WPSU developing Editorial Integrity Advisory Committee as it navigates scandal coverage

In reaction to the Penn State University athletic department's ongoing sex abuse scandal, WPSU General Manager Ted Krichels is organizing an Editorial Integrity Advisory Committee for the station, which is licensed to the college, reports CPB Ombudsman Joel Kaplan. "WPSU, like many public broadcasting outlets, is inextricably tied to the university where it is located, and which also holds its license," Kaplan writes; WPSU is also a news operation. "There is no indication that any pressure was brought to bear" on the newsroom over the scandal coverage, Kaplan notes, "but there is a fear inside WPSU that there is a public perception that WPSU is an auxiliary arm of Penn State." Krichels invited administrators, faculty from Penn's College of Communication, WPSU reporters and producers and Kaplan to the committee's first meeting. The group plans to meet again next month, Kaplan said, adding that the initiative could grow into a template for other university-affiliated pubcasting stations.

Krichels is also helping guide the systemwide Editorial Integrity for Public Media initiative (Current, April 4, 2011).

Public Insight Network broadens work to include original reporting

The Public Insight Network from American Public Media is starting up its own news unit to generate original reporting, according to Nieman Journalism Lab, drawing on its massive database of some 130,000 self-identified news sources. “One of the things we learned early on,” Linda Fantin, director of the PIN initiative, told Nieman, “is the amount of intelligence and amazing insights and stories that people have shared with us quickly overwhelm a journalist’s ability to get that information out there.” The first project will be monthlong “virtual road trip” to survey Americans on whether presidential candidates reflect their values.

NewsHour's translation project presents State of the Union in more than six languages

The PBS NewsHour's election-year translation project kicked off with President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday (Jan. 24). Online transcriptions of his speech are now available in its entirety in Arabic, French, Italian, Japanese, Polish and Portuguese; portions of the address are there in traditional Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, German, Korean and Spanish.

Random House and Sesame launch ebook initiative

Random House Children’s Books and Sesame Workshop are partnering on a new digital publishing initiative focusing on early learning and reading readiness. Titles from the Random House Children’s Books Sesame Street library will be available as ebooks for the first time beginning today (Jan. 25) with Elmo Says Achoo! and Elmo’s Breakfast Bingo. An additional 19 titles will be released this spring. Several titles will include audio narration by Sesame Street’s Bob McGrath, who has performed on the program since its premiere in 1969. A joint press release said the program expands the Random House-Sesame Workshop partnership that has been ongoing for more than 40 years.