Benjamin Franklin
Ken Burns's two-part, four-hour documentary, Benjamin Franklin, explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th century's most consequential and compelling personalities, whose work and words unlocked the mystery of electricity and helped create the United States. Franklin's 84 years (1706-1790) spanned an epoch of momentous change in science, technology, literature, politics, and government — fields he himself advanced through a lifelong commitment to societal and self-improvement.
From The GM's Desk
Welcome Spring! With Spring comes a flurry of activities for WPSU, as everyone works on radio storytelling, wrapping up productions for the semester, maintaining our operations, upcoming pledge drives, planning our summer activities, promoting our work and many other projects. Everyone’s efforts have contributed to a strong year end forecast that will be shared at this month’s All-Staff. I’d also like to recommend that everyone finds time to take off to relax and regenerate. You are greatly appreciated and deserve to take a break!
All my best ...
Birthdays
4/3 - Holly Lowe
4/5 - Dave Gailey
4/7 - Mike DiPasquale
4/8 - Alan Greenspan
4/12 - Baba O'Riley
WPSU Radio Highlights
Wait,Wait... Don't Tell Me Special - Friday, April 1 at 10:00 pm
The hijinks ensue as host Peter Sagal and his merry band head to Alabama to hunt big game including elephants and walrus. Sagal commented that "The Yellowhammer State" was the logical choice for their expedition as everyone knows it's where the Tuscaloosa.
In Case You Missed It . . .
Take Note: Historian David Witwer On Labor Union Corruption And The Disappearance Of Jimmy Hoffa WPSU’s Carolyn Donaldson talks with Dr. David Witwer, professor of American Studies in Penn State Harrisburg School of Humanities, and author and of "Searching for Jimmy Hoffa,” which traces the history of what is known about the Teamsters president's disappearance, his involvement with organized crime, and what his career reveals about working class attitudes towards corruption.
Central Pennsylvania Residents Reflect On Two Years Of The COVID-19 Pandemic WPSU’s Deitric Murphy talked with residents about their experiences in coping with the pandemic.
In Performance at Penn State: March 2022
Hosted by WPSU’s Kristine Allen, this monthly hour-long program that showcases performances from Penn State's School of Music. This month, hear the English suite in G minor by Johann Sebastian Bach, BWV number 808, played by Penn State faculty pianist Christopher Guzman; and the PSU Philharmonic playing the Symphony No. 1 in B-flat, the “Spring” Symphony by Robert Schumann. Listen here.
WPSU Television Highlights
Great Performances at the Met “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” - Friday, April 1 at 9:00 pm
Experience Grammy-winning composer Terence Blanchard and librettist Kasi Lemmon's adaptation of Charles M. Blow's memoir. James Robinson and Camille A. Brown co-direct with Brown choreographing. Baritone Will Liverman stars with soprano Angel Blue.
Great Performances - Friday, April 1 at 11:00 pm
“Sounds of Silence” - The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Seiji Ozawa, make history with this two-hour classical piece where no music is played. Ozawa, also the composer, said that in these days of too much information and noise, he thought it would be a refreshing break for silence to be heard. The score, which is a single page copied 90 times, is noted for its brevity of notes.
Benjamin Franklin - Monday, April 4 and Tuesday, April 5 at 8:00 pm (repeats at 10:00 pm)
Ken Burns’ two-part, four-hour documentary explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th century’s most consequential and compelling personalities, whose work and words unlocked the mystery of electricity and helped create the United States. “Write things worth reading,” he said in Poor Richard’s Almanack, “or do things worth the writing.” Benjamin Franklin did both.
NOVA “Determined: Fighting Alzheimer’s” - Wednesday, April 6 at 9:00 pm
Follow three women at risk of developing Alzheimer's as they join a groundbreaking study to try to prevent the disease - sharing their ups and downs, anxiously watching for symptoms, and hoping they can make a difference.
Mary Berry: Easter Feasts - Saturday, April 9 at 6:00 pm
Mary will share her own favorite Easter recipes, including hot cross buns, Simnel cake and roast lamb, and learn on this gastronomical adventure how every Christian community and culture, from Russians to Filipinos to Caribbeans to Italians to Poles, has its own way of commemorating and celebrating this most important festival through food.
Father Brown “The Menace of Mephistopheles" (Season 9 Premiere) - Saturday, April 9 at 8:00 pm
Inspector Mallory seeks Father Brown’s help when Phillip Darlington is stabbed to death.
Rick Steves on Vacation - Sunday, April 10 at 3:00 pm
Follow the famed traveler as he chucks it all in and goes on holiday in Rhode Island. Instead of taking viewers on a guided tour and showing the unique spots the state has to offer, Steves sleeps in until noon each day and hangs around the hotel in his pajamas. “Look,” said Steves, “I’m exhausted writing all these travel books and taking meticulous notes. I said, 'fuh-get-about-it’ and wanted to show viewers how I really unwind. There’s nothing like doing nothing."
Reclaiming History - Monday, April 11 at 9:00 pm
A 19th century painting, lost for more than 50 years, is discovered in Bradford, PA and restored to its original glory.
Conversations Live! “Get Your Garden On” - Thursday, April 14 at 8:00 pm
Now that spring has sprung, it’s time to get an early jump on your garden planning. On the next Conversations Live, our experts will answer your questions and provide tips to help you get your garden off to a good start.
A Season to Remember: The Baseball Boys of Mon City - Thursday, April 14 at 9:00 pm
The 1952 Little League All Star team of Monongahela, Washington County won the Pennsylvania state championship and made it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. To date, it is the only time a Western Pennsylvania team would compete in the series final. But this wonderful accomplishment would be marred by tragedy.
Ben Franklin Says What? - April 15 at 1:00pm
In a companion piece to the Ken Burn’s two-part doc on Pennsylvania’s most famous citizen, this show contains all of Ben’s greatest hits like “He that lies down with cats, shall rise up with fur; ” “A penny saved is ridiculous;” “In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is Freedom, in water there is bacteria;” “We are all born ignorant, but one must work really, really, really, hard to remain stupid.”
Industry News
NPR Purchases Tote Bag Maker
In a move that became an instant “duh” moment, NPR announced that it has purchased tote bag maker Bagco for $2.3 million. "It’s the no brainer of all-time," said NPR CEO John Lansing. “I mean, vertical integration is where it’s all at these days and NPR should be a player.” Lansing said that stations will see substantial reductions in their tote bags bills and that’s a good thing.
Urban Alternative Station Prepares To Release Audio Nfts In Collaboration With Emerging Artists
Rocky Mountain Public Media’s Urban Alternative station, The Drop, is collaborating with local independent musicians to release an audio NFT playlist that will provide exposure for hip-hop and R&B artists. Music by participating artists will be featured as part of the project, and the musicians will be eligible for a revenue split if the playlist generates revenue, said Nikki Swarn, The Drop’s GM and PD. Artists who have already completed the process of submitting their work for airplay on The Drop are eligible to create audio NFTs for the playlist. Non-fungible tokens are specific units of authenticated digital content that can be sold and traded through blockchain, a data structure that creates a digital record of data that’s difficult to change or hack. NFTs are certificates of ownership of specific digital files.
Private Equity Groups Pay $16B For Nielsen
A private equity consortium has agreed to buy Nielsen Holdings in a cash deal valued at $16 billion, days after the ratings measurement giant turned down a $14 billion bid. Brookfield Asset Management and an Elliott Management division are the consortium's leaders.
Governmental Relations
FEDERAL
In his administration’s just released budget for FY23, President Biden has a request of $565 million in advance funding for public broadcasting .
“We very much appreciate the President’s endorsement of public media’s public service missions and his proposal for a $40 million increase in the federal investment for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,” said Patrick Butler, president and chief executive officer of America’s Public Television Stations. “We are grateful for this recognition of the critical role our local stations play in their communities and the essential services they provide all Americans in education, public safety and civic leadership.
“The President’s funding recommendation would help restore the $100 million in lost purchasing power caused by 10 years of flat federal funding for CPB, and if approved by Congress will set us on a path toward dramatic improvements in the ability of local public television stations to provide the educational services, the public safety communications, the civic literacy and the beloved programming which millions of Americans need and value.
“We are also appreciative that the President’s budget recommends $60 million in FY 2023 for the annual station interconnection account, which is the backbone of the public broadcasting system, supporting nationwide emergency alerting, providing local stations with national programming, connecting stations with each other, and creating operational efficiencies. This fund also supports important system-wide digital infrastructure, addressing our system’s growing needs including cybersecurity, modern content delivery networks, and data management, among others.
“We are grateful for the President’s strong support for public media and this promising beginning to the FY 2023 funding process. We look forward to working with the bipartisan public media supporters in Congress to ensure that this federal funding, so necessary to sustaining public media’s essential public service missions, is approved as the appropriations process moves forward.”
Sharknado?
LONDON — A 25-foot tall (7.6 meter) sculpture of a shark crashing through the roof of Magnus Hanson-Heine’s house in rural Oxford, England, is now a protected landmark — and he’s not happy about it. Hanson-Heine loves the installation, erected by his father and a local sculptor in 1986 as an anti-war, anti-nuke protest that still remains relevant now as bombs fall on Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin rattles his nuclear weapons. But he says the Oxford City Council ignored his father’s other message this week when it designated the structure a heritage site that makes a “special contribution” to the community. Bill Heine installed the shark without the approval of local officials because he didn’t think they should have the right to decide what art people see, and the council spent years trying to remove the sculpture. “Using the planning apparatus to preserve a historical symbol of planning law defiance is absurd on the face of it,” Hanson-Heine, a quantum chemist, said in an interview with The Associated Press. Picture here.
A Fool's Errand
"The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year." — Mark Twain
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