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Oct 30, 2002

Public radio journalist Jeremy Scahill is now in Baghdad producing IraqJournal.org. Some of his pieces are also airing on Democracy Now!.

Oct 29, 2002

Online petitioners are urging NPR to fire reporter Nancy Marshall after she reported that only 10,000 protestors marched against war in Iraq Oct. 26 in Washington, D.C. Marshall's figure falls far short of numbers provided by police and organizers, who estimated a turnout of somewhere between 75,000 and 200,000. You can hear Marshall's report. [Via randomWalks.]

Oct 28, 2002

"PBS president Pat Mitchell refuses to pledge allegiance to pledge drives" in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer's Gail Shister. This isn't the first time a PBS president questioned the tactics that stations use to generate viewer contributions, and not the first time that Mitchell has discussed her concerns with the press.
A video diary by Columbia University sophomore Cecilia Garza "offers an unusual, deeply honest story of one rural Latina's struggles in the big city," reports the New York Times. The diary is one of three featured on Borders, a 10-week, web-only series by P.O.V.

Oct 25, 2002

Chicago's WBEZ angered peace activists when it rejected an underwriting spot that included information about a "community forum and peace vigil proclaiming a moral voice against war with Iraq," reports the Chicago Reader. Station management said it's "improper to accept money to push for causes."

Oct 24, 2002

Unlike many of her fellow journalists, Diane Rehm has a sparkling record at the ballot box, reports The Washingtonian.
NPR's Scott Simon told the Yale Daily News he will dance in The Nutcracker in December with the Austin Ballet, complete with tutu.

Oct 23, 2002

New at Hearing Voices: photos, stories and audio from writer/producer Nancy Updike's trip to the West Bank.

Oct 22, 2002

Smaller noncommercial broadcasters reject digital radio as "another business that supports the status quo," reports Wired.

Oct 21, 2002

On Weekend Edition Saturday, Scott Simon interviews Nic Harcourt, host of KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. Live performances from the show are compiled on a new album, Sounds Eclectic Too.

Oct 17, 2002

Columnist Michelle Malkin is unsympathetic to pubradio translators knocked off the air by expanding religiocasters. "It's time for the secular hogs of the public airwaves to stop squealing," she writes in the Philadelphia Daily News.
Electronic Media lists PBS President Pat Mitchell among the "most powerful women in television." Among the 26 are Judith McHale, c.o.o. of Discovery Communications, numerous other chief execs, and Oprah Winfrey.

Oct 15, 2002

Aileen LeBlanc is leaving WYSO-FM in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where she has been news director since 1999. LeBlanc told the Dayton Daily News she's leaving over "irreconcilable differences with WYSO management."
The FCC's Report and Order regarding digital radio is up on its website.

Oct 14, 2002

PBS lucks out with a major Jimmy Carter profile ready for broadcast on American Experience, Nov. 11-12, just a month after he won the Nobel Peace Prize. (Or was it planning!?)

Oct 11, 2002

Frontline producer Sherry Jones discussed last night's "Missile Wars" program at washingtonpost.com.
Borders, a web-only series from P.O.V., features an interactive drama about three young adults from the U.S.-Mexican border.
Public Radio International named Senior Vice President Alisa Miller director of corporate strategy and management.
More on the FCC's digital radio decision: NPR's statement, coverage in Radio World and The New York Times, and the FCC's release and statements are on its website.
NPR hired Michele Norris, a correspondent for ABC's World News Tonight, as co-host of All Things Considered. And it also appointed its own Steve Inskeep to host ATC on weekends.
The Los Angeles Times reports on the KOCE-TV Foundation's bid to buy the license of the Huntington Beach public TV station and fund its digital conversion.

Oct 10, 2002

This American Life contributor Sarah Vowell talks with the Philadelphia City Paper.
The FCC has approved the in-band, on-channel technology for digital terrestrial radio.
NPR is cutting nine staffers due to "flat to declining revenues," reports The Washington Post.

Oct 9, 2002

The FCC is expected to declare iBiquity Corp.'s in-band, on-channel digital radio technology the national standard tomorrow. The Washington Post offers a preview.

Oct 8, 2002

A new study by Fairness and Accuracy in Media says seven major-market public radio stations sound, on average, twice as white as the communities they serve, due to a lack of diversity among daytime hosts.
The National Federation of Community Broadcasters' website looks nifty with a new design.
NPR's Morning Edition has commissioned its first radio play, a "zany comedy" by a Hollywood screenwriter, reports The Washington Post.
Faith Middleton, host of Connecticut Public Radio's Faith Middleton Show, was to celebrate her relationship with Fern Berman Sunday with a commitment ceremony, as noted by The New York Times.
The New York Daily News checks in with Cokie Roberts, who is receiving chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer.
The Washington Post previews an upcoming film about Stephen Glass, the journalist who famously fabricated stories he filed for various outlets, including public radio's This American Life. So who plays Ira Glass?

Oct 4, 2002

"Although the new Forsyte Saga cannot recreate the story's historic role in television, its revitalized characters offer a delightful escape," writes Caryn James in a New York Times review of the updated British drama. On Sunday, Oct. 6, Masterpiece Theatre debuts its new production of the mini-series that captured the American imagination in 1969.

Oct 2, 2002

The FCC has released the findings of 12 studies it commissioned to examine the effects of existing media ownership rules. The agency is currently rethinking those regulations with an eye toward relaxing them next year. The FCC has posted each study to its website.
BBC re-tooled its nightly world news program more closely to American interests, and last week began producing the show live from studios in Washington, the Los Angeles Times reports. Not all public TV stations that carry the series are pleased with the changes.
Sixty couples have met at NPR and married, thus landing on Susan Stamberg's list tracking the phenomenon, reports USA Today.

Oct 1, 2002

The Public Telecommunications Facilities Program awarded $36 million in digital conversion grants to 97 public TV stations Sept. 30. An additional $6 million in grants went to public radio, distance learning and TV replacement equipment. See the full list of awards.
The board of education in Columbus, Ohio, is likely to keep control of public radio station WCBE, reports This Week. An advisory committee has recommended more educational programming for the station, reports the Columbus Dispatch.
Viewers ignored the rebroadcast of Ken Burns' Civil War in favor of the Emmys and network shows such as CSI: Miami and The West Wing, according to the San Jose Mercury News. It's part of the failed PBS programming strategy of throwing its best work into the teeth of more popular network fare, writes the paper's TV critic.
Pacifica plans to launch a daily hourlong digest covering the push for war against Iraq, and will also offer live coverage of House deliberations over the President's authority to declare war.
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, debuting tonight on PBS, "does not shout, nor does it exult. It pays homage to sacrifice and achievement, and it leaves the door open to hope," writes Ron Wertheimer in today's New York Times. The website for the four-part series includes a section on how Jim Crow laws were sanctioned and supported by the national government.