May 15, 2006

NPR : Guilt by Association: The NPR-FOX Connection

NPR Ombdusman Jeffrey Dvorkin examines a recent blog-induced foofaraw regarding Mara Liasson and Fox News and concludes: "These blogs appear to be making our public life even more crude and vulgar than it has been up to now." (UPDATE: Media Matters, one of Dvorkin's culprits, responds.)

Jay Allison profile

Chicago's Center for Arts Policy presents a lengthy profile of pubradio indie Jay Allison and his myriad projects (PDF). "He is not a man of moderation but living a life at full tilt, waving the flag from his post where the individual gives way to something beyond himself," writes Lauren Cowen.

Aggregation and Consolidation: A Rationale

Todd Mundt and Mark Fuerst aim to answer the question: "Why do we need aggregation and consolidated technologies?" (Stephen Hill comments here.)

John Barth on New Realities

John Barth, managing director of the Public Radio Exchange, shares his thoughts and concerns about the public radio's recent New Realities National Forum. One idea: "[W]hy shouldn’t NPR, PRI, APM and PRX all merge? . . . We do all waste a lot of money, resources, time and talent on competition with not much distinction."

More churn at Kentucky's Public Radio Partnership

The interim president of the Public Radio Partnership in Louisville, Ky., will step down June 30, reports the Louisville Courier-Journal. Bob Irvine cited "disappointments and frustration" with the Partnership's board in a letter to senior staff and board members.

What is public media?

After attending the Beyond Broadcast conference, Dennis Haarsager considers the nature of public media and says "a bright line definition" probably won't be found.