Inside Thirteen blogger: Neal Shapiro, President

Today we announced plans for a new half-hour broadcast concentrating on international news that will launch on public television in this fall. It’s called Your World Tonight. (Like any production in development, the title is subject to change.)

As a bit of a news junkie myself, I think there is a huge gap in the area of international coverage on television. On 9/11, we were reminded in a graphic and tragic way how what happens halfway around the world can have devastating consequences for us here at home. But world affairs are not always so spectacular. From immigration to the spread of free markets, from climate change to the rising price of commodities, we can see how the world economy and globalization affect our economy, our society and our politics on a daily basis.

For more than a year, we’ve been thinking about what shape this new program should take. Marc Rosenwasser, who will executive produce the program, has worked at three network news divisions. And, just as importantly, he is a former foreign correspondent himself, having worked for more than seven years at The Associated Press, including more than two years as a correspondent in Moscow. Marc has a passion for international news and he’s been meeting with news organizations, reporters, analysts and experts to get this newscast off the ground.

There’s a lot of passion out there for international affairs, and we aim to deliver an innovative and compelling program to the millions of viewers who turn to public television for news coverage they can trust and public affairs programming they won’t find anywhere else.

We’ll be making more announcements about Your World Tonight in the coming weeks, and I’ll be sure to keep readers of this blog up-to-date on the latest developments as we approach the launch date.

Read our announcement on the subject.

The New York Times also covered the story this morning, so the word is already out.

By now you must have read the news about Aaron Brown joining as the new host of Thirteen’s Wide Angle series. I have known Aaron for many years, beginning when we were both working at ABC News. He is a skilled journalist and a wonderful writer, but he first caught my attention soon after he joined ABC News. He was the first co-anchor of the overnight news program and he was on duty during a very sad day.

Sam Donaldson and his producer David Kaplan were in a convoy covering the Sarajevo peace talks when a sniper opened fire. Kaplan, a 22-year veteran of ABC News, was shot and died shortly later at a UN hospital. Aaron was at the anchor desk when Sam called in. As an anchor, there’s no way to prepare for a situation like that. Experience and instinct take over. It was a heartbreaking moment for everyone, especially for those of us who had worked with Sam and Dave. Aaron handled it superbly, perfectly balancing his journalistic duties to report the story with a deep sense of compassion for his fallen colleague.

As Wide Angle begins its seventh season on July 1st, I know that Aaron will bring a sure and steady hand to the program and his touch will make this season especially rewarding.

Inside Thirteen blogger: Neal Shapiro, President

I spent Saturday night at WGBH, the public broadcaster in Boston, honoring Henry Becton. Last October, after 37 years as President, Henry stepped into his new roles as Vice Chair of WGBH’s Board of Trustees and Senior Editorial Advisor. The event not only honored a great public television leader, but the evening’s proceeds are going to the Becton Fund, which will award annual fellowships to promising young producers.

I had a little bit of déjà vu, since we just honored our own retiring Bill Baker. Like Bill here in New York, Henry guided Boston’s station through hard times and stood by what were some controversial programs. I know John Abbott, WGBH’s new President, feels as I do – that we both owe so much to the public television pioneers who preceded us.

Among the prominent names who were there to honor Henry: actress Kim Cattrall, star of the new Masterpiece program, My Boy Jack; Tony Award-winning singer and actress Barbara Cook; broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff; actress Jean Marsh, Emmy Award-winner for her work in Masterpiece’s Upstairs, Downstairs; PBS President Paula Kerger; Norm Abram of This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop; and Eric Jackson, radio host of WGBH 89.7’s Jazz with Eric in the Evening for 25 years.

Here’s a nice interview that the Boston Globe nabbed with Kim Cattrall right before dinner last night.

Throughout the evening, tapes of Henry in action were shown, including two in which Henry spoofed Riverdance and paid tribute to Judy Garland. Henry was a great leader: I knew Henry could walk the walk and talk the talk. Now I know he can sing and dance as well.

Thirteen Blogger: Kellie Specter, Director of Communications

I walked out of the office the other night and I noticed that Neal was listening to an ipod. I thought it was great that our CEO owns an ipod and I became very curious about it. I wondered… “What is Neal listening to?”

Before I came to Thirteen I worked in commercial radio and in the record business, so I’m a bit of a music junkie. I also studied psychology in college, thinking I’d someday be a psychoanalyst (believe me, all those classes have served me well in life!). But on this particular evening, both of my interests came together and I wondered not only what Neal was listening to, but what it said about him. I suppose because he’s the new leader here at Thirteen, a lot of us are curious about him.

So, I emailed Neal and asked him if he would send me 5 songs from his ipod (he graciously sent me the last 5 single plays). Then I rolled up my sleeves and did some research. It turns out that in 2002, scientists at the University of Texas at Austin did the first comprehensive study of the link between music preferences and personality traits. It’s a long but fascinating paper.

So…what is in Neal’s ipod and what does it say about him? Well, here are his 5 songs:

*Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra
*Heat Wave by Linda Ronstadt
*American in Paris, Seiji Ozawa conducting
*1234 by Feist
*Love Me Tender by Elvis Presley

Based on data collected from 3,500 people, the study identified four music preference categories:

Reflective and Complex
Intense and Rebellious
Upbeat and Conventional
Energetic and Rhythmic

This sampling of Neal’s music choices seems to indicate that he is in the Reflective and Complex category. According to a synopsis of the category,

“People with high scores on the Reflective and Complex music-preference dimension tend to be open to new experiences, creative, intellectual, and enjoy trying new things…wisdom, diversity, and fine arts are all important to them. When it comes to lifestyle, high scorers tend to be sophisticated…and after a hard day of work, if they’re not listening to music or reading a book, they enjoy documentary films, independent, classic, or foreign films.”

Classic and independent films? Fine Arts? Trying new things? Well, it would be simplistic to conclude that Reel 13, SundayArts and the other creative new projects that Neal is spearheading here at Thirteen are directly influenced by listening to Frank Sinatra, but it’s certainly interesting to think about.

As for the suspenders? I’m sure there’s a study out there somewhere…

For those of us who toil at our keyboards and telephones to get the word out about Thirteen’s great programming (and it IS great by the way, so tell your friends), a recent cover story in Broadcasting & Cable was cause for pause.

In her article, “The Disappearing Critic,” Marisa Guthrie writes that

The fraternity of the nation’s television critics at daily newspapers was once a thriving milieu, dominated by a great diversity of committed voices. The critics’ opinions were sought, revered – in many cases, even feared – and blurbed in network on-air promos.

Has that era passed? “That reality has changed drastically of late as the ranks of critics have grown noticeably leaner,” Guthrie observes. “Caught in the financial turmoil roiling the newspaper industry, they have become a beleaguered lot, a growing part of the collateral damage of the digital revolution.”

Well, we know all about the digital revolution here at Thirteen (Chances are you do, too, considering what you’re doing at this very moment.) And we realize that not only is the public consuming media in new ways, but they are also choosing what to consume in different ways as well. That’s why we’ve been using the new media to get the word out. Have you seen our YouTube page? Are you a Facebook friend of Thirteen, Reel13 or SundayArts? (And why not?) Have you embedded the Nature video player on your own blog? (Well, what are you waiting for?)

So, we’re out there creating viral buzz with the best of ’em.

But we still revere the critics, too. The best ones have experience, a distinguished tradition, a commitment to telling it like is. And those are qualities we can get behind.

Take a few choice reviews from this past week:

Writes Nature lover Linda Stasi in her four-star New York Post review of The Gorilla King:

Nature, one of PBS’ most enduring and endearing series, has a show on Sunday night that you simply should not miss if you are at all a, er, nature lover… here is a remarkable DNA revelation at the end which is as good as any reality-TV series climax you’ll see. A wonderful, remarkable show.

And if you missed The Gorilla King last night, you can catch it again Saturday, April 26 at 6 p.m.

The Christian Science Monitor in its Monitor Picks column:

A hula troupe from Hawaii, the US Olympic Synchronized Swim Team, and four choreographers and their dance companies perform among the cliffs and waterways of America’s most scenic national parks in PBS’s Dance in America (April 21, 10 p.m.) ….The show was commissioned by Wolf Trap’s Face of America. Armchair travel doesn’t get better than this.”

Or how about Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times and his recent tribute to Thirteen’s American Masters series:

I have a kind of collect-them-all affection for the PBS biographical series American Masters, now in its 22nd year. . . . . Some editions are better than others, of course. . . . But most all are better than what passes for ‘biography’ on most other networks, where a couple of hit records or a popular sitcom is considered reason enough to haul a star’s old elementary school teacher in front of a video camera . . . . It takes a little more than that to become an American Master.

Thanks, guys, we’re glad you’re there.

And here’s what we propose: You keep watching us. And we’ll keep reading you.

Thirteen blogger: Kevin Lezak, freelance producer

We’re working on a special webcast for Thirteen.org visitors–a LIVE webcast from The Minimalist, aka food writer Mark Bittman, he of The Best Recipes In The World. He’ll be taking questions from the audience, so think of a good one and send it in. It’s scheduled for April 27th, and should be an event of unprecedented video spontaneity for thirteen.org, as Bittman has requested we don’t give him your submitted questions until the show starts.

I’m thrilled to be working with Thirteen and The Minimalist. Bittman’s wry wit and culinary chops to me define the New York Times palate and always whets my appetite. I always enjoy watching Mark cook, he’s funny, he’s dark, and his food is just delicious. He does not go easy on substitutions, he’s the real deal, and has a great way about the kitchen. His no-BS approach is going to be gangbusters live on the web. I’m wanting people to ask him tough questions, let him know if they’ve tried his recipes and how they’ve worked, especially if they didn’t.

There’s some time between now and next Sunday, I’d encourage you to go try one out in your New York City kitchen. Mine’s small, but I still pull off a great garlic butter reduction over a filet, and can do a bananas foster in a pinch. A good question for Bittman: What’s the tinest kitchen he’s ever worked in?

It should be a fun night. We’re going to be eating, talking about little-known NY dining secrets and recipes. And Mark live is going to be a wild card.

Basta!

Thirteen blogger: Neal Shapiro, President

Welcome to the new and improved thirteen.org.

From today on, thirteen.org will do all the great things that can be done online, including:

* Provide daily updates on our program websites, connecting our broadcast programs with local and world events, further informing the stories told on the air.

* Contain your contributions, through comments, and later, ratings. We want you to share your insights with us and with other viewers as much as we want to share our programs with you.

* Most importantly, thirteen.org will house a large and growing library of online video so you can more easily watch your favorite programs whenever you like.

The site is in beta, which really means this is a work in progress! (And with your ongoing support, we will continually improve it to suit your needs. So please contact us to share your comments and suggestions.

Today’s redesign is only the beginning of many exciting changes in store on Thirteen.org. Over the coming weeks, months, and years, we will be posting the latest broadcast programs, adding fascinating content from the WNET archives that hasn’t been publicly available for years (even decades), and creating new programs that can only be found online (The NY Philharmonic in North Korea and upcoming Mark Bittman live webcast are just the tip of this iceberg!).

Please enjoy your visit, and come back soon, there’ll always be something new on thirteen.org!

You can see this same post in new surroundings here….

The optimum screen resolution for thirteen.org is 1024×768

Thirteen blogger: Neal Shapiro, President

Last night we held an extraordinary event to pay tribute to an extraordinary man.
The occasion was Thirteen and WLIW’s Annual Gala Salute, and the man was the one and only Bill Baker.

Many of our city’s most illustrious figures were in attendance at Manhattan’s Gotham Hall to honor Bill, our newly minted President Emeritus, who has devoted the last 20 years to the mission of public television.

Journalist Bill Moyers, serving as the evening’s host, summoned the kind of inspiring tribute that only he is capable of. And Bill Baker was saluted in song by Frank Sinatra School of the Arts Chamber Singers and the incomparable Tony Bennett. There was also a fantastic video featuring Bill’s friends, colleagues and beloved family.

Every year the Annual Gala Salute inspires New York’s philanthropic community to come together to support New York’s public television stations. I’m delighted to report that we exceeded our goal this year, raising more than $2.6 million for the programming and educational projects that make our work so valued by so many.

Among the many generous donors cited by our dynamic Chairman Jim Tisch were two Chairmen Emeritus: Henry Kravis, whose energy and expertise were critical in building our financial base, and Steve Rattner, whose vision helped build our distribution base, which now includes two analog channels, seven digital channels and services, and numerous Web sites.

So much planning goes into this annual event, and it really showed last night. A huge round of applause goes to Hilary Vlachos and her team, and to everyone at Thirteen and WLIW who contributed to making the evening such a success.

 

Postscript: Bill Baker is off to Berlin for a few months to share his expertise in the academic setting. When he returns, he’ll be spending some time teaching at some of the country’s most prestigious universities. But he’ll also be around the station, working on some special projects. And even when he isn’t in the building, his commitment and enthusiasm will always be with us.

images: Joe Schildhorn/PatrickMcMullan.com

Thirteen blogger: The Thirteenth (Vickie Karp, Director of Creative Services)

Hundreds of years ago, way, way before television, Basho and other poets wrote renga–the syllabic group-blog of its day. An ancient Japanese poetry form better known as a shared poem, the renga is an ongoing conversation in verse, in which each poet adds a few lines and passes it on. Not quite like any conversation you or I have ever had, you count the syllables per line–fives and sevens–with slight variations allowed if your accountant knows how to phrase it to the IRS.

Now, in honor of National Poetry Month, PBS, and viewers like you, the Thirteenth launches “Television–A Renga.” After all, dear reader, it’s not about the tote bag. Our renga on television continues virtually forever, so do send me one if you like. I’ll read as many as I can without getting depressed, and select a few for appearance in The Thirteenth over the coming months. Or a nameless intern will take a break from writing his or her screenplay, read some, and help post them. Don’t be afraid to be serious or really good. It happens. But do keep it to a few lines of fives and sevens on Thirteen, public television, and television in general.

I’m still hoping to hear from Indrek Tart in Siberia, who once sent me a fan letter in Russian Cyrillic. At least I think it was a fan letter. Indrek, if you see this, please send your contribution to the television renga asap.

Television: A Renga — Help Desk

According to Jonah Lehrer, author of “Proust Was a Neuroscientist,” your brains and your feelings are vitally connected, so not to worry if you get a little emotional. Even Mussolini wrote a romance novel. Dorothy Parker, in her review, merely said “You Duce, you!”

The Jews of New York makes a complete five-syllable line. Pledge, tote bag, Jews of New York makes a strikingly dull seven. Great Performances. Five. Long live Sunday Arts. Five. Cable and network pale by comparison? Too many syllables.

But if all three million of you decide to use these suggestions, the renga will get a little repetitive. How about your favorite sea creature from Nature or your fictional account of how Charlie Rose got his black eye? Oh, wait, I see the prescient Garrison Keillor has captured that moment in time without even reading my directions, so make that a sea creature and hurry.

We also have David Lehman, famous editor of The Best American Poetry series and author of dozens of books including the just-released Poetry Forum (and excellent blog!). We have our own Hugh Siegel who can watch Sesame Street in both English and Spanish, the magnificent Isaiah Sheffer, whom you know from Selected Shorts on NPR and who is Artistic Director at Symphony Space in NYC, and the redoubtable Roy Blount, Jr., of NPR’s Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, and author of more than 20 books.

And Fran Richey, author of the beautiful and just-released poetry book, The Warrior: A Mother’s Story of a Son At War wrote some perfect lines about the Hudson River and then went on book tour before I could tell her there are no television sets, at least not any working television sets, in the Hudson River. So she’ll turn up later with some lines on tv. I’ve asked Thirteen’s program guide illustrator and New Yorker cartoonist Arnie Levin to contribute, but he’s tired after drawing last month’s suspenders for Neal Shapiro.

Free Advice–writing about Jane Austen does not make you Jane Austen, but feel the fear and do it anyway. Have I forgotten anything? Oh yes, here’s the poem …

Television Renga – The World Premiere

(1)

Charlie Rose appeared
One night with a big shiner
And did not explain

Who or what hit him
Thinking this too trivial
For public TV

And allowed women
To think him heroic but
In fact he fell down.

– Garrison Keillor, April 2008

(2)

The Foresight Saga

With foresight I fell in love
with Fleur before she blossomed;

a masterpiece of
Susan Hampshire’s blonde good looks
on television.

-David Lehman, April 2008

(3)

March of the Penguins, good flick,
But how do penguins do it?

“Nature” is brutal
But sometimes also cozy
With kangaroo love

The movie failed to show this.
As television would have.

- Isaiah Sheffer, April 2008

(4)

Two Haiku for Talking Heads

In the races, race
And gender are introduced:
“Hi, Color.” “Hi, Sex.”

Meanwhile pundits, aides,
Ads and candidates are all
Running together.

- Roy Blount, Jr., April 2008

(5)

Let us revisit
Days we spent at Brideshead with
Jerems Irony.

Let’s clap, too, for John Gielgud,
Who always made me feel good.

– David Lehman, April 2008

(6)

Elmo, well, you know,
like Cookie you are to me
Just lookie. You see?

You’re just a Sésamo,
and it’s all the things you know:
letras y números.

Get me off this couch,
big star that you are, Oscar.
You’re really not a . . ..

No place is as neat.
It’s my way or the calle,
when I’m on that street.

– Hugh Siegel, April 2008

(7)

I ask you to pause
And think about your channels
And your destiny.

Meaning. Structure. Poise.
Can’t we all use more of them …
And yes, a tote bag?

– T.T., April 2008

Come back May 13th, when The Thirteenth returns with more of the renga, Arnie Levin’s illustration for the perfect public tv dinner, an exclusive interview with Proust entitled “What Proust Would Have Said About Public Television, Had He Lived.” And Martin Low, so glad you liked the suspenders.

Thirteen blogger: Irene Tejaratchi, Nature producer

The variety of mating behaviors found in nature are plentiful, and it’d be foolhardy to think there’s one sure-shot way to succeed in the seduction game–what works for one species may not work for another. Actually, the behaviors of the cast of characters in Nature’s “What Females Want and Males Will Do” are so varied and dazzling they might distract viewers from some of the subtler themes in the show. So I thought I’d point out a couple of my observations here:

Last year, while “What Females Want and Males Will Do” was in still in production, news broke out about groundbreaking research being conducted by biologist Patricia Brennan on the sexual anatomy/behavior of certain duck species. Naturally Brennan had to be featured in the show! Without giving much away (tune in on Sunday for the racy details), I will say that Brennan decided, instead of focusing solely on male duck anatomy as other researchers had previously done, she was going to research the females’. The results have led to an unprecedented, fascinating understanding of how some female duck species may be involved in the mating process.

What intrigues me about this particular segment of “What Females Want and What Males Will Do” is not only the research but the more subtle notion that scientific research is not always exhaustive, and can be limited by the predilections of researchers. It took Brennan to come along and research the neglected half of a very complicated equation.