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May 1, 2008

CPB will reward outstanding radio testimonials with cash

CPB will give $3,000 to the stations that produce the three most compelling My Source radio testimonial spots, the corporation announced. CPB will also fly the top winning producer and the community member featured in his or her testimonial to the Public Radio Development and Marketing Conference in Orlando in July, where they will be recognized. The Development Exchange Inc. will manage the radio testimonial awards for CPB. The deadline for submitting testimonials is June 20th; tools and other guidelines are available at www.mysourcefor.org.

Winslow: Lehrer recovering nicely from heart surgery

Jim Lehrer will return to the Newshour in a few weeks after recovering from heart valve surgery, Linda Winslow, e.p., told PBS's new Engage blog. Winslow "said she’ll know Mr. Lehrer is feeling better when he starts phoning her with story tips and suggestions." Anchor duties will rotate among the Newshour correspondents until Lehrer returns.

WGBH, Sesame Street lead PBS slate of Daytime Emmy nominees

Daytime Emmy nominations announced this week by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences include 44 for PBS programs. Ten series produced by Boston's WGBH, including two foodie shows distributed by American Public Television, garnered 26 Daytime Emmy nods. Sesame Street, a perennial favorite in the annual competition, leads the pack of PBS Kids fare with 13 nominations. Nominees in three or more categories include Between the Lions, Design Squad, Curious George, Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman and From the Top: Live from Carnegie Hall. PBS has the second-highest tally of Emmy nods among commercial and cable TV networks, topped only by CBS. Winners will be announced June 13.

James Day, pioneering pubTV exec and program host, dies at 89

James Day, co-founder of San Francisco's KQED and host of the influential weekly interview program Kaleidoscope, died last Thursday from respiratory failure. He helped establish public television's reputation for in-depth, serious programming and blazed the trail for pubTV on-air pledge drives and auctions. In 1995, he penned a history of public television, The Vanishing Vision: The Inside Story of Public Television. Current contributing editor David Stewart drew from Day's account for this feature on KQED's early years. Variety, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the New York Times have each published obits.

Ten new pubTV stations join Raising Readers

CPB and PBS have selected 10 new pubTV stations to participate in Raising Readers, a program to improve the reading skills of 2-to-8-year-olds, particularly those from low-income families in areas with low reading scores. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the initiative pairs PBS children's programs such as Between the Lions with a literacy curriculum based on recommendations of the National Reading Panel. Ten stations have already partnered with community organizations to create local literacy programs. The new participants are WHRO in Hampton Roads, Va; Iowa Public Television; Louisiana Public Television; WLJT in Martin, Tenn.; WNPT in Nashville, Tenn.; WSRE in Pensacola, Fla.; KAET in Phoeniz, Ariz.; WFSU in Tallahassee, Fla.; WHUT in Washington, D.C.; and West Virginia Public Broadcasting. 

Meet Etsy's new COO, Maria Thomas

Etsy, the online crafts marketplace that hired NPR digital media chief Maria Thomas as its new c.o.o., produced a video to introduce her to employees. "I love that 'etsy' means connecting with something authentic," Thomas says. [Via Converge]