Vegas PBS opens $60 million facility

Vegas PBS's $60 million Educational Technology Campus was dedicated Monday (June 28), reports the Las Vegas Business Press. The 112,000-square-foot facility houses operations and production for the station, as well as the Clark County School District's Virtual High School and educational media database. "Our role in the community as a local media company is to work with organizations to empower them through the use of the technologies and the distribution networks we have," said g.m. Tom Axtell. Vegas PBS has seven broadcast channels and oversees six closed-circuit channels, and a Homeland Security database of building blueprints for police and fire departments to access during civil emergencies. KLVX is the first totally "green" television station in the United States or Canada to seek LEED gold certification for its facilities (Current, Jan. 8, 2010).

NJ Senate okays study of NJN assets as part of break from state

The New Jersey Senate today (June 28) approved a study of New Jersey Network's assets and its plan to break from the state, NorthJersey.com is reporting. Under the legislation, a panel would investigate the value of equipment and licenses held by dual pubcasting licensee NJN, and ascertain if it could operate as an independent nonprofit without state funding. The network's state support in fiscal 2011, beginning July 1, falls to $1.98 million from $3.9 million in FY10. Howard Blumenthal, NJN's interim executive director, wanted the stations to go independent July 1 (his plan, PDF). The network has been asking for independence as far back as 2008 (Current, May 12, 2008).

Pubmedia trust fund hopes dim after White House announces broadband plans

The administration's fast-track plan for broadband spectrum reallocation does not include the much-anticipated public media trust fund created by auction proceeds (background, Current, Feb. 8, 2010). A four-point White House fact sheet released today (June 28) for the media says auction revenue instead will be used to "promote public safety, job-creating infrastructure investment and deficit reduction." In a statement (PDF), Federal Communications Chairman Julius Genachowski endorsed President Obama's plan, including the spectrum auction "generating revenue to fund a world-class mobile broadband network for our nation’s emergency responders." Neither the White House memo nor FCC statement specifically mentioned public broadcasting.

However, the National Broadband Plan did, recommending that "Congress should consider dedicating all the proceeds from the auctioned spectrum contributed by public broadcasters to endow a trust fund for the production, distribution and archiving of digital public media. There would be multiple benefits to public television stations who participate in this auction. First, it could provide significant savings in operational expenses to stations that share transmission facilities. Second, 100 percent of proceeds from the public television spectrum auction would be used to fund digital multimedia content. The proceeds should be distributed so that a significant portion of revenues generated by the sale of spectrum go to public media in the communities from which spectrum was contributed."

In a conference call with reporters, Jason Furman, deputy director of the National Economic Council, announced the administration's four steps for achieving a release of 500 MHz of spectrum for the growing number of wireless devices: Identify spectrum for reallocation, provide tools to free it up, enable spectrum to be put to "highest value uses" (mobile broadband, unlicensed bandwith for tech startups, and spectrum sharing), and use auction proceeds to benefit public safety, job growth and deficit reduction. The White House has no official estimate of revenues from a spectrum auction but notes it "could reach the tens of billions of dollars."

A White House official told Broadcasting & Cable that President Obama does not favor mandatory spectrum give-backs, which some broadcasters fear.

Vermont gets new chief content officer

Vermont Public Television has hired Kathryn A. Scott as its chief content officer, the Burlington Free-Press reports. "I am doing my level best to stimulate the local economy through the purchase of a new car and some new appliances," Scott quipped. She produced American Public Media's Weekend America from 2005 to '07, and Sound Money from '02 to '05. In the 1990s she was series producer for Newton's Apple on PBS. She's also produced news and docs for USA Today on TV, Discovery and Tech TV News. (Image: VPT)

Benazir Bhutto's sister to introduce ITVS bio film at Washington premiere

A rare appearance by Sanam Bhutto, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's sister and only living sibling, will open the Washington, D.C., premiere of ITVS's biographical doc "Bhutto" Tuesday (June 29). Also speaking will be Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States; and CPB's CEO Pat Harrison. PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff will lead a post-screening discusssion and audience Q&A with the film's director Duane Baughman and producer Mark Siegel. "Bhutto" has its national broadcast premiere in March 2011 on PBS's Independent Lens in honor of Women's History Month.

Once again, PBS brings home most Creative Arts Daytime Emmys

PBS cleaned up at the Creative Arts Daytime Emmy Awards Friday (June 25). The network led nominations with 53, and topped winners with 16. Electric Company scored five, including for new approach to children's programming. Perennial fave Sesame Street was honored with seven; that included a tie for acting. And Avec Eric's graphic design took a statuette. Click here for a complete list of winning names.

WBUR-FM takes the lead in Boston pubradio face-off

WBUR 90.9 has taken a big, early lead in the news-radio battle of WBUR and WGBH, reports the Boston Herald. Arbiton said it scored a 4.8 share of Boston listeners in January, 4.5 in February, 4.1 in March and 4.5 in April. WGBH, meanwhile, drew a 1.0 in January, 1.2 in February, 1.5 in March and 1.0 in April. WBUR is 11th in the market; WGBH, 23rd. The rivalry began last Dec. 1 when WGBH shifted its classical music programming to WCRB 99.5 FM and adopted a news/talk-dominated format for WGBH 89.7 (Current, Dec. 14, 2009).

RFP seeks ideas for series to diversify PBS audience

The first RFP for the new CPB/PBS Diversity & Innovation Fund will lead to production of one or more 10-episode x 60-minute primetime weekly series that would help make public TV’s audience  younger (40-64) and more diverse than today. Proposals are due Sept. 15.

The grantmakers plan to choose several applicants in December to make pilots. After showing the pilots online, one or more of the projects will get production money. The RFP, posted this week at PBS.org/difund, says the programs could fit in several popular nonfiction genres but not drama, public affairs or children’s programming.

The RFP asks producers to plan for release on multiple platforms, such as public TV’s Digital Learning Library for schools. Publicizing the RFP at the AFI Silverdocs Festival today, PBS program chief John Wilson said part of a project could be purpose-built for another platform, but can’t sacrifice the objective of a broadcast series.

Production costs must be kept “sustainable”— $375,000 or less per hour, not counting promotion, outreach and new-media costs. 

Wilson and CPB's Joseph Tovares prompted a little scorn from a relatively young audience at Silverdocs when they said only printed proposals would be accepted. Wilson said they hadn't been able to arrange for online submission this time, but will be ready next time. This RFP will use one of the larger parts of the fund’s two-year $20 million allocation,  Tovares told Current. The funders also plan smaller RFPs for educational, gaming and digital projects.

The funders encouraged proposals that would interest viewers who fit “the Explorer archetype” that PBS uses to describe experience-seeking, curious, independent-minded viewers. More about Explorers here.

New leader Susan Howarth arrives in Tampa

The new head of WEDU in Tampa, Fla., wants to focus on creating more local online programming, reports Tampa Bay Online. Susan Howarth, who helped launch the video-centric CETConnect.org while president of Cincinnati's pubTV station (Current, Feb. 19, 2008), has 35 years experience at seven public television stations. She has "lots of ideas but I didn't come down here with any preconceived notions," Howarth noted. Former station President Dick Lobo, who announced his retirement in late 2009, has agreed to stay on during the transition.

Visit his headlines blog, get Baltimore news, and be sure to sing along

WYPR’s local Morning Edition host Nathan Sterner in Baltimore (Balmer, to you natives) might be the only pubcaster out there with a theme song for his headlines blog. He's run it a few times on the air to promote the blog, where he links to station segments as well as stories from other local media. Baltimore filmmaker Chris LaMartina composed the song and quite deftly rhymed "Sterner" with "back burner."