colleagues gathered in a cavernous ballroom of Miami Beach’s Fontainebleau Hotel that Wednesday nights, which feature science content from Nature and Nova, are up 17 percent over the past two years. The overall primetime average grew 5 percent to 1.46, enough to move PBS up two spots among all networks, to ninth place. “Pretty great at a time when many networks are flat or on the way down,” Hoppe noted. “We are the only major broadcast network to have an increase.” Eaton told representatives of local stations that they shared in Downton’s success. “I feel like we were all pitched an incredible fastball and you all knew how to hit it out of the park — and it’s still going,” she said. Hoppe, who was promoted to public TV’s top programming job in December 2012, told station reps that she is working to keep building on PBS’s recent success. “The view from 36,000 feet gives us a perspective that no individual producer can have,” she said. “By taking a holistic view of our programming and determining those areas of our service that need strengthening, we are taking greater control of our pipeline and of our fate. The kind of exciting new content that made PBS great in the first place will continue to be the differentiating factor as our commercial counterparts embrace Honey Boo Boo and Duck Dynasty.” PBS is “spending a lot of time brainstorming with producers to find the next brand-defining series for PBS,” Hoppe said. “We’re developing new concepts, looking at creating new genres and considering the return of American drama to public TV.” PBS declined to provide details regarding Hoppe’s plans to revive American drama, but Variety recently reported that she commissioned a pilot script titled Alta California from Dennis Leoni, e.p. and writer of Resurrection Blvd., which ran on Showtime more than a decade ago. Continued on page 9
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Kerger describes factionalism within pubTV as system’s greatest threat MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — PBS President Paula Kerger called for local public TV stations and PBS to move beyond their reputations as a “dysfunctional family” to embrace “the power of a collective system” to strengthen their public service. In a May 14 keynote speech opening the PBS Annual Meeting, Kerger said public Kerger television has reached an important moment in its history — one that she considers to be “the most important moment of my tenure” as PBS president. Kerger pointed to the outpouring of support for public TV when its federal funding came under
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During the annual meeting, PBS also previewed several documentary shows to debut this fall, including: n The African-Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, in which Harvard professor and frequent PBS host Henry Louis Gates explores 500 years of cultural history. Producer Dylan McGee introduced it as Gates’s “most personal journey yet.” It airs Tuesdays Oct. 22 to Nov. 26. n Five programs marking the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In addition to a one-hour special planned for Nov. 11, there’s a two-parter from American Experience; Nova’s “Cold Case JFK,” examining whether new forensic techniques would have yielded a more conclusive explanation for the President’s killing; and, from Secrets of the Dead, “One o’ Clock” (w.t.), chronicling how news of the assassination spread, from the moment that gunshots rang out in Dallas through the announcement of Kennedy’s death one hour and eight
attack during the fall presidential elections and the international attention and praise that accrued to public TV following the blockbuster Masterpiece Classic hit Downton Abbey. “We have the potential to accomplish great things,” Kerger said. “And while we face a lot of strategic decisions about our future, that is not the challenge that keeps me up at night.” “In fact, none of our external challenges worry me most. I think that some of our biggest challenges come from within our own system.” Too often, she said, pubcasters see what is good for PBS as bad for stations and vice versa. “Sometimes there’s been a sense
minutes later. n “The Address,” a film by Ken Burns that follows students in Greenwood School in Putney, Vt., as they memorize President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in its entirety. The school serves boys with a range of severe learning disabilities who struggle learning to recite the speech and ultimately succeed. The film, still in postproduction, will be backed by an ambitious outreach project encouraging viewers across the country to learn the speech. “Public media can reach every student in the country; it can reach every adult,” said Burns, who announced the project in a keynote address. “We intend to challenge all of them to join these boys in memorizing the speech.” Burns is working to finish the doc, which will run from 90 minutes to two hours in length, for broadcast Nov. 19, the 150th anniversary of the battlefield proclamation. n A multipart Frontline documentary about the growing problem of brain injuries among former National Football League players. It was produced in collaboration
that our fates are not intertwined, that PBS could exist without local stations. Or that stations can go it alone,” Kerger said. “But looking at the system as ‘us’ versus ‘them’ is exactly what has helped define our system as dysfunctional and could ultimately destroy us,” she said. “If we are to be successful in today’s media landscape, we must find ways to work together and put aside some of the divisions that have plagued our system for too long,” Kerger said. Kerger, who was a c.o.o. and a top fundraiser for New York’s WNET before she was appointed to the PBS presidency in 2006, said she is “passionately committed” to local stations and believes “just as passionately in the power of a collective system.” Kerger didn’t elaborate on points of conflict between PBS and its member sta-
tions, but she signaled that PBS staff must also embrace her approach for bridging the divide. “[J]ust so I am clear, understand that my expectations of a singularly focused public media community extend within PBS as well as in the system,” she said. “I expect that every member of our team in Crystal City will focus their efforts to ensure that we are all working towards our common goal. Anyone that cannot be part of that vision will not be on the team.” The pubcasting system has “an essential role to play in helping our country confront some of the most important issues of our times,” she said. “If we don’t work together, if our system fails to thrive, I shudder to think about the impact this will have on our democracy,” Kerger said. — Dru Sefton
what future neurological problems he may with ESPN and will premiere in October. endure. The film was pre“This is a big and sented in Miami Beach heartbreaking story,” during a luncheon Kirk said, noting that celebrating the 30th 4,000 former NFL playanniversary of PBS’s ers and their spouses signature investigaare currently part of tive series. Deputy a class-action lawsuit Executive Producer against the league. Raney Aronson modn Big Ideas with erated a panel featuring Steven Johnson, a Dwayne Bray, senior miniseries funded by coordinating producer the PBS/CPB Program for ESPN; Frontline proChallenge Fund that ducer Michael Kirk; and Ken Burns’s film on the Gettysburg has the potential to Hall of Famer Harry Address debuts alongside a major eduexpand into a conCarson of the New York tinuing series, Hoppe cational campaign. (Photo: Snapshots Giants. said. Johnson, a digital Event Photography, PBS) Carson said that if Renaissance man with he had known during 1.5 million Twitter folhis football career what lowers and 1.3 million he knows now about hits on his TED Talks presentation, is author brain injuries, he would not have played footof the book Where Good Ideas Come From. ball. He gave his young grandchildren golf For the series, he examines the roots of innoclubs for Christmas, hoping to steer them vation and how to fuel more of it. n away from the game. Carson also has suffered multiple concussions and doesn’t know Questions, comments, tips? sefton@current.org
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Radio Catskill Continued from page 1
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a near-total meltdown of the station’s leadership structure within a few months’ time. Making Waves, a news and cultural magazine produced by owners of the hydroelectric plant that powers WJFF, was removed from the air by Winston Clark, station manager since 2010, and a programming committee whose members he appointed. The decision riled station volunteers and supporters who were already upset by an earlier overhaul of the schedule. During a contentious public meeting of the board in March, the show’s supporters blasted Clark for moving unilaterally to cancel Making Waves. They called for his dismissal and resignations of his closest allies on the board. In addition, Clark’s critics complained to CPB’s Office of the Inspector General, alleging that the station had violated CPB rules for open meetings and convening a community advisory board. Clark submitted his resignation to the board of trustees April 10. At a board meeting a week later, all but one board member resigned. In a joint statement, they objected to the personal attacks that had been directed at trustees, and said their goals had been to stabilize WJFF and strengthen its programming to serve a broader community. Within the past month, an assistant manager has stepped into the g.m.’s role on an interim basis, and Sonia Hedlund, WJFF’s remaining board member, has recruited two deejays to serve as board officers. She said she hopes to fill eight open slots with new trustees by July and is working hard to make sure the station operates transparently. “The former manager liked to decide things on his own, and that goes against the community atmosphere of WJFF,” Hedlund said. “We’re a publicly supported community radio station, and we need to start getting back to that, but it’s not going to be an easy challenge.” Clark did not respond to phone messages requesting an interview, nor did he discuss the controversy in his April 10 resignation letter. His only public remarks on the cancellation were during the March 20 board meeting, which was recorded on video and uploaded to YouTube. Hydropowered turmoil WJFF is located in Jeffersonville, N.Y., one of the vacation resort communities in the Catskill Mountains that enjoyed its heyday in the mid-20th century. Radio Catskill’s eclectic schedule augments NPR news programs with volunteer-produced shows that feature a dizzying array of musical genres, including jazz, hip-hop, oldies, soul, folk and Spanishlanguage music. Locally produced nonmusical offerings include Trailer Talk, a show of interviews conducted by host Sabrina Artel, who travels to live shows and community events in a vintage 1965 Beeline travel trailer; and Making Waves, produced weekly by WJFF volunteer Kevin Gref until its abrupt cancellation in March. With his wife, Barbara, Gref operates Jefferson Hydroelectric — better known to locals as “Jeff Hydro” — which provides all the electrical power needed to run the WJFF studio across the street. The plant’s proximity to the station is no accident: Malcolm Brown and his wife bought and restored the plant prior to founding Radio Catskill. As the new owner of Jeff Hydro, Gref expanded the relationship between the power company and the station by serving on the board and producing one of WJFF’s most popular local programs, Making Waves.
During the March 20 meeting, Clark said that he put Making Waves on hiatus after the March 4 show broadcast the word “shit” twice before 10 p.m., a violation of FCC indecency rules. He acknowledged that he and the program committee previously had approached the producers about refocusing the series on local topics. Clark’s critics complained that the station manager had wielded his power unilaterally, even though programming decisions were vetted by a committee. Multiple speakers at the March 20 meeting described being dropped from WJFF boards and committees with no explanation, and complained that Clark didn’t respond to their requests to be re-appointed. “There have been changes in programming, and I think it’s very, very important for any changes to be done very carefully,” said volunteer Heidi Schneider during the meeting. “Instead, we go and take a community program off the air just like that. I didn’t think I could feel any worse.” “Making Waves is much bigger than just one person saying ‘shit’ on the air,” said vol-
Sonia Hedlund was the only WJFF trustee left when the fight was over. Two fellow deejays John Bachman, center, and Glenn Wooddell later agreed to serve as interim board officers. (Photo: T. Waddell) unteer Jill Weiner. “This is a community radio station, and that program is an example of what community radio is.” In addition to turning out at board meetings, critics of the programming decisions turned to social media and the Internet to spread their cause. Restore WJFF, an anonymously penned blog, complained of “3+ years of unfortunate management” of the station that “fostered a culture of exclusion and opacity.” The blog collected 110 signatures on a petition calling for Clark and top board leaders to resign. A Facebook page created for the campaign garnered 70 likes since its launch in mid-April. Gref was among those calling for the president of WJFF’s board and her predecessor to resign. “There was a sense in the community that in order for the station to move forward, the two past presidents should step down out of responsibility for all that had gone wrong during Winston’s time as manager — and there was pressure to that effect,” Gref wrote in an email to Current. Clark resigned during a regularly scheduled weekly board meeting April 10, which was largely held in executive session. In his resignation letter, Clark thanked the board for the opportunity to lead the station. “I also want to pay special tribute to WJFF’s remarkable volunteers for their continuing devotion, artistry, and hard work,” Clark wrote. “I am confident that WJFF’s best days lie ahead.” Trustees later appointed Adam Weinrich, assistant manager, as his interim successor. Grassroots, not grass tops As much as the dispute over Making Waves stemmed from tensions inherent to Continued on page 11
Radio Catskill Continued from page 10
community radio, it also grew from conflicting philosophies over how WJFF should be run. Prior to signing on as g.m. in 2010, Clark was the longtime executive director of the Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus. Board members who recruited him saw his management experience outside the world of radio broadcasting as an asset, said one source with insight into Clark’s relationship with the trustees. The source requested anonymity to speak frankly. But others outside WJFF’s leadership said Clark’s management style conflicted with the station’s grassroots orientation. The general manager’s role at Radio Catskill should be “intensely community-oriented,” Gref told Current. Clark’s departure failed to calm the Restore WJFF petitioners, who still wanted to topple the leadership of the board of trustees. What happened next may have surprised even the staunchest critics among them. When the board convened for its next regular meeting, eight trustees issued a joint statement announcing that they were resigning immediately. Only Hedlund, host of a weekend folk-music show, remained; Hedlund told Current that she had not known of her colleagues’ plan to depart all at once. In the statement, the resigning trustees took issue with their critics: “In recent months and in particular in our last two board meetings, we have been subjected to personal attacks and unfounded accusations of financial and ethical violations, none of which are true. We believe our efforts have stabilized the station’s financial position and improved its programming for the benefit of the wide WJFF communities as we have strived to look outward rather than inward. Any further debate as to the future of the station can now continue without us.” Hedlund was astounded by the resignations, which put the community licensee in violation of state law as well as its own bylaws. “I was flabbergasted that my colleagues decided to resign en masse and leave things in such disarray,” she said. Fern Lee Hagedorn, one of the trustees who stepped down, said rising tensions between the board and the community left her little choice but to resign. Allegations of mismanagement leveled at the board were false and had been distorted by local press accounts, she said. “It was an unfortunate situation, and I think all of us were concerned with the well-being of WJFF,” Hagedorn said. “We didn’t think it was healthy for this kind of
WYSO
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In another story, Jeremy decides to leave his construction job to follow his dream of starting a disc-golf supply store. By the second act, Jeremy has moved his store to a larger location, expanded his inventory and worries more about expanding too quickly than staying afloat. “As heretical as it might sound coming from filmmakers, we learned by doing this how radio and audio have an intimacy that you don’t get with film,” Bognar said. “We knew the power of video, but the intimacy you can get with an isolated voice on audio is very powerful.”
Current
coverage to keep playing out in the media. The complete picture wasn’t being given, and the allegations were unfounded. But for the health of the station, I felt it was best for me to step down.” For example, allegations about WJFF’s community advisory board were based on incorrect rumors that the CAB had been dissolved, she said. “We were taking steps to improve the community advisory board, but to the best of our knowledge we were in compliance with CPB requirements.” “Maybe it could have been worked out,” Hagedorn added. “But it would have taken a lot of energy and focus away from the station’s goal of serving the community.” Keeping the door open Faced with rebuilding the board and improving relations with the Jeffersonville community, Hedlund wrote letters to about 800 Radio Catskill supporters to request financial support after the station’s April pledge drive was canceled. Two interim trustees have been named as board officers to bring WJFF in compliance with New York state nonprofit regulations. The new board has hired an attorney specializing in nonprofits to advise it. Weinrich, the interim g.m., previously worked in commercial radio in New Hampshire. He’s also working to raise funds and said responses from supporters have been mostly positive so far. But some volunteers are still stinging from the recent shakeup. “I think it just finally came to the point where people felt strongly they weren’t being listened to,” Weinrich said. “What we need to do is basically keep the door open as much as we can to talk to the volunteers or community members.” Meanwhile, Gref has returned Making Waves to the airwaves and says the station’s interim leaders have “renewed efforts toward a more transparent, more community-oriented way of doing things here at our public radio station.” “The worst is past,” Gref told Current. “And while the few on the board that stepped down feel aggrieved, the vast majority of the other volunteers feel relieved, and some who had quit over the past few years are now back.” Hagedorn believes that WJFF can bounce back from the recent turmoil and continues to volunteer at the station. “My local community radio is bigger than anything that has come to pass,” Hagedorn added. “We all believe in public radio, and time always helps with these things.” n
| May 28, 2013 | 11
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Reichert and Bognar are adapting some interviews that weren’t incorporated into the main project as radio shorts for WYSO. All stories are featured on an interactive map designed by Zeega: By clicking on points on the map, viewers can view videos of neighborhoods, historic sites or “happenings.” ReInvention Stories will continue for at least another year and possibly two. The filmmakers received $80,000 in the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s latest grants round for documentary film projects. “We think it’s an ongoing story that we’re going to be able to tell for at least a few more years,” Ellis said. “There are a lot of stories out there.” n Questions, comments, tips? mook@current.org
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StateImpact reporters received training and support in creating data-rich web presentations, such as this look at crippling drought in Texas.
StateImpact Continued from page 1
support greatly enhanced their journalism, inspiring them and their colleagues to try new approaches and encouraging a more rigorous approach to planning coverage of major issues. Those claims are borne out by the 70 awards that StateImpact projects have won, including Associated Press, Edward R. Murrow and Public Radio News Directors Inc. honors. “It’s been an unmitigated success, and we owe a lot to the StateImpact team in D.C. for helping us get there,” says Dan Grech, news director of WLRN in Miami. And journalists at both NPR and stations say that StateImpact has reinforced the value of working together to strengthen public media journalism. “It’s a shame that NPR couldn’t convince any more funders to contribute to a project like this, because it really opened NPR’s eyes to the value of member stations when they’re reporting on specific topics,” says Tim Lambert, multimedia news director at WITF in Harrisburg, Pa. The connections fused by the reporting project are likely to inform NPR’s newsgathering strategy going forward, says Lynette Clemetson, who has been serving as director of StateImpact. “We can take what we’ve learned through this project and pull it deeper into the rest of the organization,” she says. Funding struggles StateImpact’s stations each focused on a major policy area of special interest to their state. Pennsylvania and Texas stations cover energy policy; Florida, Indiana and Ohio reporters are scrutinizing education; and Idaho, Oklahoma and New Hampshire dig into economic issues. The fruits of their labors are all over their extensive websites, posted using a customized WordPress platform developed by NPR. An interactive map developed by the Pennsylvania team indexes the state’s natural-gas wells, listing operators and violations. Texas’s StateImpact documented the state’s devastating drought with a time-lapse map. These projects developed as NPR helped journalists file Freedom of Information Act requests, navigate seas of data and present their findings. Now stations will have to spearhead such efforts on their own. NPR had always planned to shift financial responsibilities to its first group of StateImpact stations by this time. In the proj-
ect’s first year, NPR footed 70 percent of the bill while stations were responsible for covering the remainder. That ratio flipped in the second year, and by year three, stations were expected to carry the burden themselves. That has come to pass, but the planned expansion beyond the original eight states has not. NPR’s Clemetson cites two reasons that the network could not expand StateImpact to other states as initially planned. To begin with, funding priorities among foundations that support journalism have changed, she says. When StateImpact launched, foundations were backing entrepreneurial news startups such as the Texas Tribune, Minnesota’s MinnPost and the CPB-backed Local Journalism Centers, Clemetson says. But the tide changed when foundations began channeling more grants to larger news organizations such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. “Some of the smaller projects that had been funded generously to start with either were not getting renewed funding, or not at levels that were anticipated,” she says. Stations also may have struggled raising their own funds to support StateImpact, Clemetson says. Throughout the project, station partners often told NPR’s team that sustaining StateImpact required attention not just to the journalism involved but to station functions that supported that work, such as fundraising, marketing and community engagement. “If I could go back and start it again, and had unlimited resources, I would have built that into the training,” Clemetson says. NPR also underwent tumultuous changes in top leadership since the launch of StateImpact, with former president Vivian Schiller, senior v.p. for news Ellen Weiss and senior v.p. for fundraising Ron Schiller all departing in the fallout over the mishandled firing of news analyst Juan Williams and a surreptitious videotaping of a lunch with head fundraiser Schiller. Under the direction of new president Gary Knell, new news veep Margaret Low Smith and Kinsey Wilson, chief content officer, “NPR’s overall vision has solidified,” Clemetson says, and leaders have identified local-national collaboration as “one of the top priorities for the future of NPR and the system.” “It’s beneficial not just for the stations, but for NPR,” she says. Network leaders are fleshing out a vision for future collaboration that Clemetson says is likely to be discussed at the Continued on page 13
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People
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The fund launched in 2006 in anticipation of former WGBH President Henry Becton Jr.’s transition to vice chair. Denis manages the major producing station’s digital planning, development and production operations, and works with web producers, designers, developers and product managers. “Dave’s experience and dedicated work makes public media more accessible across multiple platforms,” said WGBH President Jon Abbott in the statement.
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Alquist, left, exits NCME to direct membership in Anchorage; after retiring as station chief in Lehigh Valley, Pa., Dautremont-Smith will continue as volunteer host and WDIY “ambassador-at-large.”
Management Bill Dautremont-Smith, executive director of WDIY-FM in Lehigh Valley, Pa., will retire by summer’s end. He first came to the station in February 2003, after retiring from his post as chief technology officer at AT&T/ Lucent/Agere and taking air shifts as a volunteer programmer and a co-host of World Rhythms. In 2004 he joined the station’s board; he was elevated to serve as board president within a year. Dautremont-Smith resigned from the board in 2008 to become interim executive director and took the job on a permanent basis in 2009. “Bill brought a new spirit to WDIY,” said Board President Michael Kraynak. The station has seen a 40 percent increase in membership during Dautremont-Smith’s tenure. He will continue as a volunteer host for World Rhythms and as an “ambassador-at-large” for the station in the community, he said.
StateImpact Continued from page 12
Public Radio News Directors Inc. conference in Cleveland next month. New approaches to reporting The training built into StateImpact paid major dividends for the journalists who took part, say station reporters and editors. At WITF, StateImpact “opened our eyes to the use of data visualization” and the process of expanding on a broadcast report with photos and documents, says Lambert. The station hopes to continue with such presentations, but Lambert acknowledges that without NPR’s guidance, it may have to scale down efforts. The Harrisburg station also benefited from strengthening its reporting relationship with Philadelphia’s WHYY throughout the project, Lambert says. Both stations plan to continue covering the natural-gas drilling industry under the StateImpact banner; WHYY has landed funding from the William Penn Foundation, while WITF’s work will be backed by the Heinz Endowment. Miami’s WLRN will carry on with StateImpact by integrating the project into its regular budget, says Grech. When New York’s WNYC hired away WLRN StateImpact reporter Sarah Gonzalez earlier this year, the station quickly found a replacement, signaling its commitment to continuing its reporting on education under StateImpact. Grech cites several high-impact reporting projects as testament to StateImpact’s value, including an investigation of state charter schools that were systematically barring
Membership Ann Alquist is the new director of membership for Alaska Public Media in Anchorage, reporting to Torrie Allen, chief officer, marketing and development. Alquist arrived in Alaska from the National Center for Media Engagement in Madison, Wis., where she served as director of radio engagement. NCME Executive Director Charles Meyer said Alquist has “tirelessly advised scores of stations across the country, helping them redefine staff roles and how they work inside and outside the station. She constantly championed station work and progress, and fiercely advocated for practical ideas and tools that would help real people at real stations accomplish something meaningful today.” Before her NCME work, Alquist was news director at KFAI-FM, a community radio station serving Minneapolis, co-founder of the participatory-journalism website Twin Cities Daily Planet and a Young American Fulbright Journalism Fellow in Germany. n Please send People items to sefton@current.org
disabled children from entry. The reporting resulted in coverage in the Miami Herald, an editorial partner with WLRN, and on several stations in Florida, as well as a story on NPR. WLRN’s digging also prompted a member of Miami’s school board to reveal that her autistic son had been excluded from a local charter school that she had helped to found. StateImpact’s reporting helped boost traffic for WLRN’s website, Grech says, while also influencing how the station’s journalists plan coverage. The StateImpact team identified several topics within its education beat and determined that it would spend 80 percent of its time on those subjects, with a few other subjects getting the remaining 20 percent of its time. That strategy has expanded to the station’s politics and arts beats. “We were very explicit about saying, ‘Here’s a model for how to do this,’ Grech says. StateImpact’s influence at Cleveland’s ideastream, which covered education for the Ohio project, was similarly pervasive, according to Mark Smukler, senior director of content. StateImpact reporters would introduce colleagues to new tools and techniques gleaned from the project. “People pick up stuff,” he says, “and they’d ask, ‘How did you do that? I’d like to try that.’” Smukler hopes that even after NPR ends its involvement in StateImpact, his reporters will still be able to tap network journalists for expertise, possibly as part of new collaborative efforts that could be in the works. But he adds, “We’ve also learned a lot, and we’re ready to fly on our own.” n Questions, comments, tips? mike@mikejanssen.net
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14 | May 28, 2013 | Current
Current Classifieds
About our new Public Media Career Center: Current and PMBA are pleased to announce the launch of the Public Media Career Center, a new online career center designed specifically for people in public media. Its purpose is to connect you with the best talent in public media. You’ll find the new site through the jobs page at Current.org or directly at jobs.current.org.
For Employers:
For Job Seekers:
• Create an account to easily manage your print and online job advertisements—even boxed display ads. • Enjoy new flexible packages for both online and print • Set up pre-screen filters for employers to filter qualified candidates • Accept online applications directly through our site • Search and utilize our anonymous resume database
• Search by state or job function Create personal job alerts to be notified of opportunities in their field. • Post your resume in our anonymous resume database. (Prospective employers will onl your personal information with permission)
Management/Finance Executive Director Iowa Public Radio, Des Moines Iowa Public Radio seeks a dedicated and experienced professional to join our staff as Executive Director. Based in the Des Moines office and reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director is responsible for overall leadership in supporting and promoting the mission, vision and goals of the organization in upholding the integrity and trust of Iowa Public Radio in multiple locations. The major responsibilities of the Executive Director include: providing management and guiding strategic direction of the organization, maintaining and nurturing relations between
If you are a member of PMBA or have a Current Group Subscription of 5 or more copies coming
the Board of Regents, Board of Directors, industry and community leaders; and assisting in achieving the goals of strengthening the impact, reach and performance of our organization; growing and engaging our audiences and becoming financially independent from university funding by increasing private support. Additionally, the Executive Director is responsible for being the statewide “face” of Iowa Public Radio. Visit iowapublicradio.org for information on how to apply. Iowa Public Radio is an Equal Opportunity Employer. News Director Vermont Public Radio, Colchester Lead VPR’s trusted, high-performing, and forward-thinking news team in
Finding your next great career opportunity in public media just got a whole lot easier…
jobs.
to your station you are eligible for a 15% discount on all job postings. Contact Kathleen Unwin for details.
Please Note A Few Important Housekeeping Details: • All credit card processing and invoicing will be handled by our partner, JobTarget. Credit cards will be processed securely and instantly. • Current will post an electronic
this rare and dynamic opportunity at one of the country’s leading public radio stations. Vermont Public Radio is seeking an experienced journalism professional with a proven record of leadership, who inspires excellence in broadcast news and innovation in digital journalism. Candidates should have more than three years’ experience in a similar position, a strong record as a highly skilled journalist, demonstrated excellence in broadcast, demonstrated facility with digital tools and concepts, and a dedication to public service. This is a unique position at the forefront of a statewide network, which requires an energetic approach and the ability to support and inspire a talented staff. Strong salary and benefit package.
version of the classifieds on our website for tear sheet purposes. If your station requires a hard copy tear sheet of your classified, please contact Kathleen Unwin to request one. We value your feedback. Please let us know how your experience is. Best, Kathleen Unwin, Advertising Director unwin@current.org 877-745-8776 x1
For application information and a full job description, please go to VPR.net/ careers. This position is open until filled. An equal opportunity employer.
Programming/Production Digital Content Coordinator Boise State Public Radio, ID Idaho’s leading public radio station Boise State Public Radio is looking for a top notch journalist to become the station’s digital content coordinator. Help lead the station’s online newsroom and social media platforms. You must be a strategic thinker, have solid news judgment, tell a poignant online story and sport mad multimedia skills. Continued on page 16
Whether you are actively job hunting or just keeping an eye out for a new opportunity, take advantage of the new tools available at jobs.current.org… Sign up for custom email alerts Post your resume in our anonymous resume database Search by job function or location Find new public media jobs via social media. Follow @jobsinpubmedia on twitter or “like” currentpubmedia on Facebook
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| May 28, 2013 | 15
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16 | May 28, 2013 | Current
Jobs in the Pacifica Network KPFA, Berkeley, CA: KPFA is the flagship station of the Pacifica Network, which is a mission-driven organization dedicated to free speech, peace, social justice, and cross-cultural understanding. The world’s first listener-sponsored broadcaster, it serves much of Northern and Central California with an eclectic mix of arts, cultural, music, news and public affairs programming. ➤
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Classifieds
Continued from page 14
This position is based in Boise, ID. The state’s capitol city is consistently ranked near the top in the country for outdoor recreation, cost of living and work life balance. To learn more visit our website at www.boisestatepublicradio.org. Digital Reporter Vermont Public Radio, Colchester Vermont Public Radio is seeking an experienced journalist with a proven record in digital-first journalism to join one of the leading public media organizations in the country. If you are a reporter who thrives on digital innovation, digital tools, and meaningful stories, we want to hear from you. This full-time position in our Colchester studios will be a leader in VPR’s digital convergence team and set a high standard for multi-platform reporting. As a part of this team, you will report stories for VPR.net and VPR’s news blog, have a strong presence in social media, and shoot photos and occasional videos. Candidates
should have at least two years’ experience in a similar position, a strong record as a highly skilled journalist, and a dedication to the core values of public radio. Strong salary and benefit package. For application information and a full job description, please go to VPR. net/careers. This position is open until filled. An equal opportunity employer. Producer/Writer/Host Idaho Public Television, Boise This is a full time classified position with benefits. Incumbent will host and produce Idaho Reports, The Idaho Debates and may produce programs for Outdoor Idaho. The current position requires a good understanding of public affairs. In order to apply, you must be registered with the Dept. of Human Resources at www.dhr.idaho.org Part of the exam will consist of a 20 minute tape, cd, dvd of some of your work of which must be mailed to the Dept. of Human Resources. You may contact them at 208-334-2263. You may also visit our website at www.idahoptv.org Continued on next page
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Classifieds
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News Director WBMH, Birmingham, AL Public Radio WBHM 90.3 FM, Birmingham, Ala., seeks a News Director to lead the station’s award-winning journalistic efforts. Take a leadership role as we evolve and develop over time, listening closely and giving voice to the community we serve. Work extensively with broadcast and online content, social media, and the ever-evolving technology and trends inherent in successful media today. WBHM is a listener-supported service of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), serving a significant radio audience, plus online. PC/MAC friendly, “digital first” shop. Upgraded digital production, routing and automation chain. Job Requirements: Supervise, direct, and edit the work of others. Collaborating within the station and throughout the community will be important to your success. Experience and willingness to work with independent producers, other media entities and content partners, and other creative people is needed. Annual salary range: $45,198.40 – $72,321.60, plus excellent university benefits. http:// www.wbhm.org/News/2013/newsdirectorjob for details. You must apply online at the Human Resources section of www.uab.edu. Position is open until filled. AA/EOE Reporter/Host Northeast Indiana Public Radio, Fort Wayne WBOI-FM, an NPR station in Fort Wayne, Ind., seeks a creative, enterprising reporter and anchor to join our award-winning team. Now under the leadership of General Manager Peter Dominowski, co-founder of the Public Radio Program Directors Association and the MEGS for Journalists workshops, WBOI is looking for a journalist eager to tell the stories of real people. We want someone who’s creative, engaging on social media and the web, and driven to tell impactful stories. This person will have multiple responsibilities, including pitching story ideas and reporting on issues of local and regional importance; hosting local breaks during Morning Edition or All Things Considered; and participating in on-air fund drives. Minimum qualifications: Bachelor’s degree and two years of journalism experience. Public radio experience strongly preferred; Strong writing skills; Proficient with audio editing software; Experience with web publishing platforms and social media; Knowledge of public radio core values and style; Reliable transportation and a valid driver’s license; Knowledge of local and regional issues a plus. Send cover letter, resume and audio of your best hosting/ reporting work (.mp3 files or links) to sbueter@nipr.fm. Apply at: http://www. nipr.fm/career-opportunities. News Reporter KWGS/Public Radio Tulsa, OK Position Summary: News reporter is a full-time position that participates in all
Current
phases of news-gathering and broadcast journalism. Contributing broadcast news stories, voicers, long-form audio stories and adapting them for digital media. Reporter will work mainly daytime, weekday hours, but daily schedule is based on news demands of any given day. Job Responsibilities: Produce news content for radio broadcast and digital media, including but not limited to: conducting interviews, writing and editing broadcast copy, voicing copy for broadcast, adapting broadcast news stories for digital media, photographing imagery for news stories and reporting from the field as well as the studios. Produce long-form news segments for broadcast and digital media. Writing news reports for digital media. News anchoring as directed. Help coordinate special news coverage from elections to crisis coverage. Help train student interns. Special assignments given by News Director. Participate in off-hours station events. Minimum qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent newsroom experience; valid driver’s license; 30 wpm keyboard; professional appearance and demeanor; newsroom & news-gathering experience. Preferred qualifications: radio news-gathering experience; in depth knowledge of digital media and electronic news-gathering; digital editing skills; adept at research, story planning and development; public radio journalism experience/radio journalism experience. Audio samples on request. Please submit a cover letter, resume and the names, addresses and phone numbers of three references to: The University of Tulsa, Office of Human Resources, 800 S. Tucker Drive, Tulsa, OK 74104 or email to tujobs@utulsa.edu or fax to (918) 631-3543. The University of Tulsa is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. News Director Public Broadcasting Atlanta Summary: This is a Director position reporting to the COO and is responsible for overseeing the news department, news staff, freelancers, and interns. The individual selected will build upon the station’s existing news criteria guidelines, policy coverage and content standards. The News Director will also help to plan and develop station’s 1 to 3 year long and short term strategic goals and objectives for the news department, and oversee the local daily news content, news inserts, and special news features for local and national broadcast. Accountabilities: Further develop and implement news policy and procedures for news department. Plan and develop news department’s long and short term strategic goals. Provide editorial guidance and oversight to news staff on news coverage, content and production. Oversee the daily newscasts, news inserts and special features for local and national broadcast. Oversees and directs the development of news content across PBA’s platforms (Radio, Mobile, Web, TV, etc.) View full posting @ http://www.wabe. org/current-opportunities Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from an accredited college or university and or related equivalent
work experience. Must have five (5) years of experience in news/journalism of which three (3) have been in the supervisory capacity with an extensive background and proven track record in news, news gathering, news writing and news reporting. Must have excellent organizational and managerial skills as well as skills in news writing, editing, interviewing, production communication and interpersonal skills. Must have excellent knowledge of NPR’s newsmagazine clocks and how best to utilize local news breaks to ensure local and national sound and quality uniformity.
| May 28, 2013 | 17
Morning Edition Host WFAE, Charlotte’s NPR News Station, NC WFAE, the NPR News station in Charlotte, NC, seeks a Morning Edition host. We seek a dynamic writer, storyteller and interviewer who welcomes the opportunity to ask challenging questions. You must be an excellent journalist and broadcaster. Essential skills include the ability to write and produce news spots during an on-air shift, conduct probing and interesting interviews, digital editing, on-air fundraising and the ability to operate a board. You will also have opportunities to produce sound-rich Continued on next page
Executive Producer (Job 52322)
Leads and manages all aspects of planning, development, production, and presentation of original programming for Arizona Public Media’s (AZPM) radio and television stations and online service platforms to support the needs and interests of AZPM’s audiences. This position reports directly to the CEO and supervises a staff of 23+.
Television Program Director (Job 52284)
Responsible for TV programming that supports AZPM’s mission and strategic plan. Duties includes acquiring and scheduling television programs for four locallyscheduled program services that reflect community interests, needs and priorities. Supervises programming operations and traffic staff for both TV and radio.
Television Production Manager (Job 52285)
Responsible for supervision, planning, coordination, and management of all television broadcast facilities, production personnel, and production equipment. Also responsible for the preparation, implementation, coordination, and oversight of production budgets including the creation of cost estimates for facilities, equipment and labor.
News Director (Job 52319)
Leads and manages the planning, editorial development and presentation of news and public affairs content for AZPM’s radio and television stations, and online news platforms.
Health/Nature/Science Producer/Reporters (3 positions) (Jobs: 52508, 52509, 52510 respectively)
These positions produce original local video content in the areas of Health, Nature, or Science, to support AZ Illustrated, AZPM’s week-nightly newsmagazine. Successful candidates will be experienced journalists with demonstrated knowledge of Health, Nature or Science and related topics and issues.
Videographer/Editor (Job 47475)
Responsible for recording and editing original HDTV content to support AZPM local and regional productions. Additional duties include lighting for field production and assisting producer/reporters with visual requirements for various production settings. Tucson is located in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert with a population of 1M with a demonstrated appreciation for public media. AZPM is a growing public media organization providing six video and three audio program services throughout Southern Arizona. The organization is based at the University of Arizona (UA). AZPM and UA are EEO/AA employers. These positions carry a full range of exceptional benefits including tuition reduction for staff and dependents. To apply for these positions or to obtain more information about UA and/or AZPM, please visit uacareertrack.com and AZPM.org. Arizona Public Media® and AZPM® are registered trademarks of the Arizona Board of Regents.
18 | May 28, 2013 | Current
Classifieds
Continued from page 17
features on a variety of topics. Great journalism is the priority at WFAE. Our reporters are dedicated and have great teamwork. We’re a strong, award-winning operation that’s won two national and 21 regional Edward R. Murrow awards since 2009. We work hard, but have a fun environment. Our work regularly airs on national programs such as Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Marketplace. Resume/cover letter and supporting application materials such as audio, writing samples and links should be emailed to careers@ wfae.org. Deadline is June 21st. WFAE is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Radio Traffic Manager Capital Public Radio, Sacramento, California Capital Public Radio is a seven-station group located in Sacramento that seeks a Traffic Manager to oversee underwriting projects from inception to completion. The Traffic Manager must effectively create the logs, optimize station inventory, ensure accuracy, and maximize revenue generation. For more information go to www.capradio.org/ careers.
Development/Marketing Member Relations Manager KPLU - Pacific Lutheran
University, Tacoma, WA KPLU seeks a Member Relations Manager to plan, oversee and implement KPLU’s on-air membership campaigns. The successful candidate must have three years’ experience fundraising in non-profits, a Bachelor’s degree, ability to plan and manage events, and a commitment to public broadcasting. Excellent benefits complement the package. KPLU is a community service of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington with studios and offices in Tacoma and Seattle. This position is based in our Tacoma office. Complete details on qualifications and application procedures available at: http://employment.plu.edu. EOE/AA. Fundraising Producer Colorado Public Radio, Denver Job Description: The Fundraising Producer is responsible for producing the audio content for all of the on-air fundraising efforts on the News Service and providing administrative support for all aspects of CPR pledge drives. This includes planning and managing a minimum of three pledge drives per year, recruiting and recording testimonials and participation in other membership and development initiatives. Duties will include suggesting, identifying and implementing themes, premiums and goals, and creating talking points and direction for talent. Responsible for organizing messaging for the hosts and producers, including writing and scheduling scripts. Job Requirements: Must
demonstrate an ability to passionately articulate the case for supporting public radio. Must possess coaching skills in directing hosts in pre-produced and live settings, and knowledge of broadcast operations, editing software (ProTools and Cool Edit Pro a plus) and field recording technologies. Requires national quality writing, interviewing and audio editing abilities, an outgoing personality, and excellent time-management, prioritizing and scheduling skills. Non-standard working hours are guaranteed. Please send cover letter, resume, three professional references, and audio clips demonstrating production skills to hr@ cpr.org, with Fundraising Producer in the subject line. Competitive salary and benefits. No phone calls or dropins please. Colorado Public Radio is an equal opportunity employer and encourages workplace diversity. Membership Manager Colorado Public Radio, Denver Job Description: The Membership Manager is responsible for managing all offair fundraising efforts, to build overall membership in Colorado Public Radio. Responsible for providing detailed database analysis and strategic leadership in the area of individual fundraising. This includes using existing and new vehicles including, but not limited to direct mail, telemarketing, email and the Internet. Goals will be focused on adding to member growth and retention, and mining the database to determine opportunities for strategic growth in giving from individuals. Responsibilities and duties include using comprehensive database analysis to determine key opportunities for targeted fundraising efforts. Creating strategic annual plans to meet revenue and membership goals, including developing, overseeing, and assessing fundraising activities for current, lapsed and new donors. Coordinating strategies for social media fundraising, and supervising and evaluating the membership team. Supervising and evaluating programs to set strategic growth goals
Targeted. Engaged. Credible.
for high-level giving. Providing accurate financial accounting and best practice procedures related to membership revenue. Providing standards of excellence in customer service, reflecting the values and professionalism of Colorado Public Radio. Job Requirements: Knowledge and competencies include identifying with the mission and purpose of Colorado Public Radio, and an ability to plan strategically with a global vision. Require SQL database expertise. Must possess proven analytical skills to uncover opportunities and greater efficiencies in fundraising, and utilizing direct mail, email, telemarketing and other broad means of communication. Must be able to work collaboratively toward mutual goals, and possess superior interpersonal and leadership skills. Excellent verbal, written, and listening skills a must. Requires proficiency with computers and software including word processing, spreadsheets, and donor database systems. Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience required; public radio experience a plus. Please send cover letter, resume, and three professional references to hr@cpr.org, with Membership Manager in the subject line. Competitive salary and benefits. No phone calls or drop-ins please. Colorado Public Radio is an equal opportunity employer and encourages workplace diversity. Manager of Annual Giving Wisconsin Public Television, Madison Wisconsin Public Television is searching for a seasoned fundraiser to oversee our annual giving unit. This position runs the membership program raising over $4.5 million each year and supervises our Audience Services and Volunteer manager. Requires: Four or more increasingly successful years’ experience in non-profit fundraising; supervising; fundraising event management and more…Details- http://wpt.org/AboutWPT/Employment. Betsy.nelson@wpt. org, EOE.
Public media decision makers inform their decisions by keeping Current with our print edition and online news service. You can reach this key target market by advertising here. It’s not too early to start planning your presence in these upcoming special issues…
June 24: PRNDI Conference July 8: DEI’s PMDMC September 9: PRPD JUST ADDED: October 21: Third Coast Filmless Festival
Contact Kathleen Unwin at unwin@current.org to learn more.
Current
Horn, e.p. of Great Performances, said in a statement. Brockway left no survivors, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Merrill Brockway, Emmy-winning Dance in America producer
M
errill Brockway, a producer and director of arts programming who was best known for his work on the Great Performances spinoff Dance in America, died May 3 in Santa Fe, N.M. He was 90. Brockway was born in Indiana and began a career as a piano teacher and accompanist before entering TV at the age of Brockway (Photo: WNET) 30. He wrote and directed for CBS affiliates in Philadelphia and New York but opted to leave commercial TV in 1975, when Dance in America launched. He worked on the series, produced by New York’s WNET, from 1975–88, capturing some of America’s most renowned dancers and choreographers on film. Dance in America spotlighted the work of Martha Graham, Twyla Tharp and the New York City Ballet as choreographed by George Balanchine, among many others. Brockway received two primetime Emmy awards for his work on the series, in 1979 and 1984. After Dance in America, Brockway continued working in public television. He directed two episodes of the WNETproduced series American Masters — biographies of Stella Adler (1989) and Tennessee Williams (1994, which he also produced). Brockway published his memoir, Surprise Was My Teacher, in 2010 and donated his Dance in America archives to the National Dance Institute of New Mexico, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. “Merrill was a key member of the original Dance in America production team for Great Performances, and helped set the standard for excellence in programming that we continue to strive for today,” David
Tornado
Continued from page 2
staff,” Hardzinski told Current. He also fielded media requests for the station from outlets as far away as Australia. This type of arrangement isn’t unusual at the station, which has had more than its fair share of crises to report on, including a deadly rash of 70 tornadoes in May 1999 and the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. “The thing about being a small staff is that we are, I think very effectively, cross-trained,” Karen Holp, KGOU station manager, told Current. “I haven’t gone in [the booth] in a long time, but even I could go in and get the master control.” Gwartney wasn’t alone in filing field
Louis Cook, Native American broadcaster
L
ouis Cook, a longtime host and producer for North Country Public Radio in Canton, N.Y., and a mentor to Native American broadcasters, died May 13 in Pine Ridge, S.D., of complications from a car accident. He was 66. Cook worked for NCPR from the mid-’70s through 1992 as the host of the late-night program Jazz Waves and Cook (Courtesy: Ray Cook) as producer of You Are On Indian Land, a culture and public affairs series that covered the local Native American community. After leaving NCPR, he moved to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where he worked with a nonprofit organization to help local families build and maintain gardens. Cook was raised on the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation in New York. His parents died when he was 10. He served in the U.S. Navy before getting a job with NCPR, back when it was known as WSLU. Among the Native broadcasters, Cook mentored was his cousin Ray Cook, who pursued a career in radio and now works as an editor at Indian Country Today Media Network. Louis was “the brother I never had,” Ray Cook told Ellen Rocco, NCPR station manager, in a remembrance posted on the station’s website. Cook fought many personal battles: He had checked himself into rehab multiple times and had self-medicated to combat bipolar disorder, according to Indian Country Today. “Louie had his demons,” Rocco wrote in her remembrance, posted May 14. “The good news is that he pushed his way through the emotional and psychological challenges and came out the other side: successful, to my mind, because he spent so many years helping other people.” “He left a quiet footprint, a legacy that reports for KGOU. Wertz and his colleague on the StateImpact team, reporter Logan Layden, put aside their daily duties reporting on economics and industry and contributed to the tornado coverage. Additionally, reporters from KOSU in Stillwater, about 80 miles north of Norman, drove down to help with the coverage. NPR sent Southern Bureau Chief Russell Lewis to KGOU. “There’s always an all-hands-on-deck kind of situation that we talk about, and actually a tornado is exactly the kind of thing we talk about,” Wertz said. Oklahoma’s pubradio stations share coverage through an FTP database, and they’re partners and joint beneficiaries of the StateImpact project, an enterprise journalism initiative launched with assistance from NPR (story, page 1).
should be remembered,” Peggy Berryhill, a Native public radio producer who worked with Cook, wrote for NCPR.
William Miles, documentary filmmaker
W
illiam Miles, an Oscar-nominated filmmaker and chronicler of the black experience, died May 12 in Queens, N.Y., from uncertain causes. He was 82 and had long suffered from health problems, including Parkinson’s disease and dementia, according to the New York Times. Miles sought to chronicle forgotten Miles (Photo: Daedalus moments in Productions, Inc.) black history with his films, which he produced through his company Miles Educational Films Productions and frequently distributed through New York’s WNET/Thirteen. His most significant directorial credits included 1977’s Men of Bronze, which concerned an all-black U.S. battalion in World War I that had to fight under a French banner because of segregationist policies, and the 1981 miniseries I Remember Harlem, about the changing state of New York’s historically black neighborhood. Miles also produced a number of films, including a 1989 profile of author James Baldwin for the WNET biography series American Masters. Controversy engulfed Miles’ career upon the 1992 release of the American Experience episode “Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II,” which he co-produced and co-directed. The film, which asserted that two all-black battalions liberated the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps at the end of WWII, was released to wide acclaim and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature before Jewish and veterans’ groups began calling its accuracy into question. WNET pulled the film from nationwide pubTV distribution in February 1993 amid letter-writing campaigns from veterans alleging historical revisionism. A subsequent seven-month investigation by WNET Helping others help people OETA runs one weekly local news program and doesn’t have the production capacity to react quickly to fast-breaking news. Its staff responded to the natural disaster another way — by raising money on behalf of tornado victims. On May 21 the FCC approved Scheidel’s request to solicit donations on-air for tornado relief efforts. The state network set up a toll-free number for donors and promoted it by running crawls over its regularly scheduled programming. It also sent an email blast to viewers and supporters. Through a partnership among local broadcasters, a call center set up with the American Red Cross raised more than $800,000 in two days, May 21–22. Oklahoma City Thunder star basketball player Kevin Durant dropped by to answer phones.
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concluded that Miles’ research methods for the film were “seriously flawed” and that he and the other producer had failed to verify the oral testimony featured as evidence or confirm correct dates for events. One of the film’s interviewees was later revealed to have lied about his role as a liberator. At the time, Miles accused WNET and PBS of censorship and criticized WNET’s review process. “We stand by the testimony of the liberators and survivors who have given substantive oral testimony. We support the report’s conclusion that AfricanAmerican soldiers played a critical role in the liberation,” he wrote in a statement with co-producer and co-director Nina Rosenblum in March 1993. “Working with him was beyond belief,” Rosenblum told Current, adding that Miles’ filmmaking style was hugely influential for black documentarians. “We take it for granted now. We see Spike Lee, we see Henry Hampton, we see the great AfricanAmerican documentary tradition, and we say, ‘Oh yeah, we know.’ But he pioneered that.” Miles is survived by his wife, Gloria; two daughters, Brenda Moore and Deborah Jones; and three grandchildren.
George Walker, ATC host for West Virginia network
G
eorge Walker, the host of local broadcasts of All Things Considered on West Virginia Public Radio for nearly 12 years, was found dead in his Charleston home in early May. He was 60. Walker joined WVPR in 2002 as a parttime announcer and produced the state network’s weekly program Music from the Mountains until host Joe Dobbs retired in 2008. Prior to joining public radio, he worked for the privately held Bristol Broadcasting Corporation and Charleston’s V100 commercial station. In addition to his on-air role as WVPR’s ATC host, he did narrative and voiceover work through his own Walker Productions. “George was the consummate professional,” Scott Finn, executive director of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, said in a statement. “His work was always top-notch and we relied on him for his expertise. Our hearts go out to his family and friends during this time.” Walker had been on sick leave at the time of his death. A forthcoming autopsy is expected to disclose details about the cause of death. n
Send obituary notices to lapin@current.org
“That is really what our role has been — to help others help people who have been touched by this devastation,” Scheidel said. OETA was primarily concerned with sharing “information about places where people can go to find out about loved ones or how they can get help from organizations.” OETA plans to mount a tornado relief broadcast this week. Sheidel is working with community organizers and consulting with colleagues at Louisiana Public Broadcasting to organize a benefit concert for those who lost their homes and family members. He hopes to broadcast it live statewide. KGOU and KOSU haven’t solicited donations for victims on-air, according to Holp, but they’ve secured a waiver from the FCC and plan to do so. n Questions, comments, tips? lapin@current.org
20 | May 28, 2013 | Current ing program. Dinges will be honored at the annual PRNDI awards banquet June 22 in Cleveland.
PUBLIC TELEVISION PROGRAMMERS ASSOCIATION
PUBLIC RADIO NEWS DIRECTORS INCORPORATED
Journalist and educator John Dinges to receive this year’s Leo C. Lee Award for significant contributions to public radio news. As head of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism’s radio curriculum, Dinges revamped the program to emphasize public radio journalism and helped launch the careers of award-winning pubradio journalists “from Wyoming to Washington, D.C.”, according to PRNDI’s award announcement. Earlier in his career, Dinges was a freelance correspondent in Latin America and contributed to Time, the Washington Post, ABC Radio, the Miami Herald and other news organizations. He became an assistant editor on the foreign desk at the Washington Post and later joined NPR to help bolster its foreign coverage. He was promoted to deputy foreign editor and later ascended to managing editor for NPR news. “John is tirelessly committed to the craft,” said PRNDI President George Bodarky. “Thanks to John, countless individuals now fully understand the values that underlie public radio journalism and are telling great stories.” The award is named after its first recipient, Leo C. Lee, founder of Western Public Radio and its San Francisco–based public radio train-
Maine Public TV’s Kelly Luoma was named Programmer of the Year and Kentucky Educational Television’s Craig Cornwell was honored for achievements in local scheduling. The citation honoring Luoma as the Charles Impaglia Programmer of the Year 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 prime time declines.” 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 . . . [and for] being up 4 percent in whole day and 5 percent in primetime this season across all the Kentucky markets.”
PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE
PBS honors former chair Alberto Ibargüen for 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 cel-
ebrating 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.
CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
Author, youth advocate Wes Moore recognized as a pubcasting “Thought Leader.” Moore, the host of Beyond Belief on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and author of the bestseller The Other Wes Moore, won CPB’s Thought Leader Award, which honors those who assist public media in the areas of education, journalism and the arts. A U.S. Army combat veteran who serves on the board of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and founder of STAND!, an organization that supports youth caught up in the criminal justice system, Moore also hosts the forthcoming PBS primetime series Coming Back, which chronicles the returns of nine veterans from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Wes Moore is an inspiring advocate for America’s youth and a champion for public media’s American Graduate initiative,” said
Patricia Harrison, CPB president. The award was presented during the PBS Annual Meeting in Miami Beach, Fla.
JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION
Pubcasters win four broadcast and new media awards for outstanding food journalism. The Restaurateur, a PBS documentary about New York restaurant impresario Danny Meyer, won as best TV special/documentary. It was produced by Roger Sherman of Florentine Films. And PBS’s The Mind of the Chef, hosted by Anthony Bourdain, won for on-location TV show, with Bourdain, Joe Caterini, Alexandra Chaden, Jonathan Cianfrani, Christopher Collins, Peter Meehan, Michael Steed and Lydia Tenaglia cited as producers. A Beard Award also went to WHYY in Philadelphia for “Art of Food,” a segment highlighting the local food industry. Produced by Monica Rogozinski for WHYY-TV’s Friday Arts program, it won the award for best television segment. On the radio side, Fear of Frying, a program from WBEZ in Chicago that focuses on culinary nightmares, earned the radio show/audio webcast award for host Nina Barrett and producer Lynette Kalsnes. Established in 1990, the James Beard Foundation awards also recognize outstanding restaurants and chefs in numerous categories and locales, cookbooks, restaurant design and print journalism. This year’s awards were presented May 6 at New York’s Lincoln Center. —Theodore Fischer Send awards notices to currentawards@gmail.com.
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