This July 4th, A CAPITOL FOURTH welcomes country music star and four-time Grammy-nominee Mickey Guyton as host of the 42nd edition of America’s national Independence Day celebration on PBS. Guyton will lead an all-star cast in a patriotic evening of unrivaled musical performances by top stars from pop, country, R&B, classical and Broadway featuring the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of premier pops conductor Jack Everly. Airs 7/4 at 8pm with an encore showing at 9:30pm.
Birthdays
7/4 - USA,
(There are no WPSU birthdays this time.) :-)
WPSU Radio Highlights
The ARC of Justice - Thursdays at 7pm, beginning July 7
For every dollar of wealth owned by the average white household in the U.S., the average Black household possesses a mere ten cents.It didn't need to be this way. At several historic moments, the trajectory of U.S. racial inequality could have changed dramatically. But at each juncture, the road chosen veered away from a more just and fair America.This radio series from WUNC and Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy's Ways & Means podcast that responds to the need for Acknowledgement, Redress and Closure (ARC) to remedy historical injustices that have been faced by Black Americans.
In Performance at Penn State - Friday, July 8 at 11am
A monthly, hour-long show that presents the talents of students and faculty from Penn State's School of Music on the University Park Campus. The series showcases performers and music in each program, most recorded live in-concert.
In Case You Missed It . . .
Penn State Plans To Sell The Nittany Lion Inn And Penn Stater, While Keeping The Land
WPSU’s Ann Danahy reported Penn State plans to sell the Nittany Lion Inn and Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center and lease the land they're on to a company that will run them, in a move the university says will have long-term benefits. The Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to approve a purchasing agreement and lease with the Scholar Hotel Group. According to a news release, the university will retain ownership of the land, while the Scholar Hotel Group will own and operate the properties and lease the land. Full story here.
For A Rural Pennsylvania Area, A Cryptocurrency Mine Brought Noise Pollution
WPSU’s Ann Danahy reports on noise pollution from cryptocurrency operations, Listen here.
WPSU Television Highlights
The Pennsylvania Game (WPSU Retro Series) - Saturdays at 7:00 pm starting July 2
From the WPSU archives — you’re invited to step back in time to play THE PENNSYLVANIA GAME! Test your knowledge of the Commonwealth’s people, places and products as we revisit the first season of the classic series from the 1980s.
A Capitol Fourth 2022 - Monday, July 4 at 8:00 pm (repeats at 9:30pm)
Celebrate our country's 246th birthday with the 42nd anniversary broadcast of America's Independence Day celebration for our entire nation.
America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston (Series Premiere) - Tuesdays at 9:00 pm starting July 5
AMERICA OUTDOORS WITH BARATUNDE THURSTON goes off the beaten track to find the outdoors in the most unlikely places. The journey reveals a deeper understanding of our passionate, complex and sometimes quirky relationship with nature.
Great Muslim American Road Trip (Series Premiere) - Tuesdays at 10:00 pm starting July 5
Follow a young Muslim American couple as they travel along Route 66 in search of America’s Muslim roots. Visiting with local Muslims, Mona Haydar and Sebastian Robins gain a better understand of themselves as individuals, as a couple and as Muslims.
The Green Planet (Series Premiere) - Wednesdays at 8:00 pm starting July 6
Sir David Attenborough travels the globe to reveal the secret lives of plants. Using pioneering camera techniques, the series takes viewers on a magical journey inside the hidden world of plants, on which all animals—including humans—are dependent.
Grantchester on Masterpiece (Season 7 Premiere) - Sunday, July 10 at 9:00 pm
The series picks up in the long hot summer of 1959 with wedding season in full swing in the Cambridgeshire village of Grantchester. Starring Robson Green as Geordie Keating and Tom Brittney as Will Davenport.
COBRA (Season 2 Premiere) - Sunday, July 10 at 10:00 pm
Follow the British Prime Minister and his Cabinet Office Briefing Room A (COBRA) committee, comprised of leading contingency planners and senior politicians, as they navigate the difficulties in overcoming a major national crisis.
The Hunter (Series Premiere) - Sundays at 11:00 pm starting July 10
Based on a true story. Saverio Barone is a young and ambitious provincial Sicilian prosecutor with a killer instinct for tracking down top Mafiosi. He becomes known as ‘The Hunter,’ but success will come at huge personal cost. From Walter’s Choice.
The Great Ride: Landmarks Along the Trail - Monday, July 11 at 9:00 pm
Explores the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) trail between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Cumberland, Maryland. Bikers and hikers get a personal, up-close look at key landmarks on the trail, exploring the significance, history, and appeal of each stop.
Industry News
NPR Board Passes Ambitious Plan To Expand Digital Fundraising, Podcast Subscriptions
The NPR board of directors approved an ambitious plan Friday for the network and its member stations to work together on a host of new digital initiatives, including a forthcoming podcast subscription bundle tied to station membership. The plan, titled the “NPR Network,” directs NPR to use its digital properties to funnel donations and donor leads to member stations and implement new collaborative initiatives around branding and sponsorship. The goal of the plan is to double station membership and total revenue for NPR and participating member stations by 2030. Full story here.
PBS Board Approves Station Dues Increase For FY2023
PBS’ board of directors unanimously approved an operating plan and budget for fiscal year 2023 Thursday that increases station dues by 4%. Income from station assessments for FY23 is set to increase by $8.1 million year over year to reach $211.9 million. Station dues revenue in FY2022 was $203.7 million, up from $201.7 million in FY2021 and FY2020. PBS’ total budget is expected to break even at $359.4 million. The budget for FY22 was $339.1 million. Finance Committee Chair Maxine Clark said Thursday that feedback from member station leaders on the proposed budget was “positive overall.”
During the board meeting, PBS President Paula Kerger said the budget “makes critical investments as we continue to pivot to a truly multiplatform organization … with diversity, equity and inclusion a central tenet of every step of production.” Kerger said investing in the PBS Passport service is also key to the budget. “Historic inflation as well as an extremely tight labor market has impacted all aspects of the American economy,” Kerger said during a March 31 board meeting, where she first disclosed the budget plans. “We forecast a significant increase in costs in FY2023 for content, for app maintenance and developments, streaming fees and enterprise cybersecurity and resilience.”
Governmental Relations
State News – Budget deliberations continue with time running out
Both houses returned to Harrisburg Tuesday, as leaders of the Republican-controlled chambers work to hammer out an agreement on the $42 billion budget plan with Gov. Tom Wolf.
According to the Associated Press, Ccosed-door talks continue as Senate Republicans talked Monday of being still “far apart” with Wolf’s office, while Wolf’s budget secretary Tuesday countered a budget deal is “within reach”
PA PBS member stations, including WPSU, have requested support of Governor Wolf’s proposed allocation of $1.5 million in his budget for the 7 PA PBS TV stations (to be split equally at $214,285 each)
Federal News – House Appropriation Committee recommends public media funding for Public Safety
Last Friday, the House Appropriations Committee recommended $40 million for public broadcasting’s Next Generation Warning System within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the Fiscal Year 2023 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill. WPSU is part of this national warning and alert system.
This funding would help support public broadcasting’s work in alert and warning and public safety communications. Specifically, funding would help replace aging infrastructure.
Public media stations across our commonwealth, including WPSU serve as the States’ primary Emergency Alert Service (EAS) hub for severe weather and AMBER alerts.
We also partner with FEMA to provide the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system that enables cell subscribers to receive geo-targeted text messages in the event of an emergency — reaching them wherever they are in times of crisis.
The bill was reported to the full House, which is scheduled to consider the measure in July.
In other Federal funding news, Friday, June 30, the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee meets to consider an $82 million increase in funding requests for Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to include a 2-year forward funded request of $565 million, $30.5 million for the Ready To Learn program and $60 million for Interconnection.
NASA Wants Their Stuff Back
BOSTON — The space agency has asked Boston-based RR Auction to halt the sale of moon dust collected during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission that had subsequently been fed to cockroaches during an experiment to determine if the lunar rock contained any sort of pathogen that posed a threat to terrestrial life.The material, a NASA lawyer said in a letter to the auctioneer, still belongs to the federal government. The material from the experiment, including a vial with about 40 milligrams of moon dust and three cockroach carcasses, was expected to sell for at least $400,000, but has been pulled from the auction block. “All Apollo samples, as stipulated in this collection of items, belong to NASA and no person, university, or other entity has ever been given permission to keep them after analysis, destruction, or other use for any purpose, especially for sale or individual display,” said NASA’s letter dated June 15. [AP - 6/23/22]
Happy 4th!
“It’s Fourth of July weekend, or, as I call it, Exploding Christmas.” — Stephen Colbert
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