Justice Dept. says Ninth Circuit ruling on ads threatens noncom character of pubcasting

The U.S. Justice Department is asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its April ruling that a federal law banning public television and radio stations from running political advertising was unconstitutional, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Justice Department contends the ruling "threatens the noncommercial, educational character of public broadcasting." A rehearing could take the form of a review by a larger panel of Ninth Circuit judges, the newspaper says.

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.

WAMU's Tom "Cat" Reeder dies at 77

Tom “Cat” Reeder, longtime country music broadcaster and host of The Tom “Cat” Reeder Show on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country, died June 30, the station reports. He was 77.

Reeder joined WAMU in Washington, D.C., in 2001, as one of several rotating hosts of Bluegrass Overnight. His final broadcast was June 19.

A tribute will air at 9 p.m. Tuesday (July 3) on WAMU 88.5 and WAMU’s Bluegrass Country.

PRADO announces scholarship winners for PMDMC

The Public Radio Association of Development Officers (PRADO) is again providing travel scholarships for the Public Media Development and Marketing Conference, July 12-14 in Seattle. This year’s winners: Cindy Sweat, KSTK, Wrangell, Alaska; Amy Kramer Johnson, KCAW, Sitka, Alaska; Macadio Namoki, KUYI, Kearns Canyon, Ariz.; Astha Shrestha, WICN, Worchester, Mass.; Leslie Ross, KHNS, Haines, Alaska; Lila Strode, KEDM, Monroe, La.; David Steffen, KZYX, Philo, Calif.; Brianna Ezzell, KVMR, Nevada City, Calif.; and Mindy Anderson, KFSK, Petersburg, Alaska. PRADO has offered the scholarships since 2001, to allow development professionals to attend the conference, hosted annually by Development Exchange Inc. This year, conference co-host is PBS.

NJTV, one year later

One year after NJTV replaced the state-run NJN, "reaction to the service is decidedly mixed," reports the Star-Ledger. "Supporters applaud the station’s progress. Critics are more numerous and more blunt."

“It’s a wake, not an anniversary,” Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex) said. “Effectively, NJTV is dead. Nobody watches it.”

Fewer viewers are tuning in, the newspaper said. This spring, NJ Today averaged around 22,000 viewers total for its three nightly broadcasts — about half of the viewers who tuned into NJN news during the same period last year.

But progress should be put into context, others say. “When you look at what NJN did in the range of $22 (million) to $30 million a year and look at what this new entity has done with a budget of about $10 million, I think they have done incredible things,” said Liz Thomas, board member of Public Media New Jersey, the nonprofit corporation behind NJTV.

Free Press proposes new definition of pubmedia; GFEM renames itself

PHILADELPHIA — A new Free Press report released at this week’s annual Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media conference here envisions an expanded, more inclusive and better coordinated public media for America.

Craig Aaron, president of the media-reform group, presented “Greater Than the Sum: Creating Collaborative and Connected Public Media in America” Thursday (June 28) to some 100 media makers and funders.

Drawing from the report, Aaron proposed six categories for inclusion in a broader definition of public media:

•  Noncoms such as NPR, PBS and Link TV;

• Community media, including radio stations owned by local nonprofits and nonprofit online journalism projects;

• Independent producers in film, radio, print and digital multimedia, such as the Association of Independents in Radio;

• Independent nonprofit publications and websites, such Mother Jones and ProPublica;

• Information media, including websites that aggregate information or offer informative interactive applications, such as SeeClickFix; and

• Capacity-building organizations, like the National Center for Media Engagement, that provide resources and analysis for the field.

Aaron said that while he recognizes the hurdles in bringing the diverse groups under one umbrella, only through such collective action can public media access adequate funding and move forward.

In the meantime, GFEM itself is doing a little redefining. The group, an association of grantmakers working in the fields of media arts and public-interest media, unveiled a name change at the conference, meant to reflect its own broader mission. The organization will now be called Media Impact Funders. — Debra E. Blum

"Fresh Air" heading into Radio Hall of Fame

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, the popular talk show from WHYY in Philadelphia and distributed by NPR, is being inducted into the Chicago-based Radio Hall of Fame, reports Chicago media writer Robert Feder. Other honorees, with details from Radio Info: Legendary shock jock Howard Stern; Cincinnati on-air personality Gary Burbank; Ron Chapman of Dallas; Art Laboe, who coined the phrase "oldies but goodies"; 90-year-old Luther Massingill, still on the air at WDEF in Chattanooga, Tenn., after more than 70 years; and a posthumous induction for Jack Cooper, an African-American announcer in Chicago in the 1930s. They'll all be honored at ceremonies Nov. 10 at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, set for national telecast.

"No strip club on Sesame Street!"

Looks like WPBT2 in Miami may be getting a nudie bar as a new neighbor — literally on the road dubbed Sesame Street, where the station is located. The Miami Herald reports that Thursday night (June 28), the North Miami City Council lifted a ban on alcohol sales in strip clubs, which the owners of Sunny Isles Eatery had requested. They want to invest $2 million in a building next to the studio for the club.

A previous Herald story said Sunny Isles Eatery also ran Thee Dollhouse in Sunny Isle Beach, "where female dancers performed friction dances and participated in onstage showers with each other –– or with customers."

“For me this isn’t about adult entertainment and their [having a] right to exist. Of course they do," said WPBT2 President Rick Schneider. "This isn’t about morality or free speech.” Schneider said that children are often at the station. “Alcohol is what makes it problematic," Schneider said. "It’s the combination of alcohol sales at adult entertainment venues that creates a concern.”

A website from opponents declared, "No strip club on Sesame Street!"