Mixed news from New England stations

An update on three New England pubcasters via The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass.: WAMC in Albany, N.Y., has cut staff by 5 percent through attrition and layoffs. Also, Word to the Wise, a longtime daily feature, was discontinued after Merriam-Webster withdrew its funding. WHMT in Schenectady, N.Y., with a budget deficit of $235,000, just mailed its 30,000 members letters marked "urgent, action needed!" G.m. Scott Sauer cited "a serious financial shortfall" during the December fund drive. New York pubcasters also have started a webpage, SaveNYPBS.org, to counter Gov. David Patterson's pending 50 percent funding cut. Happier news at WFCR in Amherst, Mass., where a recent two-week fund drive brought in almost $200,000, exceeding the station's goal by $15,000.

Pubcasters write in Washington Post's Outlook

Two NPR staffers contribute to today's Washington Post Outlook section. Steve Inskeep writes about his travels through Iran. He reports that "some of the most insightful words I heard came from a guard at Iran's holiest shrine." And Senior Editor Greg Myre reviews the book, Kill Khalid: The Failed Mossad Assassination of Khalid Mishal and the Rise
of Hamas.