Jan. 10, 2011 | Vol. XXX, No. 1 FOR PEOPLE IN PUBLIC MEDIA Splitsville for Palm Beach couple 3 as FM runs off with Minnesotans Masterpiece producer announces 4 direct fund appeal to audience Dollar metrics, not population, are 12 better basis for PBS dues, says UNC

“Nou Bouke,” Creole for “We’re Current tired,” is the name of a film on Weiss exits NPR after board post-quake Haiti made jointly by the Miami Herald and WPBT. (Photo: WPBT) reviews newsman’s firing Williams sees former boss the amount was pre-empted by the disciplin- ary action. as liberals’ ‘keeper of flame’ Schiller took blistering public criticism after the firing, especially for her on-camera By Karen Everhart quip suggesting that Williams needed a psy- chiatrist. But last week she kept her job with a hen the NPR Board hired a law firm vote of confidence from the board. in November to review the dismissal “Vivian joined NPR two years ago, and W of news analyst Juan Williams, she’s been an extremely effective leader,” everyone in the room acknowledged that the Chair Dave Edwards told Current. “She’s dealt decision had been badly handled. But no one with difficult issues and financial problems.” knew who would be held accountable for it. In addition, Schiller “has been fully support- On Jan. 6, hours before the board an- ive of all the remedial measures the board nounced its decisions based on the investiga- recommended,” he said. Can partnerships bring tion by Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, Ellen The firing last October, prompted by Weiss submitted her resignation as senior v.p. Williams’s televised remarks to Fox News of news. provocateur Bill O’Reilly about seismic shift in reporting? Weiss, who worked 28 years fearing Muslims in airliners, in NPR News, was the exec exposed NPR to a fierce parti- By Dru Sefton basis of a documentary on a public TV who told Williams in an Oct. san attack, with major legisla- station, WPBT in Miami. Another col- 20 phone call that his public tive repercussions now pending rom the rubble of Haiti’s devastating laboration was a first for PBS NewsHour: It radio gig was over. earthquake have emerged at least two (story, page 4). joined Nova to share reporting content for The board also punished While Schiller repeatedly Freporting collaborations that enable separate yet related programs on earth- NPR President Vivian Schil- the media partners — a public TV station, apologized for NPR’s handling quake science. NewsHour also reached ler, who had approved the of the firing, she resolutely two major PBS series, a nonprofit news outside pubcasting for another Haiti part- Williams termination before group specializing in crisis coverage, and stood by the dismissal, as- nership, with USA Today and the Pulitzer Weiss made that phone call, by serting that the news analyst’s two daily newspapers — to weave stron- Center on Crisis Reporting. denying Schiller a 2010 per- ger, richer stories for viewers and readers. comments had violated NPR’s “We have to stop this competitive at- formance bonus. The amount standards of journalistic ethics. For the first time, video shot by staffers of the lost bonus isn’t known; at a newspaper, the Miami Herald, is the Continued on page 8 NPR says board discussion of Weiss at pubradio event, ’08. Continued on page 7

AN EDITORIALLY INDEPENDENT SERVICE FROM THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION For LPFMers, radio act brings ‘a ton of joy’

By Karen Everhart

ow-power FM advocates are celebrating a hard-won victory with enactment of the Local Community Radio Act, approved L in the last days of the 111th Congress and signed Jan. 4 by President Obama.

PAID The law clears the way for expansion of low-power FM stations, a Dulles, VA Permit # 163 PRESORTED noncommercial licensing category established by the FCC a decade ago U.S. POSTAGE U.S. POSTAGE

FIRST CLASS MAIL but confined to small markets and rural communities by interference- protection rules demanded by full-power broadcasters. Their transmit- ter power is limited to 100 watts, reaching from three to five miles. Approved with bipartisan support in both houses of Congress, the law gives the FCC more flexibility in assigning channels to LPFMs and resolving interference problems with full-power FMs and their translators. “The thing that people really feel is really a ton of joy,” says Han- nah Sassaman, a longtime organizer for Prometheus Radio Project, a “Stop making us jump through hoops,” radio activists urged at NAB Philadelphia-based group that led a spirited, broad-based and tena- headquarters in campaign that overcame opposition to the LPFM bill. cious grassroots campaign to get the bill moving through Congress. (Photo: Brian Long, courtesy of Prometheus.) Continued on page 6

Calendar Current.org/calendar Classifieds9 Current Thinking 12 People 5 Current Newspaper Suite 350 6930 Carroll Ave., Park, MD 20912 Takoma Join Nick and some of the nation’s top chefs for a flavorful new season premiering April 2011.

Chef Lawrence C. C. Chu Chef Chu’s | San Francisco

Chef Sylvain Delpique David Burke Townhouse | New York

Chef Michael Galata Osteria del Circo | New York

Chef Gale Gand Tru | Chicago

Chef Maria Hines Tilth | Seattle

Chef Andy Husbands Tremont 647 | Boston

Chef Rick Moonen RM Seafood | Las Vegas

Chef Brian Poor Portland City Grill | Portland, OR

Chef Kent Rathbun Abacus | Dallas ~ Jasper’s | Texas

Chef Kevin Rathbun Rathbun’s | Atlanta

Chef John Tesar Dallas Restaurant Group | Dallas

Chef Wade Wiestling The Oceanaire Seafood Room | Minneapolis

Chef Jason Wilson Crush | Seattle

Celebrating 15 years on public television

Snap the QR code at left with your mobile phone to watch an unscripted interview between Nick and Chef Rick Moonen. Many of the newest phones come with QR readers. If yours doesn’t, go to the app store and search QR Reader.

for more information: Heather Mudrick 813.835.1681 [email protected] Current | January 10, 2010 | 3

Current Palm Beach divorce

6930 Carroll Ave., Suite 350 Takoma Park, Md. 20912 Web: Current.org Sale of FM without TV advances to FCC Phone: (301) 270-7240 (extensions below) Fax: (301) 270-7241 E-mail: [email protected] (see others below) $4.05 million deal to split WXEL-FM stations as a community-based, independent “Barry is trying to sell to an entity that is Editor/Webmaster from its sister public TV outlet in West pubcasting service for Palm Beach and the out of state,” said Jim Roth of SOS-WXEL, Steve Behrens, x 32, [email protected] A Palm Beach and sell it to American Treasure Coast region to the north, “with a who played a key role in blocking the 2006 Senior Editors Public Media’s Miami affiliate, Classical special commitment to high-quality educa- sale at the FCC. “This is a carbon copy of the Karen Everhart, x 33, [email protected] South Florida, is pending at the FCC. It sailed tional programming,” according to a briefing WNET deal, with the exception of they’re just Dru Sefton, x 39, [email protected] Business/Circulation Director through a Dec. 17 vote by the board of the paper presented at the Dec. 17 meeting. selling the radio station.” Position Vacant — Contact Steve or Kathleen Florida Department of Education. The policy options before the board If the FCC approves the sale to APM, Roth Marketing Director License-holder Barry University, whose ranged from approving a sublease for Clas- said, he intends to advocate for “scraping the Kathleen Unwin, 877-745-8776, ext. 1 2006 proposal to sell both stations to New sical South Florida to operate WXEL-FM entire public broadcasting system” because [email protected] Contributing Editors York’s WNET languished at the FCC, stands within its Boynton Beach building, attaching the FCC will have failed to uphold the man- Mike Janssen, Louis Barbash, Mark Fuerst to receive about as much for selling the FM conditions to the sublease, or rejecting it. The date for localism in public broadcasting. Founder, Current Publishing Committee station as it would have gotten back then for board voted unanimously to approve the sale Classical South Florids’s Miami station James A. Fellows the TV/FM package. with no conditions. has relied on APM’s Classical 24 satellite feed Published 23 times a year as an independent journalistic For the WNET deal in 2006, the state’s “We thought they could have rejected the much longer than planned because of the service of Current LLC, an affiliate of WNET.org (for- merly Educational Broadcasting Corp.) Department of Education required Barry to proposal, but they didn’t have the appetite for recession, according to Jason Hughes, spokes- Postmaster: Send address changes to address above. pay the state a $1 million administrative fee – it,” said Pablo de Real, chairman of the WXEL man. “People don’t seem to acknowledge that ISSN: 0739-991X. Copyright 2010 Current LLC. one-fifth of the proposed $5 million sale price Community Advisory Board, which opposes businesses have to cut back their plans. The for both pubcasting stations if the sale went the sale. “They couldn’t avoid the sublease goal has always been to have live hosts here.” through. The FCC never approved the license issue, but they sidestepped the whole license The state adds local news, traffic and weather transfer, however, and WNET withdrew its transfer process.” updates to the feed from Minnesota, he said. proposal in 2008. The CAB is one of at least three groups The Miami station, acquired by APM in More than two years later, Barry lined up actively opposing the WXEL sale. “Classical 2007, broadcasts on 89.7 FM in Miami and a APM’s Florida outpost as a buyer, and hired South Florida is local in name only - it is a low-power translator at 101.9 in West Palm former Florida Gov. Bob Martinez to lobby wholly owned subsidiary of APM in Min- Beach, and its staff of seven is based in Fort for the deal with state policymakers. nesota,” said de Real. Its broadcasts originate Lauderdale, according to Hughes. The board of ed had substantial say in from APM headquarters in Minnesota, and Some portion of the $4.05 million sale Classifieds working harder for you WXEL’s future, because it owns the WXEL its all-classical schedule doesn’t align with the price for WXEL includes on-air underwriting building and, under a 1997 agreement with program diversity that Palm Beach residents spots for Barry University, Hughes said. Current.org/quickstart Barry, can require that Barry maintain the have requested in public forums. - Karen Everhart 4 | January 10, 2010 | Current Masterpiece Trust will enable fans to donate directly to the show

By Barry Garron and tap into people who love Masterpiece and Congressman reintroduces bills to cut federal aid to field consider it the drama of their lives.” ow, fans of Masterpiece have two new That financial support could help the Two bills that failed to defund public broadcasting during the last Congress were ways to become part of the series that’s show replace some of the funding it lost when reintroduced in the U.S. House on Jan. 5 by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.). N celebrating its 40th anniversary this longtime sponsor ExxonMobil pulled out as of H.R. 68 would end all federal appropriations for CPB, while H.R. 69 would deny year. 2005 (Current, Jan. 13, 2003). In seven years, federal money to NPR in specific. Both would take effect after fiscal year 2013. The First, they can join the new Masterpiece the producing station, WGBH, hasn’t found an movement gained strength from the reaction to Juan Williams’ dismissal (Current, Nov. Trust, a rare producer fund- underwriter willing to give as 1). Catherine Mortensen, Lamborn’s communications director, told Current that he raiser allowed to be mentioned much support. could pursue several strategies for passage of the legislation in this session. A new GOP on PBS, which generally Masterpiece is also hoping majority took control of the House this month. reserves on-air appeals for its that fans would like to liter- Lamborn could push to have the bills brought to the House floor as part of the member stations. ally see where their favorite ongoing YouCut program, a project sponsored by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Second, viewers can literally characters had their dramatic (R-Va.), which enables voters to select top priorities for budget cuts, Lamborn’s staffer retrace the footsteps of Agatha adventures. said. Or the Colorado congressman could work to have the legislation inserted into a Christie’s Hercule Poirot, Miss Working with Visit Britain, larger bill of spending cuts. Marple and other characters. the official United Kingdom “The congressman will pursue an ‘all-of-the above’ approach to get his legislation Executive Producer Rebecca tourist agency, the series came passed,” Mortensen said. “Depending on which route the bill takes, it could be a matter Eaton, speaking Jan. 8 at the up with a tour with 21 stops of weeks or months before the bill gets a vote on the House floor.” TV Critics Association Winter over a route of 985 miles. In Both bills have been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif., addition, an online contest will — Dru Sefton said the first four couples con- send two people on a four-day tributing to the Masterpiece Eaton: “the perfect way trip to England in September. Trust were to be listed in spon- to . . . tap into people who Highlights include VIP tours NewsHour touts its calm, reasoned approach to coverage sor credits on the premiere love Masterpiece.” of Highclere Castle (Jeeves & episode of “Downton Abbey” Wooster) and Blenheim Palace Emphasizing its non-ideological news coverage, PBS NewsHour tried out a new on Jan. 9. (The Lost Prince). catchphrase Jan. 9 at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena: “Brave The trust “is a unique way we have come “With so many of our locations, people just enough not to take sides, strong enough not to shout.” up with to allow those devoted, loyal Master- yearn to be there,” Eaton said. “So in honor of “We haven’t actually used it before today, and we thought it might be a good op- piece fans who want to give money directly our 40th anniversary, we are creating the Mas- portunity to kind of roll that out,” said Simon Marks, new president of MacNeil/Lehrer to Masterpiece to continue its legacy,” Eaton terpiece itinerary.” n Productions. said, adding that further details on the new Marks said that slogan survived scrutiny while others didn’t. “At one point, we were way to donate will be released soon. “My feel- Barry Garron, a former TV critic for Kansas City Star looking at ‘The original no-spin zone,’ but we decided not to go there,” he quipped. ing is this is the perfect way to acknowledge and the Hollywood Reporter and other periodicals, is The new phrase is intended to emphasize the difference between PBS news values covering the TCA tour for Current. and those of other news operations. “The environment in which we’re operating is filled with organizations that are increasingly taking positions and trying to, in large measure, preach to choirs they’ve already identified,” Marks said. Land Girls I -- the BBC’s highly World War II in HD Colour Since the show melded its on-air and online staffs and coverage a year ago this rated WWII drama (13 x 51) (5 x 45) month (Current, Jan. 11, 2010), its online traffic has jumped. In a press release, News- Hour said the number of daily online visitors to its website in the past year has more than tripled, from 60,000 to more than 200,000. In his intro to the NewsHour presen- tation, Jason Seiken, PBS senior vp. for new media, said the program’s site now ranks 19th among all video sites, according to the web research firm comScore. Over the past year the average number of nightly broadcast viewers has remained unchanged, at 1.1 million. —Barry Garron for Current First non-PBS week at KCET has half of past audience

Primetime ratings for KCET in Los Angeles, independent of PBS since Jan. 1, were Last Chance To See with Search for Sherlock Holmes down in its first week by 50 percent from the first week last year. “We think it is much Stephen Fry (7 x 52) (1 x 47) too early to evaluate the ratings, particularly since we’re coming off a holiday weekend,” said station spokesperson Cathy Williams. TheLos Angeles Times reported on Jan. 7 that, according to Nielsen, KCET is averag- ing 22,000 viewers during prime time, as opposed to 41,000 at the same time last year. The station is averaging just 10,000 viewers in the daytime. The station is touting “themed viewing blocks” to make it easier for viewers to find shows: Sunday, it’s Hollywood movie night; Monday, action and travel; Tuesday, science and innovation; Wednesday, drama; Thursday, eclectic; Friday, news. Programs include some new to viewers — Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies, The Nature of Things with David Suzuki, The Aviators. Others are well-known titles, includ- ing Prime Suspect, Rick Steves’ Europe and Doc Martin. Its nightly news offerings are BBC World News and Newsline from Japanese broad- caster NHK, which leans heavily toward Asian coverage. That choice drew criticism WTVS Detroit and WTVI Charlotte agree: from the Times’ media reporter Jim Rainey, who sees that as an “attempt to fob off Asia- and Euro-centric news of the day on an audience that may be interested in a worldwide World War II in HD Colour delivered above average ratings reach, but would much prefer it delivered by known personalities.” and they’ve already scheduled it again. SoCal Connected, KCET’s public affairs show, will premiere on Thursdays, with a re- air on Fridays. The local favorite Visiting with Huell Howser also will remain exclusive to the station. Contact Eric Luskin at Mornings are still for kids, with two Jim Henson Co. productions: Construction Site, 617-338-4455 ext. 139 to add on to any of these contracts. in both English and Spanish, and The Wubulous World of Dr. Seuss. Also, the station’s Peabody Award-winning pair of series for parents and caregivers, A Place of Our Own/ Los Niños en Su Casa, will continue. See APT’s January newsletter and catalog at The rest of the day focuses on cuisine and travel, with shows hosted by culinary APTonline.org for more great titles. experts Lydia Bastianich, Jacques Pepin and Rick Bayless; Smart Travels – Pacific Rim; Journeys in Japan; Travelscope; and 13 Wonders of Spain. — Dru Sefton

This past year, APT delivered nearly half of the top 100 highest rated PTV titles* *Data provided by Nielsen Media Research, processed by TRAC Media Services. October 2009 - 2010

Current | January 10, 2010 | 5

Service bureaucracy,” she wrote. “When more timid station managers caved on matters of censorship or politics, Rowland hangs tough.” “Despite economic constraints and threat- nn in public media ened funding cuts, a local public TV station not only survived 2010 but provided superior locally produced election coverage,” the critic Jennifer Lawson will return wrote. KBDI, a.k.a. Colorado Public Televi- sion, says it carried 150 hours of election- as CPB’s top TV programmer related programming in 2010. ennifer Lawson will return to CPB in Yes, very exciting, now shush! February as its top TV programming J grantmaker after 15 years in other Nancy Pearl, a regular commentator on Thompson promoted at APTS, Davis joins The Story, Kang-Huneke named Sesame chief of staff. pubTV roles. NPR’s Morning Edition, Seattle’s KUOW and She’s retiring as g.m. of Howard Universi- Tulsa’s KWGS, has been named Librarian ty’s WHUT-TV in Washington after six years. Thompson No. 2 at APTS Deborah Hinton as c.f.o. Chief Content of the Year by Library Journal, the magazine Her new title: senior v.p. of television and Officer Mary Mazur became chief operating announces in its issue this week. The Univer- digital video content. In that role she suc- Lonna Thompson was promoted to officer and was replaced by SoCal Connected sity of Washington professor developed the ceeds Ted Garcia, who quit CPB last spring executive v.p., chief operating officer and Executive Producer Bret Marcus, a producer widely imitated One City, One Book citywide after two years in a similar position. general counsel of the Association of Public with credits at NBC and ABC News and a book discussions in 1998 before she retired In the 1980s she was a CPB program Television Stations, the lobbying group an- winner of 17 Emmys. General Counsel Susan from the Seattle Public Library. A former officer and then director of its Television nounced Jan. 5. Thompson joined APTS 16 Reardon, who added program grantsmanship librarian in Detroit and Tulsa, Pearl is one of Program Fund. In 1989 she moved to PBS years ago, rising from staff attorney to general to her portfolio in 2004, moved over to chief very few library-science celebrities to have an when CPB made a multimillion-dollar com- counsel. She served as interim president development officer and was succeeded by action figure made in her image (with shush- mitment to coordinate program investments until new hire Patrick Butler took office this June M. Baldwin, now director of legal and ing action, $8.95 standard, $12.95 deluxe). with the network. She headed PBS program- month. Thompson also serves on the FCC’s business affairs. Gordon Bell was named Though Pearl still loves printed books, she ming from 1989 to 1995, including its weekly Communications Security, Reliability and senior v.p. of operations and engineering; he admits to occasional reading on her iPad. She ratings high point in 1993. Interoperability Council; CPB’s Community and Marcus will report to Mazur. Al Jerome points out one particular advantage of read- After PBS Lawson turned to independent Service Grant Review Committee and its remains president and c.e.o. ing on electronic tablets: “Romance readers production, heading Magic Box Mediaworks, Digital Funding Advisory Committee; and I watch love the technology,” she told Library which co-produced the eight-hour 2001 the PBS Interconnection Committee. Rowland gets critic’s big hug Journal. “They can download all the romanc- series Africa with WNET and National Geo- es, and nobody will see the covers.” graphic Television. She also developed pro- Indie KCET shuffles top execs Wick Rowland, president of feisty second gram projects and consulted with Maryland pubTV station KBDI in Denver, was named Sesame forms troika at top Public Television, WETA and other clients. “television person of the year” by the Denver Before coming to CPB, she was c.e.o. of Los Angeles station KCET reorganized its hierarchy before leaving the PBS network Post’s TV critic, Joanne Ostrow. The little Myung Kang-Huneke, Sesame Work- the Film Fund, a New York foundation that station with a long commitment to openness shop’s former executive v.p. and general supported independent filmmakers. Jan. 1. Controller Camille Gonzalez succeeds “routinely stands up to the Public Broadcasting Continued on next page

DIVIDED HOUSE A FIVE PART DEBATE SERIES

American politics has rarely been so partisan, and both parties are moving toward the extremes. Against this backdrop, the Intelligence Squared spring season will focus on some of the most important policy divides we need to bridge:

HEALTH CARE THE TWO-PARTY SYSTEM ENERGY U.S. FOREIGN POLICY IMMIGRATION Five 1-hour programs JANUARY 18 - MAY 10, 2011

FREE TO ALL STATIONS IQ2US.ORG

Contact: Deborah Blakeley, DEB & IZZI/LLC, P: 612.377.1207 E: [email protected] or your station relations manager at nprstations.org - NPR Listener Intelligent debate is rare and always appreciated. 6 | January 10, 2010 | Current

a compromise. LPFM Found senators’ secret “holds” The law places the burden of resolving interference prob-

Continued from page 1 lems on low-power stations, and explicitly states that full- NPR opposed earlier actions to expand LPFM on behalf of power stations are higher priority than LPFMs in the pecking “Now there’s going to be thousands of opportunities to license member stations, but dropped out of the fight after success- order of FM broadcasters. The law decrees equal ranks for LPFMs in cities and towns.” fully lobbying for provisions in the House bill approved in LPFMs and FM translators of full-power stations, but the FCC Advocates predict as many as 1000 LPFMs could sign on, December 2009. Commercial radio continued its opposition must work out new rules to resolve interference problems although the FCC has many issues to resolve before anyone until it was the last lobby standing against it. between these two classes of stations. knows how many channels will be available. The Local Community Radio Act languished in the Senate “We’ve accepted these obligations because we think “There’s about 800 stations now, and this could at least for most of last year. With former Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith interference is unlikely, and we’re committed to working with double that,” said Cheryl Leanza, a longtime advocate for the as president of the National Association of Broadcasters, the full-power stations and the FCC to resolve them in ways that microstations who now represents the National Federation trade group persuaded a series of senators to place secret don’t result in taking stations off the air,” Doyle said. of Community Broadcasters. “This will vastly expand the holds on the bill. Prometheus orchestrated a tireless lobbying Special provisions protecting radio reading services that number of listeners LPFMs are able to reach, because it allows campaign to ferret out lawmakers blocking the legislation. air on subcarriers of full-power stations, secured by NPR in stations to be licensed in the top 50 markets.” “Every time there was a hold, activists would call every the House bill, are now written into law. Anti-interference mileage restrictions that have limited single Senate office,” Sassaman said. “Seventy-five percent of After President Obama signed the Local Community LPFM licensing — the so-called third-adjacent-channel the Senate would say, ‘We’re not blocking it.’” Radio Act into law, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski de- protections — will be eased when the bill takes effect, and the Senators who didn’t respond would hear from constituents scribed it as “a big win for radio listeners.” FCC is authorized to assess potential interference with topo- who supported the bill, drawn from a diverse grassroots coali- “Low-power FM stations are small, but they make a giant graphic contour-mapping instead of simple mileage between tion including religious organizations, media reformers and contribution to local community programming,” Genach- stations on the same or adjacent frequencies. social justice groups. owski said. “The FCC will take swift action to open the dial to “The contour method is very good at predicting inter- A Dec. 13 rally outside NAB headquarters in Washington, new low-power radio stations and the valuable local service ference,” said Brandy Doyle, regulatory policy director for D.C., was a photo-friendly high point for the campaign. Ac- they provide.” Prometheus. “It’s a modern method for licensing stations in tivists wearing colorful wigs and costumes swung hula hoops Primary sponsors of the legislation were Sens. Maria all services, and the legislation authorized it for LPFMs.” and shouted, “Stop making us jump through hoops! Support Cantwell (D-Wash.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Reps. “The reality of spectrum availability is that the contour low-power FM radio and the Local Community Radio Act!” Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) and Lee Terry (R-Neb.). n method is the only realistic way that signals will become avail- The spectacle was covered by national and Washington-insid- able,” said Leanza. er media; NAB shortly dropped its opposition and negotiated Comments, questions, tips? [email protected]

Ming, chief operating officer. Kang-Huneke So fed up that she Spitz vetsky will be Christy Lemire’s co-host on People will supervise the company’s corporate part- Roger Ebert Presents at the Movies, which Continued from previous page nerships and development groups as well as After 15 years producing the political debuts Jan. 21 on nearly 200 pubTV stations. overseeing its legal and business affairs and talk show Left, Right and Center at KCRW in He fills the opening created by the departure counsel, has been appointed chief of staff. She public policy matters. A staff member for 12 Santa Monica, Calif., Sarah Spitz is fed up of Elvis Mitchell, host of KCRW’s The Treat- joins the nonprofit production company’s years, she expanded product licensing and with partisanship and quitting the job. She’ll ment. Vishnevetsky founded the alternative- three-person office of the president, which promotional agreements and developed a stay with the station. Jeffrey Rogers, who cinema site Cine-File. also includes former pubcasting execs Gary Product Safety Assurance Program. was e.p. of NPR’s discontinued Day to Day Dick Pleasants, a leading folk-music Knell, president and c.e.o., and H. Melvin broadcaster in Boston for 40 years, was guest CBA AD – You Rock 5 x 6.75 Luke version_Layout 1 1/4/11 1:03 PM Page 1 midday news show, will produce the show. “This was a decision I came to on my own, no of honor Jan. 7 at a sold-out tribute concert one is shoving me out the door,” she wrote on featuring a dozen performers whose music he her blog. “But between us, I’ll tell you in all has played over the years. For 25 years Pleas- sincerity, I hate the way politics is played now. ants hosted Folk Heritage on WGBH-FM, and I want our elected officials to do the business for the past 15 he’s been behind the mic on “You Guys the people sent them to Washington, to city WUMB-FM. The deejay is “one of the heroes councils, to state legislatures, to do. That’s not who have championed this music for de- the way they play, and I no longer want to be cades,” said folk music icon Tom Rush. “He’s ” part of the process that perpetuates a broken been enormously important playing the new ROCK!!! system. That goes for left, right AND center.” stuff as it has come along and keeping the old stuff out there in people’s ears.” Pleasants has Sylvia Bennett, Senior Vice President, Development, WNED been coping with Parkinson’s disease and will Roe abdicates throne for love have a knee replacement next month but he’s sticking with his weekend WUMB gig. Ben Roe, g.m. at WDAV-FM in the Char- Katie Davis, a former NPR host and lotte, N.C., area, will leave the job Jan. 14 and correspondent, has been hired as senior pro- Sylvia was so impressed by Carl Bloom Associates it’s understandable work for the station under contract until the she got a little excited. ducer of American Public Media’s weekday summer. He and midday announcer Jennifer program The Story, produced at WUNC-FM, Foster plan to marry later this year. Foster Chapel Hill, N.C. After leaving NPR in 1995, When WNED needed emergency funds to repair their badly damaged will continue to host and produce for the sta- building before a tough Buffalo winter, CBA sprang into action with an Davis became deeply involved in community tion. Roe, a winner of Grammy and Peabody affairs in her Washington neighborhood; integrated strategy and strong creative at the last minute. awards and former music director for NPR, produced a series of Neighborhood Stories worked as an independent music producer programs for NPR, Marketplace and the BBC; At Carl Bloom Associates, we’ve been meeting and consultant before he joined the station the toughest fundraising challenges for years. and has completed a book based on the mate- in 2008. He now plans to revive his company, rial. She has also taught writing workshops RoeDeo Productions. When KUAT changed its name to Arizona Public Media, potentially in D.C., at the University of Michigan and at confusing members, we devised a way to test into the new brand Duke University’s Center for Documentary without losing donors or income. And in the midst of this tough Production/programming Studies. After six years with the weekly Boulder- economy, Carl Bloom Associates helped KQED surpass their fiscal year Jeff Bieber, v.p. of news and public affairs based music show eTown, Roger Menell will 2009 revenue projections. programming at WETA, has reversed course leave his talent coordinator position at the and won’t leave the station where he has end of January. Menell is moving to the staff It makes excellent sense (and dollars) to call on us. Give us a chance worked in production for almost 30 years of the Mishawaka Amphitheatre in Fort Col- to “ROCK” for you too. and served as e.p. of Washington Week for 11. lins, Colo., as director of programming and Bieber had planned to join Seattle’s KCTS venue development. as chief content officer, but said in a state- With Alyce Myatt’s recent move to the 914-761-2800 ment released by KCTS that he’s staying in National Endowment for the Arts, Pam [email protected] D.C. to complete several programs, including Harris has been named to fill in as acting www.carlbloom.com The Latino Americans. The “extensive public director of Grantmakers in Film and Elec- media project I envisioned three years ago,” as tronic Media. Harris has served three years facebook.com/carlbloomassociates Bieber called it, is on the verge of production. as GFEM’s deputy director. twitter.com/carlbloomassoc Chicago-based blogger Ignatiy Vishne- linkedin.com/company/carl-bloom-associates Continued on page 8 Current | January 10, 2010 | 7

trash and acting like anyone who has a differ- Weiss ent point of view is illegitimate,” Williams said. Continued from page 1 Glass: “A damn shame” During an emotional interview Jan. 7 after her resignation, Weiss declined to discuss Angry — and anguished — reactions came the details of the decision to terminate NPR’s from public radio supporters and insiders as contract with Williams or the circumstances well, who saw Weiss’s ouster as a capitulation surrounding her resignation. to Fox News and a trophy for conservative “NPR’s decision to terminate the Williams politicians. contract, of which I was a participant, was James Fallows, an occasional NPR con- based on the highest journalistic standards,” tributor, wrote on his blog for The Atlantic Weiss said. It was an NPR decision, based that he was sorry for Weiss, for NPR “and for He Just on NPR’s ethics, and her job as news chief to the likelihood that … she will be presented on Couldn’t uphold them. the Fox side as a ’liberal scalp in atonement Weiss began her NPR career in 1982, an- for Williams’s.’” Let Go swering phones on the network’s Washington “Whatever is admirable about NPR’s news desk. She worked her way up to become ex- ambitions and standards — and to my mind, Tim was one of the good guys. Hard quite a lot is admirable — is to a meaningful ecutive producer of All Things Considered in worker. Tons of fun. Knew his stuff. 1989 and to senior editor of the national desk degree a reflection of Weiss’s own ambitions in 2001. In 2007, after two outside journalists and standards,” Fallows wrote. After nearly Then he changed. Actually, Tim never three decades of distinctive contributions at had short terms as NPR News chiefs — Jef- changed. The world changed. Tim frey Dvorkin of the Canadian Broadcasting NPR, Weiss was let go for her misjudgment in Corp. and Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper- one situation, he said. wouldn’t. Time marched on. Tim dug in. “It’s really a damn shame,” said Ira Glass of man Bill Marimow — NPR elevated Weiss The rest of us saw the future and are from the home team. This American Life, who worked with Weiss More than 100 members of the news staff as an independent producer and during their reaching for it every day. signed a petition endorsing her as the best early careers at NPR. “Everything I value in Tim’s going the other way. He’s trying to candidate identified during a national search. public radio, she’s a strong advocate for. It’s a Over nearly three decades, Weiss shared bad thing for public radio if she’s not working walk backwards, retracing his steps to a credit for many of the major journalism priz- for public radio.” time that never will be again. es won by NPR, and news accounts last week “A manager makes a lot of decisions over portrayed her career path as an inspiration to the course of a year, and this one wasn’t a good Tim was one of the good guys. many in the newsroom. Some news staffers one,” Glass said, referring to the Williams described her as a harsh disciplinarian. firing. But against that decision, he said, “you The review by the Weil law firm found could balance a lot of great things she did — that NPR honored the severance terms of not just for NPR News but the entire public Williams’s contract and was not influenced radio system. She was a real force for trying to by special-interest groups or donor pressure, figure out what NPR News should become and as Fox News hosts alleged. The Weil findings what NPR should do next.” www.tritondigitalmedia.com also endorsed the need for re-examination and equitable application of NPR’s ethical Political correctness “eruptions”

code and policies toward NPR journalists Others saw Weiss’s exit as an opportunity who appear on other media outlets. for NPR to strengthen its news division. Hav- When NPR Board members heard reports ing spent her career at NPR, Weiss was “part from Weil’s investigators during closed meet- of the insularity that has been a problem,” said ings via telephone during the holidays, they John Dinges, a journalism professor at Colum- learned just how badly the firing had been bia University and former NPR managing edi- handled, according to Edwards, who serves tor. “It’s not that this has prevented NPR from on the NPR Board as g.m. of Milwaukee being a great news organization. It’s a problem Public Radio. “We’re even more convinced that results in these eruptions of political cor- that it was handled poorly. It was confirmed rectness, these errors of judgment.” by everything that we learned,” he said. “It’s the sort of thing where you don’t have “We know that the termination was done a management culture that looks far enough hastily and that the way it was done contrib- beyond the confines of the building or has had Don’t miss our 2011 conference, uted to some of the misunderstandings of enough experience in the larger world of jour- presented in partnership with SXSW Interactive Festival why it was done and criticism of the organi- nalism to make the right call on these kinds of zation,” Edwards said. things or be able to stand up to pressure from Weil’s team did not prepare a written the outside,” Dinges said. Collaboration in Action report: the only documents released last week The NPR Board reiterated its support for were the board’s Jan. 6 statement and Schil- Sheraton at the Capitol in Austin, Texas the review of the net’s ethical standards ethics ler’s e-mail announcing Weiss’s resignation to that Schiller initiated after the Williams fiasco. March 10 – March 11, 2011 NPR staff. Schiller is chairing the committee of journal- Weiss had “made meaningful and last- ists from inside and outside of NPR. The iMA conference is designed to stimulate innovation and present ing contributions to the evolution of NPR “This has been a difficult period for all of opportunities for immediate action. Learn about the latest creative and our newsroom,” Schiller wrote. “Ellen us,” Schiller wrote in an e-mail to the NPR staff innovations from the public media industry and save $270 on tickets exemplifies journalistic professionalism and that accompanied the board’s statement. “Now to SXSW, the world’s premiere event on emerging technology trends. integrity. I am grateful to her for all she has is the time to focus on what we can do to make accomplished at NPR.” NPR an even stronger organization.” Juan Williams was pleased that Weiss was NPR will seek external and internal can- out at NPR. Williams, now a full-time Fox didates for Weiss’s successor, according to the News contributor with a three-year, nearly $2 message. In the interim, Programming V.P. million contract, said: “It’s good news . . . if iMA member’s only guarantee for discount to SXSW expires January 15, Margaret Low Smith will run the news divi- they can get someone who has been the 2011. Remaining SXSW coupons will be distributed on a first come, first sion. (She does not intend to apply for the job.) keeper of the flame of liberal orthodoxy out serve basis starting January 16. Smith began working at NPR the same year as of NPR.” Weiss represented an “ingrown, Weiss, and for many years was her colleague incestuous culture” at NPR that was hostile to For more information, use the QR code or visit www.integratedmedia.org. on the staff of All Things Considered. his relationship with Fox. Edwards emphasized that the board played Williams said he declined to talk with no role in Weiss’s resignation. “The decision of Weil’s investigators because he “didn’t know This QR code links to more information about the conference. Ellen to resign today was not something the whether they were going to further defame To use, download a QR Code Reader App like Neoreader and board was involved in,” Edwards said. “We’re me.” He compared Schiller’s e-mail compli- scan the code with your smart phone. aware of what transpired, but we count on the menting Weiss for her professionalism to c.e.o. to put together the best possible team.” n propaganda issued by Pravda. “You can’t go around treating people like Comments, questions, tips? [email protected] 8 | January 10, 2010 | Current

multipartner work. Some videographers in Reporting partners Haiti were shooting for websites, but WPBT Continued from page 1 and NewsHour both demand broadcast-quali- ty footage. titude, this, ‘We’ve got a great story and we “I subscribe to the theory that nothing is a won’t share,’” said Linda Winslow, PBS News- problem if you really want to work around it,” Hour executive producer. “It’s insane when Winslow said. “I also learned over time what our audiences are so small and when we can good, cheap pieces of equipment to recom- get together and collectively produce much mend to someone.” Also, “it’s a little bit less stronger content.” problematic if you can get in on the ground Nova Senior Executive Producer Paula floor of a project,” to provide technical advice Apsell agreed and wants to continue the syn- from the beginning of the work. ergy. “I think we’re going to find we have a lot Fortunately for Cardona’s film, shooters of things in common, now that this frame- were already using high-definition digital work is in place for working together.” SLRs and HD cameras and then compress- ing content for the Web. “At the back end, we “This is crazy” were basically bringing the program into legal broadcast specs, which took about a week,” NewsHour science reporter Miles O’Brien adjusting the brightness of whites and the — a former CNNer who has been in public depth of blacks to meet broadcast standards, broadcasting only since last September — had Kelly said. noticed potential for “an obvious partnership” between Nova and PBS NewsHour, he told Cur- A new news direction rent. Last month he asked Winslow and Apsell Jeffrey Brown reports for PBS NewsHour on Jan. 6 in front of a tent city still in use in Haiti, a to join him for dinner and hear him out. year after the quake. Besides daily segments, Brown contributed to the NewsHour’s collabora- Leading journalists and pubcasters have “I thought: This is crazy, we were doing tion with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and USA Today. (Photo: PBS NewsHour.) been keen on collaboration for years, but great science for NewsHour, they’re doing so far there’s no cookie-cutter template or fantastic stuff [at Nova], we should figure video and approached producer Joe Cardona. struggled with that.” universal contract to govern and stabilize out a way to help each other,” O’Brien said. He had interviewed several Cuban Herald “I remember one meeting when we told these kinds of partnerships. “They are usually “Sometimes it takes an outside view to see reporters for his documentary, My Suitcase them, based on the timeline that we have to informal arrangements made among produc- these things.” Apsell and Winslow agreed Full of Hope: The Story of the Cuban Freedom edit and deliver this, we’re at the end of the ers, usually executive producers, responding enthusiastically. Flights. story,” he said. “That was hard for them.” to the perceived need for public broadcasting “I was given keys to the kingdom,” O’Brien “I don’t think the Herald folks understood “So Joe was that bridge that we needed to be more connected,” Winslow said. said — full access to Nova’s resources. He what value their footage could have in terms of between print and broadcast,” Kelly said; Kelly said WPBT used between $7,000 received the script and related materials for documentary filmmaking,” Cardona said, “and Cardona understood both points of view. “He and $10,000 of its operating budget to master, Nova’s “Deadliest Earthquakes,” which airs what value their knowledge of the subject pro- very much knew the newsroom culture,” said caption, distribute and create graphics for this week on PBS. For that production, a vided.” The paper hired Cardona to create what San Martin. “And he enlightened us on the the Herald’s documentary. The station and Nova camera crew traveled with a team of would become its first video documentary. film culture.” Cardona chose a videographer the paper both saw the program as a public U.S. geologists as they entered Haiti just after When he got to Haiti to shoot the aftermath, who understood both the film and print tra- service. And they had one rare asset: no copy- the disaster, hoping to better understand what the Herald’s production team was already in ditions — El Nuevo Herald’s José Iglesias — as right hassles over acquired footage, since the happened underground. the field and its earlier footage already at hand. the doc’s director of photography. Herald owns the content. O’Brien used some of that material to Plus, they were already plugged into all the For the NewsHour’s project, its two Another advantage is in funding. Brown create a NewsHour segment with a different resources that Cardona would need, includ- partners were already working together. USA traveled to Haiti on a NewsHour grant for yet related angle: how seismological scien- ing places to stay and local fixers to help them Today and the nonprofit Pulitzer Center on global health coverage from the Bill and tists and engineers are attempting to prevent overcome cultural barriers. Crisis Reporting had been running reports Melinda Gates Foundation and used his earthquake deaths by teaching Haitians about Cardona had worked with WPBT and from writer Kwama Dawes on how the di- time there to provide additional content for earthquake-resistant construction. felt it offered the best way to get the film to saster affected Haitian poets and their work. the wider collaboration. The Pulitzer Center O’Brien’s NewsHour segment will run viewers. The station didn’t have time to go NewsHour Senior Correspondent Jeffrey funded Kwame Dawes’s work there; USA immediately before Nova premieres its doc through PBS, so it independently secured car- Brown interviewed Dawes in Haiti for a pro- Today and NewsHour also benefited from Tuesday, Jan. 11. “We have a lot of viewers in riage of Nou Bouke: Haiti’s Past, Present and gram segment. The Center and USA Today Dawes’s reporting. Video, print and still pho- common with NewsHour,” Apsell said, “and Future by pubTV stations serving 70 percent “both were interested in NewsHour represent- tographs were all shared across platforms and we’re hoping that seeing our footage will tanta- of the U.S. population. The hourlong program ing the third leg of the stool, the broadcast partners. lize them to stay and see the longer program.” goes deep into the island’s neighborhoods component,” Winslow said. “I think this is the direction the news in- Viewers get richer reporting, the shows get and lets ordinary people tell their stories. The three collaborated on a story that dustry needs to go in,” said San Martin of the more viewers. “It’s a win-win,” she said. “Nou bouke” is Creole for “We’re tired” — revealed citizenship problems facing Haitians Herald. “We need to accept the notion that a common phrase in Haitian graffiti. who took refuge in the neighboring Domini- there are multiple ways of storytelling that are Valuable footage can Republic. The entire coverage project, good for newspapers.” The end. Really. “Haiti: After the Shock,” is promoted on all “To be able to hold a DVD in your hand TheMiami Herald and its Spanish- three websites. Differences among the partners on and put it on a shelf, that’s not something language counterpart, El Nuevo Herald, have Winslow said partnering with an organi- each project brought both challenges and we’re used to doing,” she added. “Traditional long covered Haiti for the large Haitian com- zation with similar journalistic values helps advantages. Jack Kelly, production v.p. at newsprint, you get it today and it’s gone munity in the city, so their reporting teams minimize differences. “The Pulitzer Center WPBT, points out newspaper journalists tomorrow. This film has shelf life, which is a have been on the ground there for years. The edits for print, and we edit for broadcast,” she n are accustomed to serving up a daily diet of wonderful thing.” paper considers the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake said. “But at the starting point, both organiza- new stories, while a documentary needs a “a local story,” said Nancy San Martin, inter- tions believe in good, objective journalism. Comments, questions, tips? [email protected] fixed endpoint. “You can’t keep updating a active editor of the newspapers. We have the same values.” film,” Kelly said. “I think the Herald people San Martin reviewed the Herald’s trove of Technology also throws up hurdles in

stations outside of Denver: Penny Mitchell, in August of 1971 as a producer and have Media made presentations in University of People development director at the licensee’s station in been here ever since,” he told AnnArbor. Wyoming meetings last week: Christina Continued from page 6 Grand Junction, KRMJ, was promoted to g.m. com, enjoying a varied career as producer Kuzmych, station manager of Indiana Uni- of that station; and Amanda Mountain, for- and manager. Molly Motherwell, the station’s versity’s WFIU-FM, and Eric Nycklemoe, Management/finance mer director of the Colorado Springs Gazette’s g.m./marketing and development director, director of network initiatives for American charities and special projectds, who assumed will be interim executive director during the Public Media Group, according to the univer- Denver’s Rocky Mountain PBS last week the roles at KTSC-TV in Pueblo/Colorado search for Timko’s successor. sity. Jon Schwartz retired from the position announced 10 promotions including four in Springs. She succeeds Wynona Sullivan, who Ohio University’s WOUB-FM/TV has in August after 18 years. the higher ranks: Donna Sanford, director of retired Dec. 31. journalism professor Tom Hodson as its in- Andrew Griffiths, former longtime programming and production at the station, Executive Director Art Timko is retiring terim director and g.m. as part of an effort to finance v.p. at Boston’s WGBH, has stepped was named chief content officer. Thirty-year after 42 years at WEMU-FM, Eastern Michi- integrate the E.W. Scripps School of Journal- up from acting dean to interim president veteran Tom Craig, who was named director gan University’s “jazz/news/blues” station in ism with the station in Athens, Ohio. Hodson of College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, of engineering and production technology in Ypsilanti. Timko, 64, started at WEMU as a served as WOUB’s director from 2003 to Maine. The college’s former president, David September, was promoted to chief technology student in January 1968, served in Vietnam, 2010. He succeeds Carolyn Bailey Lewis, F. Hales, went on extended leave Jan. 1 and n officer. Two managers were named regional di- finished his graduate degree in 1970 and who retires this month. will step down in June. rectors and general managers of the licensee’s went back to work at the station. “I was hired Two finalists for g.m. of Wyoming Public Current | January 10, 2010 | 9 Current Classifieds

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Production/Programming tradition of excellence and a commit- ment to taking our service forward into News Reporter/Producer the next generation of public media. We North Country Public Radio, serve rural northern New York, includ- President/CEO Canton, NY ing the Adirondack Mountains and the Maryland Public Television North Country Public Radio is looking Champlain and St. Lawrence valleys, for a creative, thoughtful and enterpris- as well as parts of western Vermont, The Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission — an agency of the State ing person to join our award-winning eastern Ontario and southern Quebec. of Maryland — is recruiting for the President/CEO of Maryland Public news team. We’re a dynamic, forward- The region offers excellent quality of Television (MPT), following the announcement by Robert J. Shuman of his looking station in a great location, life, welcoming rural communities, good intention to retire in spring 2011. This is an opportunity to lead a significant plugged in to the world and anchored schools, and great cultural and recre- mid-Atlantic institution and grow MPT’s presence, relevance and public by a strong sense of community. We’re ational opportunities. There is easy ac- service impact. looking for someone who will be a cess to the Montreal and Ottawa urban high level reporter/producer and an centers, as well as the largest protected The Commission seeks a candidate with demonstrated abilities to ascertain important voice for us, anchoring our wilderness in the lower 48—the six regional needs, aspirations and interests; to set a community-responsive award-winning afternoon regional news million acre Adirondack Park. Please institutional plan of content and service priorities; to personally attract program, All Before Five. Skills/Experi- visit our website: ncpr.org to see and significant public and private funding for general operations and key ence: Strong news judgment, reporting, hear who we are and what we do. Send initiatives; and, to strategically forge partnerships, and optimize deployment writing, interviewing and digital skills application materials and audio samples of human, technological and financial resources. are required. Three years’ experience, to [email protected]. NCPR is licensed by preferably in public radio, with member St. Lawrence University, which is an Af- Position requires bachelor’s degree in an appropriate discipline, ten years’ station experience a plus. Experience firmative Action/Equal Employment Op- management experience and highly developed oral and written communication or serious aspiration to filing for NPR portunity employer. Women, minorities, skills. Management experience in public broadcasting is required. The ideal and other national outlets is also a plus. veterans, and persons with disabilities candidate will possess the ability to inspire innovation at all levels of the Must be able to work alone, and as part are encouraged to apply. workforce. A proven record of success at recruiting, retaining, respecting and of a team. We’re looking for someone leading a diverse staff is required. who is self-motivated, and curious Announcer/Producer II about the world as well as his or her (Reporter/Producer) Submit resume to: local community. About North Country Mississippi Public Broadcasting, [email protected] Public Radio: North Country Public Jackson, MS Howard Rosen, Chair Radio provides an eclectic program ser- Mississippi Public Broadcasting is seek- President/CEO Search Committee vice with a strong emphasis on regional ing an experienced broadcast journal- Maryland Public Television content through a network of translators ist to join our award winning News 11767 Owings Mills Blvd. and repeaters. NCPR produces daily Department. This person will produce Owings Mills, MD. 21117 news, series and ongoing coverage in NPR-style news stories and features the best public radio storytelling tradi- on issues of local and regional interest. tion. We have a strong, innovative web The Reporter/Producer will contribute presence as well, and this reporter will to MPB’s overall local news production play an important part in making us a true multi-platform outlet. We have a Continued on next page Directory of Services

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S/he Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations Minnesota Public Radio, ment, which is quickly becoming a will know who is in the Public Insight (IPBS) has an immediate opening for a St. Paul, MN recognized news source. This person Network, who should be in the Net- full time State News Reporter to work work, what motivates people to par- Minnesota Public Radio® is one of the will produce NPR-style news stories/ from the Indiana Statehouse with our ticipate in the Network, and uses this nation’s premier public radio organiza- features on issues of local and regional award winning member stations. Must knowledge to guide Network growth tions. With state-of-the-art headquar- interest, including spot news coverage, possess excellent communication and and assist with technology develop- ters in the heart of downtown St. Paul, special programs and newsmaker inter- reporting skills; strong knowledge of ment. Requires Bachelor’s degree, Minnesota Public Radio operates a views. 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audiences are not included in the PBS dues more multimedia projects for use in regional Splitting PBS bill assessment. Our gig economy K-12 classrooms to our already long list of mul- Continued from back page 3. Population reach is not counted Continued from back page timedia projects. consistently. Using the old technique used for Members of the Western Reserve Public When added to the PBS dues formula estimating Grade A coverage of analog TV gig. It allows the coordinator to bring together Media Board of Directors are visionaries. As in 1990, the population factor caused many almost always guaranteed that the station was the right people and resources to put a program Stephen Covey would say, while the staff is cut- large- population licensees’ dues to skyrocket— truly covering those people in the station’s together without having the mess and fuss of ting away a forest, they are the ones that climb by more than 300 percent in some cases, far population count. But PBS proposes to predict ongoing human resource expenses. the tallest tree to take a high-level view and let outpacing inflation and the consumer price population coverage using a different method A gig model allows for more diversity, the us know that we are in the right forest, cutting index—while CPB grants to those same stations that yields inconsistent results. A station could worker’s expertise tends to be much greater, and the right trees. Department heads are project did not expand as the population increased. be paying for people who cannot view the output is significantly increased. Case in point, managers or facilitators. They put together the With the proposed change in the PBS dues station over the air and even, in some cases, Western Reserve Public Media is a $5 million right teams and ensure that the teams have the formula, this category of licensees is again whose cable systems are far from the station operation with 17 full-time staff members. We necessary resources to do the job. Department severely impacted. and have not agreed to carry it. engage a pool of 20 to 25 seasoned “flex employ- heads don’t mediate constant personnel conflicts Why we shouldn’t use population All of the above are irrefutable, logical ees” to work on a per-project basis. and get bogged down in performance evaluations reasons why population either should not be a because in a gig world a 1099 “employee” gets the as a factor for sharing costs Western Reserve PBS’s broadcasts spans the factor in the PBS dues formula or should be a northeast Ohio region — Cleveland, Akron, job done right or they are not hired again. Our Separate from the issue of the CSGs from lesser factor than 50 percent. Canton and Youngstown — and we reach more support staff members are masters at multitask- CPB, there are several strong reasons why the This is a time of economic hardship, when than 1 million viewers a month. We don’t have ing. Engineers aren’t just doing broadcast engi- population factor should not be used in the PBS stations have lost or may soon lose a significant an endowment. Unlike other arts organizations neering, for example — they’re our liaisons with dues formula: amount of state, university and school system in our region, we don’t receive $1 million or the outsourced IT network manager; they keep 1. The size of the population in a station’s support; when federal funding is uncertain; more a year in county money from “sin taxes” master control functioning; they trouble-shoot coverage area is not directly related to the when public television private support is on cigarettes and tobacco. We don’t have a voice-over-IP issues; and they are the point- number of viewers — or to the pool of potential declining at an alarming rate; and when the Board of Directors that raises funds for our people for the transmitter sites. members. Several other factors determine how prospects for an improved economy are stark. organization. We don’t have outside market- For those of us accustomed to the functional many people watch a public television station: For PBS to implement the proposed changes in ing firms creating slick campaigns. We are not management model, it’s unnerving to step into a channel position on broadcast, cable and the dues formula that will negatively impact a housed in a multi-million-dollar building. And, gig economy. The rules of the road haven’t been satellite, and the strength of transmitted signal. large number of PBS members is unacceptable. aside from the Community Service Grant we written for public TV. For one, federal labor 2. Population size has little to do with a PBS was seemingly unwilling to listen receive from the Corporation for Public Broad- laws and Equal Employment Opportunity regu- public television station’s capacity to pay dues. to the strong message KCET tried to deliver: casting for our Youngstown station, we do not lations were enacted for a different economy. n Communities and states vary widely in that the PBS formula was unfair and that the receive special project funding from CPB. I applaud the Knight Commission on the socioeconomic level. If a community station or station’s dues were too high and unsustainable. Yet we offer four 24/7 noncommercial public Information Needs of Communities in a De- state network reaches a large number of lower- Implementation of this dues proposal will cause television services: Western Reserve PBS, Fu- mocracy for its report last year. The 15 recom- income people, it has far less ability to generate additional stations to send the same message. To sion, MHz Worldview and V-me — the first two mendations to better meet community infor- membership income. ensure our collective future, it is critical that this programmed locally and the other two present- mation needs are spot on. I am confident that n n If one public television station is message be heard. ing national program ervices that are unique public media is the one entity that can take those heavily overlapped by others, the competition to the market. Between 2007 and 2010, we recommendations from report to action. But, Tom Howe is director and g.m. of North Carolina’s diminishes its ability to generate support. produced 35 local program and series, includ- changing the governance structure or the brand UNC-TV network. He was a member of the PBS n If a station is located near the Canadian ing two ongoing weekly series, and we serve as of the vehicle or loading more people into the car Board from 1996 to 2002. n border, it is likely to have a large audience the region’s premier television outlet for local is not the direction we should be going. in Canada, generating millions in member independent producers. In the 2010 academic Trina Cutter is president of Western Reserve revenues for the station. These Canadian year, our Educational Services division offered 184 workshops to 1,995 teachers and added two Public Media (WNEO/WEAO) in Ohio.

[email protected]. Clos- Director of Multimedia Marketing Education Opportunities Classifieds ing date: January 30, 2011. Relocation WHYY, Philadelphia Continued from previous page MA Degree in Public Media preferred, but not necessary. WHYY, the Delaware Valley’s leading sorship proposals and annual reports. Graduate Associateship public media station for over 50 years, Opportunities Partner with the Executive Director and Assistant Director of has an exciting fulltime opportunity for a Board of Directors to cultivate, solicit Development/Major and multimedia marketing professional. This The Ohio University School of Me- and steward donors. Qualifications: Planned Gifts position is responsible for the develop- dia Arts and Studies and the WOUB Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experi- KTWU, Topeka, KS ment, implementation and maintenance Center for Public Media in Athens, in ence. Five or more years’ experience KTWU has an exciting opportunity of multimedia marketing strategies to the Scripps College of Communica- in designing and implementing com- for an innovative and self-motivated meet organizational objectives, which tion, announce graduate associate- prehensive fundraising plans leading to individual who is interested in becoming include acquiring and sustaining audi- ships for women and persons of color the successful solicitation of five- and part of a dynamic organization as As- ences and revenue streams for WHYY to study public media in a 12 month six-figure gifts, from project inception sistant Director of Development/Major programs and services. This position (September 2011 to August 2012) MA to successful closing and follow-up re- & Planned Gifts. Required qualifications must understand market conditions, Program. Concentrations are avail- porting. This should include: Extensive include a bachelor’s degree; 5 years’ competitor data and be able to imple- able in the following areas: Manage- experience in effective proposal writing experience in fundraising, public rela- ment marketing strategy changes or ment, and Children’s Programming. and presentation, as well as donor so- tions or a related field; and a valid Kan- campaigns as needed. In order to be Additional concentrations, relevant to licitations; donor database experience; sas driver’s license with driving record successful in this role, an individual changes in technology and organiza- previous experience working success- acceptable to University standards. Pre- must possess a minimum of five years’ tional structure within public media, can fully with board members as well as ferred qualifications include knowledge experience in an online consumer be developed in consultation with the business and civic leaders. Exceptional of planned giving, e.g., bequests, estate acquisition marketing role, with hands- student’s Program of Study Committee. interpersonal skills and presentation planning, insurance, etc. If you are in- on and intimate knowledge of Search Over the year, students receive a total style, and strong attention to detail. terested in becoming part of the KTWU Engine Optimization, emarketing, ROI stipend of $15,000 plus tuition waivers Demonstrated proficiency with stan- team of professionals, submit a letter of and key online marketing metrics. In for four quarters. Room, board, general dard office equipment and computer interest, resume, Resume Supplement addition, the ideal candidate will be expenses, insurance, and student fees software including Microsoft Word and (available at www.washburn.edu/main/ familiar and have experience with are the responsibility of the student. The Excel, QuickBooks, and Internet-based human-resources), college transcripts proven online marketing and customer program has been ongoing since 1981 applications. To apply: Please send a and names and phone numbers of acquisition strategies development and and has trained over 125 public media detailed résumé with salary history and three professional references to Human management; well-defined interper- professionals to return to a career with a list of five professional references with Resources, MO 263; 1700 SW Col- sonal skills and communication skills; specialized skills through course work contact information including e-mail. A lege Ave.; Topeka, KS 66621. Review experience performing detailed analy- in the School and professional work at narrative detailing how your experience of resumes will begin January 18, 2011, sis and research; and familiarity with WOUB. Requirements for the program relates to this position. Please carefully and continue until a suitable candidate utilizing social media to achieve goals. are two years of full-time work in public detail your experience as it compares to has been identified. Salary will be de- Interested applicants should send their media and a baccalaureate degree the job duties, qualifications, functions termined commensurate with qualifica- information, including a cover letter stat- with at least a 2.5 grade point average. and desirable functions for this position tions. Excellent fringe benefits package. ing salary requirements, to: hr-jobs@ Materials are being accepted now. The at this organization. And writing sample More information about this position whyy.org or visit our website at: www. closing date is April 1, 2011. Contact: that showcases your versatility and and Washburn University is available on whyy.org. (Cover letters without salary Duncan H. Brown, [email protected]. writing skills, ideally a successful grant the website listed above. WU is an EEO information will not be considered.) proposal or other fundraising piece. Employer. Please send application materials to: 12 | January 10, 2010 | Current CurrentThinking

n Population should not be used as a factor in the PBS dues formula because it is an inaccurate indicator of a station’s Population bomb ability to pay. A more acceptable approach would be to base the formula for PBS dues exclusively on budget size, membership base, viewership — or the size of the station’s CSG. Unlike population, If you’re figuring a station’s ability to pay PBS dues, all four of these other statistics are directly related to a station’s ability to pay. count its revenue not the people nearby n If PBS retains population as a factor, it should review the population data to be sure that it’s accurate. n If population remains a factor, the formula should place After the PBS Board froze or capped its program fees and dues for three years, a board committee in December proposed less emphasis on it. Reducing the weighting of population from significant changes in the formula that apportions costs to the stations. 50 percent to 25 percent, while raising the factor of the stations’ The question is scheduled to go to the PBS Board before its meeting Feb. 3-4 before its March decisions on the fiscal fundraising (Non-Federal Financial Support or NFFS) to 75 2012 budget that takes effect July 1. percent could have less negative influence than the current This commentary expresses the view of one opposed station leader, Tom Howe, the director and g.m. of North Carolina’s proposal. UNC-TV network. He’s one of 11 station chiefs who have asked the committee to drop the population factor from dues History of the population factor formula, reopen discussions and share its projections of various formulas’ effects on stations’ dues. But many of his counterparts elsewhere are likely to favor the revised formula because it would reduce rather than raise their stations’ PBS Population was not always a factor in the formula. Twenty assessments. years ago PBS added that factor to assist smaller stations that Is there a good way out of this apportionment conflict? Is the committee’s judgment sound? Is this a bad time to raise claimed the dues were consuming a disproportionate share of fees for any station, whether the changes are fair or not? What is the cost of protracted unfairness to stations that now may their budgets. At the same time, the added population factor pay too much? Current is interested in publishing other views. —Editor caused major increases for another category of licensees—those that served large populations but could not decrease their dues through the national production credit in the budget portion of to opt out of PBS, further weakening the system. By Tom Howe the formula. The proposed formula is indeed simpler, as the task force That PBS formula change hit the large-population licensees intended. It covers all PBS costs instead of having separate he public television community has already lost one major- especially hard because the Corporation for Public Broadcast- formulas for the various PBS services. But the simpler formula is market PBS-member station. Los Angeles station KCET ing’s formula for a licensee’s Community Service Grant leaves out flawed. T found the PBS dues formula unreasonable and the dues population as a factor. PBS charged stations for viewers reached, Until 1990, PBS dues were calculated on the basis of each amounts unsustainable. One of the reasons its PBS dues were so but stations were not given support from CPB for the population licensee’s Community Service Grant (CSG), which is closely high is that the station’s signal covers a huge population. served. While most public television licensees received more dol- related to its fundraising success. In other words, the formula was The PBS Dues Review Task Force has now proposed a change lars from CPB than they pay to PBS, many which served a large based heavily on the ability to pay, which makes perfect sense. in the current PBS dues formula that will increase the emphasis population received far less. Since 1990, however, the PBS Board has added two more on population. Stations on the positive side of this discrepancy maintain, as factors to the CSG —the station’s population base and its This revision would significantly increase PBS dues paid by a PBS does, that there is no relationship between the two formulas. nonfederal revenue — making the formulas not only more large number of licensees. Phasing in the change over a number But this conflicts with the policy that existed prior to 1990 that complicated, but also inevitably benefiting some stations while of years, as the task force proposes, would do little to ease the directly linked PBS dues to CSG grants — and it ignores the fact disadvantaging others. The proposal to base the formula on stress and burden of the additional cost on adversely affected that the formulas are linked now. PBS dues should be based on a population as one of two equal factors — the station’s share of licensees. These licensees must question the wisdom, fairness station’s ability to pay, and certainly the size of a station’s CSG, as all stations’ population plus its share of all nonfederal revenue — and timing of the formula changes, particularly in today’s stated above, has an impact on its ability to pay PBS dues. extremely challenging economic environment. If this dues will only make this problem more extreme. proposal is adopted, the policy change may force more stations I believe there’s a better way, especially suitable for the times: Continued on page 11

By Trina Cutter operate as an independent business. No doubt the board behind Door No. 1 is preferable, but I ight after I finished reading Barbara contend that in the future no matter how much Cochran’s paper for the Knight Commis- Into the gig economy effort a board puts forth for its public media or- R sion, “Rethinking Public Media: More ganization, the station will not remain lively and Local, More Inclusive, More Interactive,” the healthy if it follows the same operating model as phone rang. The 1990s called, and they want Let’s not dream about bigger staffs when it first went on the air. their White Paper back. While I agree with the spirit of Ms. Co- Public television has been local, inclusive and more taxpayer funding chran’s report, I don’t see a solid, re-envisioned and interactive since its inception. No doubt 21st-century idea that makes the dream possi- ble. Our challenges won’t be met through larger there is always room to be “more,” but getting While all of these changes are well and good, could maintain our functional model. there by building up staff and tinkering with staffs and increased dependence on government no matter how our governance is structured, no The present economic climate has forced us funding, but rather through adaptability, agility governance structure is a repeat of the past and matter how we direct our resources, no matter to look at our largest operational cost — person- will lead to more reliance on taxpayer support and flexibility. how much diversity we embrace and what we nel — and evaluate which positions are vital to Rather than restructuring the board or from state and federal sources that cannot or call ourselves, at the end of the day we are a a 24/7 operation. Some stations have reduced will not provide it. building up the operations through mergers, business that operates in a market economy. work hours or laid-off or eliminated positions. acquisitions and expansion, public media should The world is going through a major eco- NBC’s Today Show recently did a story But for many stations that is merely a temporary nomic transformation. If public media is going take a cue from Don Tapscott and Anthony D. about driving in winter weather conditions. The reaction to the present economy and not a busi- Williams’ book, Wikinomics, or Stanley M. Davis to survive, much less thrive, it needs to break reporter said that when a car hits black ice and ness strategy for the future. out of its 20th-century mode of operation and and Christopher Meyer’s book, Future Wealth, swerves out of control, the driver’s instinct is to Cochran’s white paper recommends that we and develop an operating model around Brown’s figure out how to operate in what Daily Beast look where the car is heading. In fact, experts hire more employees — local reporters — and editor Tina Brown calls “the gig economy.” “gig economy” —piecework contracted project say that’s exactly what you shouldn’t do. Rather, invest in the proper equipment for them to by project. It’s a major economic shift away from Ms. Cochran recommends a few ways public you should look in the direction you want the do their jobs. But what’s the business model? radio and television can adapt to meet 21st-cen- institutional employees to Form 1099 contract car to go and steer in that direction. In other How are we going to pay for increased person- employees. Staffs contract and expand to meet tury needs for local news. I agree with most of words, look to the future, not the past and not nel costs over the long haul? Isn’t that the very them, and we at Western Reserve Public Media the production needs of an organization. even the present. model that commercial stations are abandon- Public television stations that put together have already implemented many: Restructure In the past, public television has organized ing? And wouldn’t this make us even more a university board into a community board? and then disband a team for a grant-funded itself around functions: hiring employees to dependent on government funding? project already know how to operate in a gig Check. Redirect resources into the equivalent of perform functions rather than complete specific The same goes for our governance structure. local reporting? Check. Continue and expand economy. How we buy programs from syn- projects. Engineers were hired to do the engineer- How will restructuring the board secure our dicators is gig economics. If we hire outside a tradition of diversity? Check. Pioneer ways to ing; producers to produce; directors to direct; fiscal future? Whether a station is licensed to a allow local citizens to create and share content freelancers to create our websites, stream our reporters to report; and so on. Engineering, state, a university or a community nonprofit, the video, manage interactivity or process our web by digital means? Check. And, just as she sug- producing, directing and reporting functions were most we can hope a board to do is to to champi- gests of CPB, we have changed our name from transactions, we are using the gig model. Inde- not necessarily 40-hour-a-week jobs, but stations on the public media “cause” and assist in raising pendent producers have always operated gig by “television” to “media” and specifically “public had enough “discretionary” funding (read: not funds. At worst, a board can obstruct a station’s media.” Check and check. project-based funding) to cover the costs, so we capacity to raise funds and inhibit its ability to Continued on page 11