The future of pledge, a la KCET?

There's been no shortage of news coverage of KCET splitting from PBS as of Jan. 1. And now, a cartoon from L.A. Observed.

Pubmedia lecture service gets new Carnegie partner

The Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs is joining the Forum Network, a PBS and NPR free video lecture service. The Council's page will include offerings such as scholar Michael Mandelbaum on his book, The Frugal Superpower: America's Global Leadership in a Cash-Strapped Era; a panel discussion, "U.S. Military: Leading by Example," in which reps from the Navy, Marines, and Army Corps of Engineers illustrate how the U.S. military is developing renewable energy sources; and journalist Eliza Griswold talking about her book, The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line between Christianity and Islam.

Mixed news for pubcasters in Philanthropy 400

The Philanthropy 400, an annual donation overview of the 400 largest nonprofits, is out today (Oct. 18) from the Chronicle of Philanthropy. In general, bad news. Fiscal 2009 donations to those organizations dropped 11 percent from FY08. The 400 raised $68.6 billion in 2009; that drop was almost four times the 2.8 percent decrease in 2001, "when charities also struggled to raise money from recession-battered donors," the report says. The rankings are listed by amount of private support. No. 1 is United Way Worldwide, with $3.8 billion; No. 400 is Voice of the Martyrs in Bartlesville, Okla., with $41.3 million.

Eight pubcasters are in the 400. Best number: WETA, up 15 percent. Worst number: American Public Media, down 17 percent.

Details:

— PBS is No. 53 with private support of $276.9 million in FY09, down 7.7 percent. It spends 0.1 percent of its private support on fundraising.

— WGBH Educational Foundation, Boston, is No. 73 with private support of $231.4 million in FY08; no data for the previous year comparison. It spends 9.4 percent of its private support on fundraising.

— WNET.org, New York, is No. 182 with private support of $105.7 million in FY09, down 5.6 percent. It spends 21.1 percent of its private support on fundraising.

— WETA/Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, Arlington, Va., is No. 232 with private support of $83.3 million in FY09, up 15 percent. It spends 12.5 percent of its private support on fundraising.

— NPR, Washington, is No. 285 with private support of $64.7 million in FY09, down 9.2 percent. No data on fundraising percentage.

— KCET/Community Television of Southern California, Los Angeles, is No. 337 with private support of $52.4 million in FY09, up 9.6 percent. It spends 16.8 percent of its private support on fundraising.

— Northern California Public Broadcasting, San Francisco, is No. 357 with private support of $49.6 million in FY09, down 7.4 percent. It spends 27.4 percent of its private support on fundraising.

— Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media, St. Paul, is No. 377 with private support of $45.5 million in FY09, down 17.0 percent. It spends 18.3 percent of its private support on fundraising.

More providers and devices are joining march toward mobile DTV

WGBH, one of the first pubcasting stations in the country to offer mobile DTV service to viewers (Current, Feb. 2, 2009) is now one of around 100 providers, reports the Boston Globe today (Oct. 18). But it's still a gamble: Just this month, Flo TV from Qualcomm ended sales of its devices, for which users paid $250, plus $15 monthly for service. Adding the capability to stations costs around $150,000 for equipment. Now that there's a technical standard, more providers are building out their systems, said Anne Schelle, executive director of the Open Mobile Video Coalition, a broadcasting industry trade group that counts CPB and PBS as members. And devices are beginning to proliferate. “I think you’re going to see some of the earlier products this Christmas season,’’ she added.

Sesame Workshop names new senior v.p. for international efforts

Dr. Charlotte Frances Cole is the new senior v.p., global education, for Sesame Workshop, it announced today (Oct. 18). Cole will oversee international strategies and lead development for all curriculum and research around the Workshop's international projects. Cole has been working with educators and production teams throughout the world for the Workshop since 1994, in Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, South Africa, and West Bank/Gaza. She is also a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Children and Media, and served as the publication’s founding Review and Commentary Editor.