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Jul 3, 2012

Michigan commentator says conservatives "should be asking for their place" in pubradio

Charles Brown is an attorney from Livonia, Mich., and a new commentator/blogger for Michigan Public Radio. He is also a self-professed "NPR conservative."

"Conservatives who criticize NPR," he writes in an opinion piece on the station's website, "often make the mistake of mixing up the different functions of NPR news production, the independent public radio producers, and the operations of their local public radio stations. Conservatives who make that mistake are as wrong as someone who mixes up the functions of the federal government and your neighborhood community association."

"Conservatives should not be talking about de-funding public radio," Brown writes. "Conservatives should be asking for their place within public radio. And local stations in particular, more closely aligned with their markets and listenership than 'NPR,' ought to be the first to be making that space."

New report aims to be starting point to study mobile game impact

A new report profiles nearly 40 innovative mobile games, outlining the emerging field across three dimensions: civic learning, performance/art and social change, according to the Knight Foundation. Many games are designed at the local level and are relatively low profile, so it's hard to determine their impact on communities and the larger engagement field. Authors of the report, "The Civic Tripod for Mobile and Games: Activism, Art and Learning," in the International Journal of Learning and Media, hope to "start a conversation that looks across cases and ties theories together across multiple disciplines," Knight said.

Joanie Bayhack departs WTTW after 16 years

Here's news that Chicago media reporter Robert Feder calls "a shocker": Longtime WTTW staffer Joanie Bayhack is out as senior vice president of communications and corporate partnerships. She's a 16-year veteran of Window to the World Communications, the umbrella org for WTTW 11 and 98.7 WFMT, and a familiar face on the TV station's pledge drives.