Selected press items from the Friday, August 22 through Thursday, August 28.

The New York Sun builds a giant feature around Great Performances’ Pavarotti: A Life in Seven Arias, singling out his Met performance of Una furtiva lagrima as “a pensive essay in delicacy, during which one can all but hear the silence in the house.” Thirteen/WNET is mentioned (but note that the local airdate in the story is incorrect.)

“Natural-history filmmaker Neil Rettig started his career studying birds of prey in the mid-1970s, and his love for all things raptor has only grown. Rettig claims he was the first to film the elusive harpy eagles of the Amazon — some of the largest and rarest eagles in the world. He continued his focus, creating documentaries such as Raptor Force for PBS’ Nature series. Now, with his latest project — American Eagle, also for Nature — Rettig turns his lens to the comeback and current challenges of the American bald eagle.” The feature story is in Digital Content Producer.

Franny’s Feet and Cyberchase are both called “The week’s best bets for kids” by the Chicago Tribune.

The Putnam County News & Recorder features the upcoming Shakespeare on the Hudson.

Reel 13’s broadcast of Cult of Sincerity was a New York Times highlight.

“PBS alone among the broadcast networks devoted all of its prime time to coverage of the first night of the Democratic convention,” writes Broadcasting & Cable.

Selected press items from the period Friday, August 15 through Thursday, August 21.

The Toronto Globe and Mail profiles Aaron Brown, touts Iraqi Exodus, and quotes Brown’s appraisal of his Wide Angle gig: “When you do television, you have this kind of mythical belief that the people sitting at home are fully dressed, sober and paying attention and taking notes,” he said. “I finally found a place where they are, so that’s pretty damn cool.” Wide Angle: Iraqi Exodus is highlighted by the New York Times and many others. The program is “. . . a first-rate look at one of the lesser-recognized problems associated with the war in Iraq: the flight of more than 2 million Iraqis from their homeland,” says the LA Times. Brown’s interview on Bloomberg TV’s Night Talk can be seen here:

The digital switchover means New Yorkers will get dozens more channels for free, according to a cover story in AM New York, which quotes Thirteen/WNET’s Kent Steele.

Reel 13 indie film ‘Cult of Sincerity’ is on the cover of Brooklyn Paper‘s Arts & Entertainment section.

“PBS’ American Masters has already won five Emmys for nonfiction series and now collects its eighth nomination,” says Variety. “Chronicling the lives of American icons such as folk legend Pete Seeger, novelist Zora Neale Hurston and Motown great Marvin Gaye last season, the program never fails to impress voters.”

“V-me will present nightly primetime coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions as part of its PARTICIPA 2008,” says Cynopsis.

Josh Marshall gave a nod to Bill Moyers Journal’s interview with Andrew Bacevich at Talking Points Memo, and Andrew Sullivan’s blog, The Daily Dish, at the Atlantic, honored it with the “Quote of the Day” not once, but twice.

Inside Thirteen Blogger: Neal Shapiro, President

What a magical night!

I’ve been lucky enough to be at Madison Square Garden for some very special nights–NBA playoffs, political conventions and more than a few concerts. But last night’s event was the most special.

It was The Police’s final performance ever–and that alone would make it unforgettable.

But this was much more that that….because The Police were donating the proceeds from this very special concert to Thirteen and our sister station WLIW21.

In a time when too many headlines are about self indulgent artists, this was an event where the artists were giving back–to support arts and culture programming on New York public television.

Before the concert started, WLIW’s President Terrel Cass and I were supposed to go backstage to meet briefly with the band. It took a series of squeezing past the crowds, flashing credentials at checkpoints, and then following our escorts to the photo area. When we finally got there, I had lost Terrel.

Neal Shapiro, Sting, Andy Summers, Stewart Copeland

So that’s why it’s only me in the picture. (I know Terrel did ultimately find his way to his seats because I saw him at the concert).

Backstage, as we waited for the band, I talked to Mayor Bloomberg, who usually has so many evening events on his calendar that he has to hop from venue to venue. But tonight, he was making a rare exception–he and Diana Taylor were going to stay for the entire concert.

When Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland walked in, I was struck by how relaxed they were…not just for any concert but for their last concert together. They laughed, kidded with each other were genuinely nice with everyone.

There were a few moments that had the “last time” flavor. Kevin Mazur, who has been photographing their LA and NY shows, was taking group pictures and The Police pulled him into a photo with them. We were also joined by promoting genius Jay Coleman (the main architect of our association with this concert) and Public Relations icon/pioneer Ken Sunshine. Somewhere nearby was President of Radio City Entertainment Jay Marciano. All three of these gentlemen had so much to do with making the concert a sold-out success.

In the crowded quarters backstage, I caught glimpses of two people running back and forth with earpieces and small microphones and I wondered if they were part of the band’s security detail, or members of the Garden’s crack events staff. That is, until I got closer and realized they both worked for us. Laura Savini, VP of Marketing and Communications for WLIW and Ranfi Rivera, Deputy General Counsel, Program Business Affairs for Thirteen, worked tirelessly on this event from the moment we announced it, and by that night they looked as if they had been handling rock concerts their entire lives.

When we were done backstage and I made my way to the floor, the crowd was already rockin’ with the B-52’s. Within a few feet of my seats, some recognizable fans of The Police: James Gandolfini, Bruce Springsteen, Deborah Harry and Leonardo Dicaprio. (I’m sure they’re also fans of public television).

Michael Bloomberg, Diana Taylor, Juju Chang, Neal Shapiro

As the concert began, you could sense that everyone knew they were part of an unforgettable event. Sting told the crowd of 19,000 that we were the last audience they would play for…the last audience of more than 3.7 million who had watch this tour, which had consisted of 150 performances.

On one side of me was Pat Harrison, President of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, who had more energy than many of the younger folks who were in our section. On the other side of me was a beautiful woman. She knew the lyrics to every song. She told me that Stewart Copeland was the brother of legendary agent Ian Copeland. I told her that I had talked to the Police personally and they told me what a grind the concert tour had been.

At the end of the concert, I looked in her eyes and asked if she wanted to come home with me …and she said yes. Why? Perhaps it was my personal charm, the euphoria of the evening, or the fact that we’ve been married for 13 years.

The concert was promoted under our banner of “Public Television Rocks” and we want to make sure this is not the end but the beginning of finding more ways to embrace the greatest talents of rock music..on the air and in other ways. Last night’s concert may have been The Police’s last ever but it’s not the last for us. We’ll be back with more.

Photo credit: Joe Sinnott

Selected press items from the period Friday, July 25 through Sunday, August 3, 2008.

“New Yorkers are lucky to have one of the strongest public television stations in the country. Where the rest of the nation calls it PBS, we know it as Channel 13, and for more than a dozen years, it has hosted some of the most cutting edge filmmaking for, by and about New Yorkers, during the annual Reel New York Film Festival,” gushes Indiwire.

Television Quarterly features back to back articles about Bill Baker and Neal Shapiro. (See pages 34-44).

“Beginning this week, SundayArts, the weekly arts and cultural program produced by Thirteen/WNET New York, will feature segments of the award-winning Bloomberg Television program Bloomberg Muse,” announces MarketWatch. “‘This is a great, natural alliance,” said Neal Shapiro, Thirteen CEO, President and SundayArts host, ‘and a win-win situation for Thirteen and our viewers. Both Thirteen and Bloomberg strive to bring the best arts and culture to the widest possible audience.’”

A feature story in the New York Post covers the final concert of The Police. “The show will benefit local public television stations Thirteen/WNET and WLIW21, which anticipate it will be the single largest fund-raising event in public TV history.”

Wide Angle’s Aaron Brown is mentioned in the USA Weekend Who’s News blog. Brown was recently a guest on News Talk Online, and his interview was noted by this blogger, eliciting the following comment: “Hallelujah!!! At last a man who is not afraid to stray from just reporting American events, and who sees the significance and importance on understanding how what happens in other countries impacts on our own country. He was a breath of fresh air.”

Channel 11’s Marvin Scott interviewed NY Comptroller William Thompson about the state’s economy after the live taping of Thirteen/WNET’s New York in the Red: The Governor Speaks. Susan Arbetter blogs about the program on the Times Union website. The entire program can be viewed on thirteen.org.

Bill Baker is “among 10 ‘Giants of Broadcasting’ to be honored by the Library of American Broadcasting in New York on Sept. 25,” reports TV Technology.

In my role as President of Thirteen, I’m always coming across a wide array of talented artists, musicians, and writers. And I like to think that this station not only showcases the most esteemed people working in their field, but also helps foster new, upcoming talent.

Which is why I’m so excited about this new musical group that we’re hosting next Thursday. They’re called The Police, and I’ve got to tell you: I see a big future for these kids. I’ve even heard a couple of their songs and I wouldn’t be surprised if pretty soon everyone is talking about this hot new group.

You may have heard that Andy, Stewart and Sting (yup, that’s what he’s called) will be at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, and that you can get tickets by making a donation to Thirteen/WNET and WLIW21 (http://www.publictelevisionrocks.org/). But what you may not know is that you can get in on the ground floor with this band and own a piece of history. The Police are auctioning off their signature instruments to benefit our stations. Own Sting’s bass guitar or microphone, Andy’s telecaster, or Stewart’s drums! How will these musicians carry on when they give up their instruments? Well… that’s just how much they love public television!

The auction runs on eBay from August 4th to 14th. Just click on this link (http://www.ebay.com/publictelevisionrocks) and let the bidding begin!

If my instincts are right, I think that these guys are destined for great things.