Idaho Public TV's Morrill talks numbers with state lawmakers

Idaho PTV g.m. Peter Morrill appeared before state legislators today (Jan. 25) to detail what would happen if the governor's proposed 6.4 percent funding reduction is approved: Three IPTV positions would disappear, a $97,200 cut from last year would become permanent, and $1.3 million in capital replacements – including some mandated by federal law – could not be done.

"Waste Land" gets Oscar nod

The ITVS-supported doc "Waste Land," by Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley, scored an Academy Award nomination today (Jan. 25) for feature documentary. Last month it received the International Documentary Association Pare Lorentz Award at the IDI Documentary Awards ceremonies. A full list of nominees here.

Steve Miller band, downtown party to open new Austin City Limits venue

KLRU is inaugurating its new Austin City Limits theater with a big bash on Feb. 26 in Austin's 2nd Street District. The 2nd St. Soundcheck event will culminate with the first ACL taping in its new, $2.5 million Moody Theater, named for the Moody Foundation backer of the massive project. First up: A 90-minute performance by the Steve Miller Band.

It's half a century on the air for Eight/Arizona PBS

Eight/Arizona PBS is celebrating its 50th anniversary of going live on Jan. 30, 1961; by 1964 it had its first Emmy Award for 400 hours of local programming. Viewers are sharing their memories of the station, and there's a cool retro video that includes its first moments of broadcast. Is your station or network marking an important anniversary this year? Let us know!

KCET continues ratings slide – except for British programming block

Although it's mainly bad news for KCET in its latest ratings, there is one bright spot: Ratings for its Saturday block of British faves such as MI-5 and Keeping Up Appearances are up 33 percent over this time last year, the Los Angeles Times reports. Overall, the first three weeks of its independence from PBS show a 38 percent plunge. Over its entire broadcast day, KCET lost half its viewers compared with last year. The station now averages 10,000 households a day, "a figure that suggests the station's potential donor pool will be considerably reduced," the paper notes.