Evans Leaving KUT; Plans to Consult & Coach

PRPD Board Chair and KUT Program Director, Jody Evans, has announced she will be leaving her position in Austin to return to her home and family in Vermont.

She said, unfortunately the struggling economy made it difficult for her family to relocate to Austin. She’ll be leaving KUT next month.

Evans said will continue to work with KUT as well as other public radio stations and organizations in programming and development as well as management coaching. She is just completing her term on the PRPD Board.

NFCB President, CEO Retiring

Carol Pierson, president and CEO of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters writes:

I am retiring as president and CEO of NFCB in January 2010. I will be 65 at that time and want to have more time to travel and spend time with my far-flung family.

These last 13 years at NFCB have been extremely rewarding for me. The membership has grown from under 100 to nearly 150 participant members – the budget from around $250,000 to about $1.5 million. I’m most proud of bringing a sense of unity to Community Radio and expanding our reach through collaborations with many organizations in public broadcasting and the media democracy movement.

Before joining NFCB Pierson served as program director and director of radio productions at KQED/San Francisco and assistant station manager and director of operations and national programming director at WGBH/Boston. She started in radio at WYSO/Yellow Springs, OH.

Ginny Berson is heading the transition committee, which hopes to have Pierson's replacement hired in November and taking over in January.

Conference Early Bird Rate to Remain In Place

In case you're not on our email list, here's some news we sent yesterday about how we're making attendance at thios year's 2009 Public Radio Programming Conference as affordable as possible.

Our Early Bird Deadline for registration to the 2009 Public Radio Programming Conference in Cleveland was set for August 1. Rather than institute an increase at that time, the PRPD Board has decided that we should help as many of you attend as possible, so we will hold that rate throughout the conference registration period, including walk ups.

We ask that you please take a few minutes to read the rest of this note for the whole story. We hope that by being as candid as possible, you will be able to make win-win decisions for you and for PRPD. The good news is that, as of today, our registration is on track with last year.

The risk in lifting the Early Bird is that the deadline has always resulted in a surge of registrations. To help alleviate that risk, we earnestly urge you not to procrastinate, to register as soon as possible. That will help us plan our conference venues, events, food, etc. and assure that we have plenty for everyone without overspending. But we didn’t want to promote the deadline ingenuously and then lift it.

One of the hidden issues in conference management is the fact that hotel contracts include room night guarantees – with penalties for falling short. We understand that money is tight, but we hope you’ll remember this as you seek to economize and urge you to book your stay at the Renaissance Cleveland as soon as possible. We have done all that we can to keep your costs to attend as low as possible. Here are some of the new features to make sure your trip is as economical as possible:

1. Airfare discount: If you are flying to Cleveland, you can get a discount on Continental Airlines.
2. Free Ground Transportation: Registrants will receive a free week-long pass on Cleveland Regional Transit. This includes completely indoor rail between airport and the hotel.
3. Most meals included:
   a. Breakfasts and Lunches provided (by NPR, PRI and APM) Wednesday and Thursday.
   b. “Heavy Hors d’oeuvres” at Tuesday evening’s ideastream©/WCPN opening reception and Thursday Rock Hall event.

The conference will be held September 15-18, with pre-conference workshops starting on the 13th. We are excited about the agenda, designed to help you make the most of your time and take home ideas that will help you thrive in a time of “more with less”.

And the evening events will be as entertaining as the content is enlightening.

Look forward to seeing you in Cleveland!

Thriving in a Challenging Environment

This morning as we entered PRPD World HQ (right) a tiny Petunia had sprouted and flowered in the gravel at the foot of our stairs.

Seems like a wonderful reminder of opportunism in nature, a metaphor for what might even be a conference subtitle, above.
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Daniel Schorr Prize Competition

We normally shy away form promoting award competitions - there are so many that it would clog the blog. But this one is run by a PRPD member station, WBUR in Boston. So, young journalists take note:

The Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize, jointly sponsored by WBUR and Boston University, honors a young public radio journalist who has produced a news piece within the past year of particular significance to the listening public. The work must have been broadcast on a CPB-qualified public radio station.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, September 11, 2009.

Prize criteria and pertinent application forms can be found on the WBUR website.

P.S. Last year's winner was newly named Weekend ATC host, Guy Raz (see previous entry here)
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Guy Raz New Weekend ATC Host

NPR announced today that Guy Raz will be the permanent host for Weekend All Things Considered. He has been Defense Correspondent and was serviing as interim host until today. According to an NPR release today:

Guy joined us as an intern on ATC in 1997, and his obvious talents quickly moved him into ever-widening areas of responsibility. He became NPR's Berlin bureau chief in 2000 and London bureau chief in 2003 -- reporting from more than 40 countries. He took a two-year sojourn to CNN, which we won't hold against him, during which he served as their Jerusalem correspondent. He returned to us in 2006 to cover the Pentagon.
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Alaskan Pubcasters Consider Merging

Several public radio outlets in Alaska are consider becoming one, according to the Anchorage Daily News. It reports that officials from stations in Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks as well as the Alaska Public Radio Network have met with Livingston Associates to study possible merger scenarios.

The newspaper reports that a merger could lead to "... cost efficiencies, a better ability to invest in emerging media to deliver information and a unified voice to advocate for public broadcasting in Alaska."

Involved in the talks are the Alaska Public Radio Network, KAKM-TV and KSKA-FM in Anchorage, KUAC in Fairbanks and KTOO in Juneau.

If a merger happens, it could occur a year from now, according to the newspaper.

WBUR Updates its Website Too

WBUR/Boston also has a new look for its website.

An explanation on the site says:

Today we are excited to introduce a redesigned, refocused and re-energized wbur.org. The new wbur.org launches with a new mission: to be a premier destination for the most timely news of the day from Boston, the nation and the world — news with the unrivaled depth and perspective that are the hallmarks of NPR and of public radio stations like WBUR.

Schiller, Wilson Comment on Strategies of New Website

Like a debutante at the cotillion, the revised NPR.org has taken its bows and lots of people are applauding. The proud parents are also bragging about it.

Update: NPR's Vivian Schiller talks to Newsweek about the makeover.

NPR President & CEO Vivian Schiller told The New York Times:
“We are a news content organization, not just a radio organization.” Schiller, who previously was the digital diva for the Times, also said the site will transition “from being a companion to radio to being a news destination in its own right.”

The retooled NPR.org is also meant to fill in between the programming tent poles of Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

Kinsey Wilson, senior vice president and general manager of NPR Digital Media, said in the Times that the site will include more written reports and photographs because, "We think the midday experience is much more text-driven."

One thing you won't see on the new-look NPR.org: more video. Schiller said she and Wilson are not convinced NPR ought to be "... heavily invested in video."

Fast Company weighs in on the Website revision.

It's Easy: NPR to Debut New Look for Website on Monday

NPR is previewing its redesigned website in a YouTube video hosted by Scott Simon.

The three minute video goes to great pains to explain how easy the site is to use; how articles are easier to find with an improved Google-driven search function; and how easy it is to see and hear reports on the news. In short, in three minutes, Simon refers to the site and its functions being "easier" six times; says the site is simplified and how people will find news of the day "easily".

At the top of the site is a function visitors can use to find public radio stations around the country. The new site includes more visuals and the ability to listen to a story, download it or get a printed transcript.

In a posting about the redesign, NPR says the launch date is Monday.

NPR is also working on making itself more accessible by mobile users. Writing on NPR.com, Kinsey Wilson and Dick Meyer said:

Later this summer, we also plan to enhance our support for a variety of popular mobile platforms. Our goal is to make sure that anyone with a mobile device can enjoy NPR and our stations. We want NPR to be always on for you.

The New Public Radio Tuner is a Playa

The Public Radio Tuner for the iPhone updated over the weekend, reaching version 2.0 with a new name: Public Radio Player.

What's the difference between a Tuner and a Player? The new iPhone app not only offers more than 300 live streams from public radio stations; it now streams on-demand content (I call it podcasts without the pod) from hundreds of shows and features.

The new app includes the features of the original version, including the ability to choose "favorite" stations, and a "local" button that uses the phone's location services to find nearby public stations.

The Public Radio Tuner/Player has been highly popular with iPhone users, garnering positive reviews in recent months, and more than 1.8 million downloads, and counting. Here's some of the press around the new release, including the "debate" about the Player's impact on public radio's future.

• Public Radio Dangerously Close to Making Public Radio Obsolete (Paid Content)
• How One iPhone App Could Save Public Radio (ReadWriteWeb)
• iPhone App Has Us Wondering if Radio's Future is On-Demand (Ars Technica)

Note: if you read the Paid Content piece, you'll discover very quickly that Rafat Ali means that public radio listening on radio could become obsolete because of the app - not the institution of public radio.

Facebook Rules! Users Share More Content With It than With Email

AddToAny, makers of a popular widget that allows users to share content via a variety of applications, says that Facebook is more popular than email with folks who want to tell their BFFs and others about the latest article, video or website they found.

AddToAny's data show Facebook accounts for 24 percent of shares from their widget. That more than doubles what people share by email(11.1 percent) or Twitter 10.8 percent.

See the details on Mashable.

Stations Combine with NPR Music to Air/Stream Newport Music Festivals

NPR Music and several public radio stations are combining efforts to broadcast and stream two major concerts in Newport, RI this summer.

NPR and stations WFUV of New York, FolkAlley.com (WKSU) of Kent, Ohio and mvyradio out of Martha's Vineyard will provide wall-to-wall coverage of the 50th annual Folk Fest on Aug. 1 and 2. Headlining are Pete Seeger and Joan Baez, Fleet Foxes, The Decemberists and Neko Case.

NPR will collaborate with WBGO/Newark and WGBH/Boston to cover the CareFusion Jazz Festival 55 on Aug. 8 and August 9. Among the bigger names at the jazz fest: Tony Bennett, Mos Def, Chaka Kahn, Jane Monheit and The Bad Plus with Wendy Lewis.

Both festivals are held at Fort Adams State Park.

RTNDA, SPJ to Merge conferences

This from today's Inside Radio:

In another sign of how tough the conference business has become, the Radio-Television News Directors Association will hold a joint convention with the Society of Professional Journalists in 2011. The two groups say they're still in the "planning stages" of working out the details.

The RTNDA website says that the organizations are "working on" holding a joint conference in 2011:

"As our members are working with new partnerships across all media platforms, this is the time to cast off the old silos found in journalism conventions and bring working journalists of all kinds together, coordinating efforts and resources to reach the entire journalism community--broadcasters, print, and online. One convention would not only be efficient but also provide a platform for training, networking and collaboration on a greater scale," said Stacey Woelfel, chairman of RTNDA. "Our hope is that even more journalism organizations will see the value of the concept and decide to join us."

Public As PD? ...even more on WNYC/WQXR

The author of the NYT article cited in the last post has posed the question online "What Would You Do With the New WQXR?" Click the link to see how readers have responded.

Of course, the issue here, as with all the new ways people can interact, is does this provide any meaningful feedback or is it a just another soapbox for special interests to advocate for their own tastes?
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More Details on NY Classical Station

This morning's New York Times gives greater detail about WNYC's plans for the new WQXR. WNYC President, Laura Walker, was quoted as saying, “Our sole purpose in acquiring the station is to preserve classical music.”

The article goes on to say that current WQXR staff will have to reapply for their jobs, with no guarantees of being rehired. Some additional info:

The public station’s performance studio will be used for more live broadcasts. More local musicians and institutions will be featured, said Dean Cappello, the senior vice president for programming for WNYC.

“We’re about the music first,” he said. “We want to have a reliable, companionable place for people to experience classical music. That’s the first demand of anything, but it’s going to sound different because commercials are going to come off. You can play longer pieces.”
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Hot Tuna, Ruthie Foster at PRPD

Register Now!

This year there will be TWO special opening night events at PRPD's upcoming Public Radio Programming Conference in Cleveland, on Tuesday September 15. We're excited to announce that both The Ruthie Foster Band and Acoustic Hot Tuna (Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casaday) will be appearing at a party at the House of Blues from 9:00-11:00pm hosted by WKSU/Folk Alley.

We'll start the evening off with a reception from 7:00-9:00pm at the state-of-the-art Idea Center, home to ideastream® WCPN Radio and WVIZ-TV. Located in a renovated building, in the heart of Cleveland’s Playhouse Square District, the facility is designed to work for a truly integrated cross-media organization. It's a great chance to reunite with colleagues, eat and drink a little and see a wonderful facility.

The 2009 Public Radio Programming Conference is just 2 months away. If you have not yet registered, do it now to get the LOWEST RATE. To help save you money, all registrants will receive a free week-long pass on Cleveland RTA that will get you to and from the airport on fast, modern, convenient rail (all indoors) and to and from evening events.

On Tuesday, September 15, we’ll begin the conference with format meetings – Jazz stations at Noon, Classical at 1:00pm, News and Info at 2pm. Newcomers session begins at 4:00.

From Wednesday morning, (Sept 16) through Noon on Friday, we'll have a full slate of speakers and panels addressing the latest issues in the programming world. We're also collaborating with the Third Coast Audio Festival and AIR to presnt Third Coast at PRPD, a special slate of sessions designed by them especially by the for both producers and PD. Watch this space and your email for many more details in the next few days.

And don’t forget about pre-conference training opportunities – the legendary PD Workshop, a special PPM Workshop from RRC and the incredible David Candow leading an Interviewing Workshop for PDs (and other supervisors of interviewers).

Finally, you won’t want to miss our special Thursday Night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (open just for our conference) sponsored by PRI, APM and NPR.

Register now for the Early Bird rate of $445/ PRPD Members (and AIR members), $695/non-members. This year we will arrange for flexible billing to fit your budget.

Please join us!

PPM Faces Lawsuit & Congressional Investigation

News about Arbitron and its PPMs is more likely to show up in law journals than in radio trade publications and blogs these days. The ratings company faces another lawsuit, this one lodge by the State of Florida.

According to The Orlando Business Journal:

The lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court by Attorney General Bill McCollum, alleges that Arbitron’s sampling methodology “significantly undercounts” minority listeners, and that the “flawed ratings … threaten the viability of ratio stations … that air programming targeted at those minorities."

In addition, the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters' Executive Director James Winston has called for the House Committee on the Judiciary to begin an investigation. He said the PPM process has not been certified by the Media Rating Council in 13 out of 15 PPM markets.

Colorado Station's Signal Being Tampered With

It appears that someone is messing with the signal of KUNC, public radio in Greeley, CO.

KUNC's GM Neil Best said in a letter to listeners:

"There is an unauthorized, local signal that has been sending out brief, spurious signals, starting on Friday, resulting in the clicks and dropouts you are hearing. We are continuing to search for the source of the problem. In the interim we will switch our delivery service to satellite this afternoon. I apologize for the poor service you have been receiving and for our inability to make a more immediate correction."

It appears that someone is tampering with the STL (studio to transmitter link) between the station and the transmitter antenna on Buckhorn Mountain, west of Fort Collins.

WNYC Buying Classical WQXR

WNYC will be acquiring WQXR, New York's Classical station, from The New York Times in a complex deal including Univision.

The Times today reported:

"WQXR would move to a weaker signal near the high end of the FM band, and would become a listener-supported station, owned by WNYC, the nation’s largest public radio station. The Times Company, which has been trying to shed assets to raise cash and weather a newspaper industry downturn, would receive $45 million, but would sever ties with a station it has owned since 1944."

An article on the WNYC website clarifies the cash exchange:

When all is said and done -- pending FCC approval which is expected in the fall -- WQXR will move to 105.9 and be run by WNYC as a classical station. Univision's Spanish-language music station will move from 105.9 to 96.3 FM. Univision will pay the Times 33.5 million dollars, and WNYC will pay Univision 11.5 million..

Streaming Displacing Downloads?

... at least in the UK, according to a Guardian UK article. They report on a new survey of 1,000 "fans" that showed "...that the number of teenagers illegally sharing music has fallen dramatically in the past year." The article says:

The research revealed that many teenagers (65%) are streaming music regularly, with more 14 to 18 year olds (31%) listening to streamed music on their computer every day compared with music fans overall (18%).

The picture may be more complex than a simple shift from filesharing to streaming, with people sharing music in new ways such as via bluetooth technology, on blogs, and through copying, also known as ripping content from friends' MP3 devices.

It cites one example:

Music fan Dominique Wakefield, 24, said she had stopped downloading music because of concern that it would infect her computer. "I didn't even realise it was illegal for a long time, until I heard that the government were trying to stop it. That did put me off, but one of the big reasons I stopped doing it was because I would get viruses, more pop ups on my computer. While I was at uni I started listening to streamed music using MySpace. Bands would be friends with other bands and it was a great way of discovering new music. I don't really feel the need to own all that music, I know it's always there.

Audio report.

PRPD Office Back Up (fingers crossed)

The floors at PRPD World HQ are back to their 1880's railroad terminal shine and, after a full day of plugging wires, running software and Hollis talking to tech support, we seem to have re-established internet and telephone.

We think we've kept up with calls and correspondences over the last week, but if you left a message or sent an email that has not received a response, you might want to let us know, resend the message, etc.

Now back to the business of ramping up for the conference - just 2 months away!!!
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An Enclave of Entertainment in Cleveland

WKSU's Mark Urycki alerted us to a piece in yesterday's New York Times about the vital entertainment scene just blocks from the site of this year's PRPD Public Radio Programming Conference.
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Prometheus: If HD Wants More Power, Increase Public Service Requirements

The Low Power FM advocacy group, Prometheus Radio Project, thinks if the FCC approves a 10-fold power hike for HD Radio signals, it should come at a price.

Prometheus says tougher public interest obligations should be required of broadcasters. And, it wants proof that stronger stations won’t interfere with low-power FMs, which is similar to NPR's position. NPR supports increasing HD transmission power provided it avoids harmful interference to analog radio services.

Happy 10th Birthday to WNYC's Radio Rookies

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, WNYC's Radio Rookies will broadcast “Growing Up, Getting By”, the first ever special created by young people in the program that teaches radio skills. Host Marianne McCune, who started the program, will revisit some of the stories that Rookies worked on, and follow up with some to see what they have done since being in the program.


WNYC's website explains the genesis of the program:

McCune started the program as a summer radio and photography workshop with a group of kids in Harlem. The stories were a hit, so WNYC management took a risk and gave the go-ahead for more workshops. Since then, we’ve been making our way across New York City’s five boroughs–working with dozens of teens willing to devote themselves and their time to an old-school medium. After the multi-month production process and after their stories air, we stay in touch with most of the Rookies for years, via email, text, and telephone, at reunions and, of course, on Facebook.

Ira Glass Receives Murrow Award

I'm at the PRDMC in San Diego at the CPB awards luncheon... Ira Glass is receiving the annual Edward R. Murrow Award.

Ira is best known for his program This American Life, distributed by PRI.

Some quotes:

"...radio is in a particularly good position in media these days, because of its intimacy"

"as other journalism becomes more endangered, the fact that we have healthy audiences and abusiness model that still works... it makes it that much more important what we are doing."

"Its time to be more ambitious... we need to stay bold... we need great new shows... our mission is innovation..."

"There needs to be a place in this country where the people are doing broadcasting not for the money, but because there are things that need to be said..."

Public Radio People Make Power Grid Listing on New Media Site

There is a new power grid in town and this one has nothing to do with delivering electricity to you home or your radio station.

Power Grid is a feature on the new media website Mediaite.com overseen by Dan Abrams. It tracks media issues and Power Grid ranks media folks -- including radio hosts -- base on a formula* based on a variety of things from listeners/viewers to blog mentions and Twitter followers.

A number of public radio folks are among the 84 folks ranked on the radio-related Power Grid:

10. Michele Norris
11. Steve Inskeep
13. Melissa Block
14. Renee Montagne
20. Scott Simon
24. Ira Glass
30. Tavis Smiley
40. Garrison Keillor
48. Monica Crowley
54. Frank DeFord
56. Cokie Roberts
63. David Folkenflik
64. Daniel Schorr
67. Bob Garfield
70. Peter Sagal
77. Deborah Amos
83. Karl Kassel

For comparison's sake, Rush Limbaugh is number one and Rose Somma Tennent is 84th.

*This page ranks 84 Radio Hosts who serve as the primary host, announcer, or commentator on a given radio program. Their rankings are determined based on: Radio Ratings of the host’s program, Online Buzz of proper name, Blogs Buzz of proper name,and Twitter Followers (if applicable). You might at times see an individual ranked higher than any of their individual metric rankings -- keep in mind that our algorithm weights some metrics more than others.

CandowTrains the Trainers - Pre-Conference Interviewing Workshop

http://prpd.org/training/workshops/candow_workshop.aspx

...to help you improve your staffs interview skills.




We've arranged for David Candow to work with uo to 12 PD's in a 2-day workshop on Sunday and Monday September 13 and 14th, before the conference.

Designed to train the trainers – that is, help PD’s go back to their stations with the knowledge to help improve their staffs interview skills. It will be held just prior to the 2009 Public Radio Programming Conference in Cleveland.

This workshop is specifically customized for Program Directors. In short, the objective of the work shop is: Learning how to better direct your staff to produce better interviews.

Go to: http://prpd.org/training/Conference/conference_general.aspx for all conference and workshop links

PRPD Office Goes Virtual This Week

We are not in the office this week as we are having the floors refinished - due to a water pipe breaking in winter freeze... Everything disconnected there but David Hollis will be working from home and I will be online from the PRDMC in San Diego. We hope to be back at the office next Monday, July 13... (fingers crossed on getting the network back up quickly!).

You can still contact us at info@prpd.org - our phones should be forwarded, but it might be a little less reliable this week. Please be patient and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Brand to Give ATC a West Coast Feel?

"There's value and virtue in having people in different parts of the country. We are interested to see how this actually changes our show."

That's what All Things Considered EP Chris Turpin told the LA Times' James Rainey recently. He was commenting about Madeleine Brand, who previously hosted the late Day to Day from Los Angeles, being part of the All Things Considered team while Michelle Norris is on leave.

Brand told the Times:

They [NPR execs] are really embracing the idea of having the show sound like it's coming from the West and doing something different. I am excited about that.

Conference Speakers

An outstanding lineup of keynote speakers have agreed to be part of the the upcoming PRPD Public Radio Programming Conference, Sept. 15-18 in Cleveland. We have confirmed the following keynoters and general sessions:

• Vivian Schiller, President and CEO of National Public Radio – her first address to the programming community.
• Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Center for the Internet and American Life.
• Bob Garfield, host of On The Media and author of “The Chaos Scenario”.
• “New Results From the 2nd Annual Public Radio Technology Survey”, presented by Paul Jacobs, General Manager, Jacobs Media.
• “Journalism in the New Media Ecosystem “with Bill Buzenberg, Executive Director, Center for Public Integrity; Ellen Weiss, Senior Vice President of NPR News; and Mark Effron, Executive Producer, The Takeaway.
  

We have a lot more in the planning process, including a full slate of “Third Coast at PRPD” joint sessions, focus on Talk Programs and multi-platform developments. Watch for more announcements in the coming weeks.

And, there's our “Private Evening at the Rock Hall of Fame and Museum”, a special Thursday night event for conference attendees only, sponsored by American Public Media, National Public Radio and Public Radio International.

Register for the conference now to receive the lowest, Early Bird rate.

Iowa Public Radio Trims Staff

Iowa Public Radio announced earlier this week it would cut nine positions in the final steps of a reorganization that began several years ago, and that combined three station groups into one statewide organization.

IPR CEO Mary Grace Herrington said staff resources will be moved "... into critical areas such as news reporting, talk show programming and marketing services." She said several employees will take early retirement, while others are being offered severance packages, and four vacant positions will not be filled.

The realignment was meant to reduce IPR's reliance on funding from Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa.

Herrington attributes much of IPR's increased donor support to changes in programming that began in 2007 when it adopted separate formats: news and information, classical music, and alternative music. Since the programming changes, IPR listenership has increased 22 percent.

Pellegrini Passes

We note with sorrow the passing of legendary WFMT broadcaster Norm Pellegrini at the age 79. He joined the station and became program director in 1953, holding the position until 1996. In a Facebook posting, WFMT Executive VP for Radio, Steve Robinson, wrote:

No one in WFMT’s 58 year history had more influence on WFMT’s sound, style and programming than Norm Pellegrini and he shaped that sound every day for the nearly 45 years he worked as our program director. Over the decades, many have admired and praised WFMT’s programming for its diversity, richness, breadth and integrity. All of those elements, and so much more, are Norm’s legacy and we honor him today and every day by our devotion to maintaining the standards he set so high. He will be missed.

WFMT will pay tribute to his memory throughout the day today. Anyone wishing to share a memory, recollection or comment about Norm can do so via email to: comments@wfmt.com or by phone at (773) 279-2174.

Grehn Exits Connecticut Public Broadcasting

Kim Grehn is leaving Connecticut Public Broadcasting. As of July12, his position as VP/Station Manager for WNPR has been eliminated.

Kim says:

I'll miss working with a very talented staff that helped transform the station from dual format to a news and information service. WNPR's transition resulted in audience growth, increased membership and increased revenue from underwriters even in our current economy. The growth is evidence of WNPR's increased value as a community service.

Congressional Committee Looks Into PPM

Congressman Edolphus Towns, a democrat from New York's 10th District and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Tuesday announced that he has launched an investigation into Arbitron's PPM methodology. Towns' investigation will focus on the alleged under-representation of minorities on its listener panels.

The FMQB website reports:

"I remain deeply concerned that without deliberate and timely investigations into this matter the increased use of PPM will further threaten the financial viability of minority targeted radio stations," said Towns in a letter to the FCC, according to Reuters.

Arbitron President/CEO Michael Skarzynski, responded:

"Arbitron welcomes any opportunity to discuss the importance of electronic measurement, the effectiveness of the PPM technology, the value of the data it produces and our disciplined approach to the deployment of the service across the United States."