Six Peabodies awarded to pubcasters

An NPR report on post-traumatic stress disorder among Iraq War veterans and a PBS American Masters documentary on Andy Warhol are two of six pubcasting entries to receive 2006 Peabody Awards.

Bill Siemering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jim Russell has posted a Wikipedia entry on Bill Siemering and invites others to contribute. It begins, "Bill Siemering is a certified genius."

Crossroads ready for its closeup

It's been a bumpy ride -- critics hammered the inital idea, directors complained of undue interference from above, advisers quit -- but the post-9/11 series America at a Crossroads is finally set for broadcast, says the New York Times. (See Current's stories on its development, criticism, controversy, emergence and more recent flaps.)

In Albuquerque Journal, PBS is "losing the battle"

"[I]t is fundamentally wrong to exclude the Latino experience on a subject of the magnitude of World War II, especially in a high-profile, publicly supported project like The War," says Eduardo Díaz, executive director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center, in an Albuquerque Journal report on the controversy over Ken Burns' forthcoming PBS series. In an editorial published today, the Journal calls on KNME to drop Burns' documentary from its schedule and highlight local programs on New Mexico's WWII veterans.

Grandmas get their game on

The gaming industry has discovered an enthusiastic and growing audience among retirees, according to the New York Times. “Baby boomers and up are definitely our fastest-growing demographic, and it is because the fear factor is diminishing,” said Beatrice Spaine, pogo.com marketing director. “Women come for the games, but they stay for the community....It’s kind of a MySpace for seniors.”

Art of "self-help hucksters" explained

Vermont PTV's Ann Curran describes the art of pledge programming to a Burlington Free Press writer who can't tell the difference between Suze Orman and Christiane Northrup.

Hispanic caucus presses PBS on "The War"

Leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus met with public TV executives on Tuesday to discuss their concerns about the absence of Latino-American veterans in The War, Ken Burns' 14-hour World War II documentary series slated for a PBS debut in September. Lawmakers may try to restrict pubTV's federal funding if PBS doesn't address their concerns, according to Politico, a newspaper and website covering the Washington, D.C., political scene. "The bottom line is we also have the right to do what we can economically with PBS to show our displeasure," said Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas). "I hope it won't come to that."

Kartemquin Films honored by MacArthur Foundation

The MacArthur Foundation named Chicago's Kartemquin Films, a frequent pubTV producer, as one of this year's eight recipients of its MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. The Chronicle of Philanthropy profiles Kartemquin, headed by co-founder Gordon Quinn. The company is known for Hoop Dreams, Refrigerator Mothers and the series The New Americans, among other social documentaries.

Critics bash boomer mythologizing on PBS

TV writers at the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times agree: tonight's two-hour PBS documentary The Boomer Century is a tiresome rehash.

Investigative reports cited with IRE Awards

Nuestra Familia/Our Family, a Center for Investigative Reporting doc for public TV about the Latino gang that grew in California's agricultural valleys, received an IRE Medal and the Tom Renner Award for crime reporting from Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc., IRE announced Monday. The award credits producer/director Oriana Zill de Granados, Julia Reynolds and George Sanchez of CIR. CPB and Latino Public Broadcasting were among the funders. [Program website.] The doc premiered last year on KQED and aired nationally last fall as part of Latino Public Broadcasting's Voces series, distributed by American Public Television. The film was edited by David Ritscher, who is also production coordinator for Frontline/World. NPR's Daniel Zwerdling, Anne Hawke and Ellen Weiss won an IRE Certificate for "Mental Anguish and the Military," about emotional damage suffered by Iraq War vets.