Leonard Cohen: Dance Me
- Ballets Jazz de Montréal
Montréal native Leonard Cohen’s music has inspired films, paintings and now a stage spectacle. The Canadian singer-songwriter’s works have motivated the movements of dancers in Ballets Jazz Montréal. Leonard Cohen’s Dance Me is an energetic homage to the legendary artist. Approved by Cohen during his lifetime, and under the artistic direction of Louis Robitaille and dramaturgy of Eric Jean, the show evokes the grand cycles of existence in five seasons, as described in Cohen’s deeply reflective music and poems. See this remarkable work on Friday, March 4 at 9:00pm on WPSU.
Birthdays
3/6 Jen Bryan
3/8 Topher Yorks
WPSU Radio Highlights
In Case You Missed It . . .
Take Note: Amie Bantz On Her "Lunchbox Moments" Art Exhibit Aimed At Anti-Asian Hate WPSU’s Emily Reddy talks with Amie Bantz. Bantz is an Asian-American artist from Harrisburg. She's visiting Penn State with her interactive art exhibit "Lunchbox Moments: Seek understanding. Share stories. Stop hate." Ninety-one of her painted lunchboxes are on display in Penn State's HUB-Robeson Center. And she's helping community members and students create their own lunchbox moments in several hands-on workshops.
"God's Trombones" Performance Celebrates The Church In African American Culture WPSU’s Kristine Allen reported on a special performance by the LAF Theatre Company and the gospel choir Essence 2 who performed “God’s Trombones” recently at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Port Matilda.
Democracy Works: Moving Beyond News Deserts And Misinformation Jenna Spinelle hosts a conversation with Victor Pickard, who the C. Edwin Baker Professor of Media Policy and Political Economy at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Democracy Without Journalism? Confronting the Misinformation Society. They discuss the history of market failures and policy choices that led to the decline of local journalism and the spread of misinformation. Victor talks about his vision for what a re-imagined public media ecosystem in the United States might look like and what it will take to get there. Examples like WBEZ's recent acquisition of the Chicago Sun-Times provide examples of what's possible.
WPSU Television Highlights
20 Things To Do In Midsomer Before You Die - Thursday, March 3 at 8:00 pm
Presented by John Nettles (DCI Tom Barnaby in Season 1-13) , 20 Things to do in Midsomer Before You Die is a 20th anniversary special that features stars past and present discussing the peculiar quirks of the delightful yet deadly Midsomer county.
Leonard Cohen: Dance Me - Ballets Jazz de Montréal - Friday, March 4 at 9:00 pm
A mesmerizing show of dance, music and videography inspired by the rich and profound work of Montreal-based poet, artist, and songwriter, Leonard Cohen.
Alone In The Wilderness - Saturday, March 5 at 7:30 pm
This WPSU "viewers favorite" tells the story of Dick Proenneke who, in the late 1960s, built his own cabin in the Alaskan wilderness. Using color footage he shot himself, Proenneke traces how he came to this remote area, selected a homestead site and built his log cabin completely by himself.
Sanditon Season 1 Marathon - Sunday March 6 and Sunday March 13 at 8:00 pm
Catch up on the romance and intrigue, beaches and balls, and fortune hunters and heart breakers from Season 1 of Sanditon, a bold and lavish adaptation of Jane Austen’s unfinished final book. (Season 2 premieres on MASTERPIECE on PBS Sunday, March 20, at 9:00 pm.)
The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song - Monday, March 7 and Tuesday, March 8 at 8:00 pm
Retrace the 400-year-old-story of the Black church in America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., exploring its role as the site of African American organizing, autonomy, freedom and solidarity.
Industry News
CPB Grant Supports Increased Security For NPR Staff In Ukraine
CPB approved $500,000 in emergency funding this week to support NPR’s coverage of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, which will boost security measures and safety gear for network staffers on the ground. Although a CPB release noted that NPR would add staff with the funds, the network clarified that it will rotate, not increase, staff during coverage, said NPR spokesperson Isabel Lara. NPR began rotating hosts and other staffers from its international desk, Morning Edition and All Things Considered through Ukraine in January.
Public TV Asks FCC For Flexibility In Preserving Multicast Channels Amid ATSC 3.0 Transition
To bring more public TV stations into the world of ATSC 3.0 “NextGen” broadcasting, the FCC needs to follow through on a proposal to modify its rules on simulcasts with ATSC 1.0 signals. That’s what America’s Public Television Stations and PBS told the commission last week as part of an ongoing rulemaking that aims to clarify regulatory confusion resulting from the launch of NextGen services. The rulemaking proceeding the commission announced last fall addresses a sticky question about how TV stations can continue to reach viewers with multicast subchannels — for public stations, services such as World, Create, PBS Kids (like WPSU does) and state government channels — as the ATSC 3.0 transition continues. Complete story here.
Cost-Conscious Consumers Bring Back TV Antennas
Antennas for local TV are now in 25% of US homes with broadband, Parks Associates reports, an increase of 10 percentage points from 2018. Many consumers are leaving cable for streaming services, and using the antennas to fill in the gaps. Consumer Reports, reports.
Governmental Relations
FEDERAL
On Friday, February 18, President Biden signed into law legislation extending government funding, including funding for public media, at Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 levels through March 11, 2022.
This short-term measure is intended to buy time for Congress to finish work on a larger spending package that includes all 12 FY 2022 appropriations bills.
At this point, all the appropriations subcommittees have been assigned new top-line allocations and negotiations on the final funding levels for all programs are now underway.
America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) continues to advocate that the final FY 2022 package include the full request of $565 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
The APTS Public Media Summit, held virtually Monday, Feb. 28 and Tuesday, March 1st is the largest annual gathering of public broadcasting general managers and community leaders who come together to explore issues that are vital to the future and mission of public service media. 4 WPSU staff and 6 Board members will be in attendance.
Virtual advocacy meetings are being scheduled the first full week of March with Congressmen Joyce, Keller and Thompson whose districts fall within the WPSU service area. The purpose of the meetings is to show the mission of WPSU in our service area: Partners in Public Service: Education, Public Safety and Civic Leadership.
Sparse Accommodations
ZURICH - Looking for that perfect getaway a day or two — or four? Hundreds of people have jumped at just such a chance in the Swiss city of Zurich, volunteering to take part in an open house of sorts for a new jail before the facility accepts its first inmates. The selected volunteers, who must live locally and be at least 18 years old, are in store for an experience that borders on a reality TV plot when they enter “Gefaegnis Zurich West” — Zurich West Prison — to test the pre-trial detention and jail services. The facility, located west of the city’s main train station, is expected to house up to 124 people who are under provisional arrest and to have 117 places for individuals held in pre-trial detention. The detained volunteers also will receive a “safe word” they can give the staff to "bail out" immediately if they get cold feet or start to crack under the conditions. Next month’s trial run will enable corrections officials to test the jail’s capacity, services and operations, as well as to review their cooperation and communication with other authorities, such as police and prosecutors. [AP - 2/17/2022]
A Confusing Month
“I know a country where March comes in like an emu and goes out like a tapir. And they don't even know what it means!” - John Belushi on SNL
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