KAZU and KUSP consider merging top management

California's KAZU-FM and KUSP-FM are considering a collaboration that could streamline their management and allow them to produce more local programming. "In the end, this is really just about ensuring we have the capacity to serve our communities," said Duncan Lively, KAZU's station manager, in the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Read the stations' news release (PDF).

SchardtMedia.org:The Maker is Queen and five other ideas.

Sue Schardt shares thoughts inspired by last week's Integrated Media Association and Beyond Broadcast conferences. "This was the first time I’d heard so many people admitting -- in the halls, not on the podiums -- that they’re afraid," she writes.

Five terrible fake pledge-week specials on PBS

Merlin Mann shares five terrible fake pledge-week specials. "Surviving members of every 50s doo-wop band fight to the death with clubs -- shirtless and totally coked-up -- in massive Thunderdome-like arena."

For-profit companies win pieces of edtech grants

PubTV groups that received three big federal Ready to Teach grants are paying substantial sums to for-profit subcontractors, Education Week (registration required) reports in tomorrow's issue. Mary Ann Zehr's article doesn't criticize the decisions but points to them as examples of increased outsourcing to for-profit researchers. PBS and WNET both turned to Hezel Associates for evaluation of their edtech projects; the Syracuse, N.Y., company is expected to bill $8 million total. Rocky Mountain PBS is subcontracting $1.75 million or about 35 percent of its grant to Digital Directions International. In contrast, Education Week says, Alabama PTV subcontracted to nonprofits EDC and Boston College.

Connecting Iowa: KHKE Tower Collapses

The broadcast tower of Iowa Public Radio's KHKE-FM collapsed recently, falling prey to "an inch-think coating of ice and 30-40 mile per hour winds," says IPR's Todd Mundt. The network is putting up an interim low-power antenna while it determines how to pay for rebuilding.

Charlotte Observer | 02/24/2007 | The gift of gab: More listeners tune in for talk

Listeners to WFAE-FM in Charlotte, N.C., spend more time with their station than listeners to any other station in the country, reports the Charlotte Observer. They listen to WFAE an average of 7.8 hours a week. Miami's WLRN is second with a Time Spent Listening index of 7.3 hours.

Great Falls Tribune - www.greatfallstribune.com - Great Falls, MT

In a stunning and suspensefully narrow turn of events, dog owners outpledged cat owners in this year's Pet Wars event on Montana Public Radio, winning by just 13 votes. The cats won last year by 32 votes, reports the Great Falls Tribune.

"Selected Shorts" sets sail

A Selected Shorts cruise sets off from Dubai next month, with host Isaiah Sheffer, Morning Edition commentator Frank Deford and several actors on board. Public TV viewers paid thousands of dollars in 2004 to schmooze at sea with Jim Lehrer and other personalities.

"BBC World" outgrows its niche status

In a profile of BBC World anchor Katty Kay, the Washington Post reports that news program's "niche audience" numbers 1 million American viewers, a stat that puts the show ahead of most hosted cable news programs.

Be Warriors: Marine recruitment on PBS

The Marines, a Feb. 21 documentary directed by former PBS program exec John Grant, prompted many viewers to write to PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler using phrases such as "propagandistic paean," "utter piece of garbage," and "infomercial . . . recruiting our youngsters to the 'warrior ethos' of the Marines." In his weekly webcolumn, Getler agreed with the film's critics. "I felt as though PBS was the willing victim of friendly fire from the producers and, especially, the funders on this one and didn’t take any visible action to protect itself," he wrote. "This is really a very well done testimonial and recruiting film masquerading as a documentary."