This Budd's for you, but not for the CBC

CBC Radio has canned Barbara Budd, co-host of As It Happens — radio that's too cheeky to be Canadian. She leaves the nightly call-out news program April 30. “I would never, never, ever walk away from a show that I still truly love,” Budd told the Toronto Globe & Mail.

As with NPR decisions that led to Bob Edwards’ departure from Morning Edition, the CBC is putting more reportorial folks in hosting jobs, Guy Dixon wrote in the Globe & Mail. “In a general sense, it’s true that with the evolution of the show, we are looking to put more of a focus on hosts who are also journalists,” a CBC spokesman told Dixon.

Budd acknowledges that she's a presenter in a fizzy, congenial interview on CBC-TV. Her earlier career as an actress caught up with Budd, says her onetime CBC boss, former NPR ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin in his blog. “After 17 years on the job, Barbara is a journalist, as far as I am concerned.” Dvorkin suspects that the CBC regards radio talent as expendable and wants to try out younger TV journalists on the show.

Budd or the CBC made her departure more graceful than Edwards’ was. Budd said on CBC’s website that many strangers had recognized her voice over the years and would typically remark, “Well, I’m so glad to finally put a face to the voice.” And she'd reply, “We’ll, I’m so glad to put a face to the ears.” So Budd has asked listeners to send photos for that purpose (address: aih@cbc.ca).

The program is distributed in the States by American Public Media.

Connection to community important to "New Muslim Cool," report details

"New Muslim Cool: Engaging Stakeholders in the Filmmaking Process" is the latest Public Media 2.0 Field Report from the Center for Social Media at American University. The ongoing series of case studies, funded by the Ford Foundation's Future of Public Media project, focuses on participatory and multiplatform work. "From development to production to distribution and outreach, all stages of this media project are characterized by a strong connection to the community portrayed in the film," the Muslim hip-hop world, according to the report. Find out the challenges overcome and creative approaches used in the PBS film here (PDF).

APTS names Thompson interim president

Lonna Thompson will serve as interim president and CEO of the Association of Public Television Stations in the wake of Larry Sidman's departure (Current, March 14). The Board of Trustees approved the appointment effective today. Thompson also will continue in her current role of executive veep and general counsel for APTS.

Car rams through wall at WPBS in northern New York

WPBS in Watertown, N.Y., got a jolt early last Saturday when a car crashed through one of its walls, reports Newzjunky.com, a northern New York news site. Fortunately, no one was inside the station. A 19-year-old was driving by the station at 4:27 a.m. when, he told police, he swerved to avoid a dog. The car veered into oncoming traffic, struck a curb, went airborne and landed in the side of the PBS affiliate's building. Timothy Ames, director of technology and chief engineer at the station, told Current no word yet on costs to repair the damage. The driver was treated for a leg injury and charged with failure to keep right and driving at an unreasonable speed.