Inside Thirteen blogger: Neal Shapiro, President

What a treat it was to tape a segment (airing August 3rd) for SundayArts at the brand new Sports Museum of America in lower Manhattan. I should confess that before I went, I wondered if there really was a need for a museum about sports. But I was totally persuaded by the time I left. When you consider what Jackie Robinson accomplished… or Billie Jean King’s victory over Bobby Riggs in the so-called “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match… you realize just how much sports can mean to our country.

By collaborating with many of the athletic Halls of Fame around the country, this museum has incredible memorabilia from every sport: signed baseballs from Babe Ruth, Superbowl helmets from the world champion Giants, and the shoes—and they are very big shoes to fill—from Shaquille O’Neal. Oh yes, and there is also a real NASCAR vehicle and the actual Heisman trophy.

The Sports Museum of America itself is part of a plan to revitalize downtown Manhattan and it’s clearly having an impact. It is also revitalizing the way a museum engages its visitors… there are several original films to watch, and many interactive exhibits.

If you like sports or if you know people who like sports, they will love this museum.
http://www.sportsmuseum.com/

Inside Thirteen Blogger: Ellen Doherty, series producer, CYBERCHASE

On CYBERCHASE, not only do I get to work with wonderful colleagues here at Thirteen, making fun action adventure cartoons about math, but I also have the pleasure of working with incredibly talented actors like Christopher Lloyd, who was recently nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance as The Hacker, and comedian Gilbert Gottfried, who brings such humor and heart to cyberbird Digit.

This week, I got another memorable experience because Matthew Broderick, who’ll always have a place in my ‘80s heart for playing Ferris Bueller, stopped by to record a guest star spot in a special “Father’s Day” episode of CYBERCHASE that’ll premiere next year.

Matthew is playing both Max (the easy-going and likeable dad of a good friend of the CyberSquad) and an evil robot version of Max created by the villainous Hacker in order to ruin both Father’s Day and Max’s spotless reputation.

It was a real treat to watch Matthew bring these characters to life using only his voice, giving a warm “Daddiness” to Max and a dastardly zeal to Robot Max, Hacker’s evil invention. One of my favorite moments: there’s a spot in the script where Robot Max is spraying maple syrup over a crowd of people. The hilarious maniacal laughter Matthew gave Robot Max is not to be missed!

Matthew’s decision to take the role was motivated by someone who is perhaps both his biggest and smallest fan: his 5-year-old son, who watches CYBERCHASE all the time. (Matthew said he sometimes watches the show in the morning with his son.)
We had already decided to approach Matthew for the role of Max when we discovered this, but it was great to hear his wife Sarah Jessica Parker mention that their son was a CYBERCHASE fan during a TODAY show appearance in April.

Tune in a year from now to see Matthew’s performance as Max and Robot Max. It’s a long way off but don’t worry…we’ll remind you all about it!

Greetings,

We are a month away from launching our new season of programs and that seems like a good time to begin our conversation with you about what we are doing, why we are doing it and our own sense of what journalism in these times can be about.

With a month to go, the WIDE ANGLE staff is incredibly busy working with our filmmakers around the world to shape the pieces and get them ready for air. I am grateful for their experience and calm. As there is much work to do. It is not enough to simply present a program on Darfur or a program on the changing nature of the military in Japan or our own work on the sad and difficult Iraqi refugee problem in the Middle East. Our mission isn’t simply to make and support films on these issues.

What we must do and are doing is to make and shape films that look at these complicated issues in a compelling way. That requires not simply good journalism but good story telling – story telling with strong and compelling central characters that draw you into the journey we take each week. This is the essential difference between what I call “Eat Your Vegetables” journalism and work that you will not only watch but look forward to watching each week. In truth, the filmmakers and the WIDE ANGLE staff are far more experienced in the art of long form journalism than am I. So, I find myself helping some and learning a lot.

I come to this as a great believer in the mission and a great believer in you. This is a wonderful opportunity for me to engage in the kind of journalism that drew me to the craft a very long time ago. Modern media, with the pressures of minute-by-minute ratings, doesn’t always make that easy. A trip down Paris Hilton Lane is often easier and cheaper than a trip through the hospitals and culture of Mozambique. But you are a demanding bunch. You expect us to do work that is both important and compelling, and you should know how strongly all of us feel about delivering on that expectation. We are also sure you will tell us when we hit the mark and be just as vocal should we miss it.

That part of the season need not wait until we launch. We can begin now with a discussion of what you expect from us, from PBS and from the journalism you consume. I can’t promise we will answer each note we receive, but we will read them all and respond to as many as we can.

Finally, for some of you I am an old face in a new spot, for others I am just a refugee from cable news. To the first group, it will be so nice to work in front of you again. For that second group, I am eager to prove my chops. I trust you will not be bashful in your criticisms and – I hope – compliments.

Let the conversation begin! See Wide Angle site.

Aaron Brown
New York
May 29, 2008

(this post originally appears on Wide Angle web site)

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.

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: 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.

Thirteen Blogger: Andrew Yamato, Life After Broadcast (LAB)

Before coming to Thirteen, I’d worked as a curator aboard New York City’s own aircraft carrier—the Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum—so I was very excited to hear about the new 10-part PBS series Carrier, shot over six months aboard the nuclear carrier USS Nimitz during its 2005 deployment to the Persian Gulf.

The series airs nationwide from April 27th through May 2nd, but as part of Thirteen’s outreach effort for the series, we held a sneak preview screening of the series’ first episode for our Educator Members on Tuesday, March 25th. This was an audience in many cases coming straight from the classroom, so we served up some hearty chow before dimming the lights (including some MRE desserts which, judging from the leftovers, our guests found about as appetizing as our servicemen and women do!) From the first scenes of Nimitz’s crew bidding farewell to loved ones in their home port of San Diego, it was clear that Carrier would be less about a ship than about its shipmates. With unprecedented access to young men and women serving far from home in a controversial war, and the screen time to really to tell their stories, Carrier sets a new benchmark for “reality” television.

The focus on humanity rather than hardware extended into a lively post-screening discussion and Q&A featuring a special guest panel: Carrier producers Deborah Dickson and Jeff Dupre shared their recollections of having shot over 2000 hours of footage during Nimitz’s six month deployment; Lt. Suzanna Brugler fielded questions about today’s U.S. Navy, drawing on her own experience aboard the carrier USS Ronald Reagan; and a couple of old friends of mine, former USS Intrepid crewmembers Ray Stone and Bob Dougherty, described how life was different—and not so different—aboard aircraft carriers during WWII and the Cold War.

With insightful observations coming from both the panel and the audience, we were sorry to have to cut the conversation short, but the evening was appropriately rounded out with a preview of Thirteen’s new Carrier website, which invites sailors past and present to share their written or videotaped recollections of life aboard America’s fighting ships.

Thirteen blogger: Fred Kaufman, Executive Producer, Nature

A few years back, while producing our series Deep Jungle, I saw some extraordinary footage of a small, sparrow-sized bird doing a Michael Jackson moonwalk on a branch in the forests of Panama. The bird, called a manakin, was doing a little dance followed by a backward slide, and then a 360-degree spin. It was an eye-catching performance, but why such an elaborate show? The male was performing for a female. He was trying to impress her. He was looking for a mate. Cue video:

Boy trying to impress girl? Been there, done that–and not very well, by the way. Personality may get you a second date but looks get you the first or maybe being a good dancer. I don’t know any females who aren’t attracted to a guy who can dance. And guess what? It’s the same in the animal kingdom. If you’re a good-looking male and can build an impressive nest or sing a love song, or got some good moves,­ you, sir, are just what the females are looking for. Looking for love in all the wild places? Catch “What Females Want and Males Will Do” on Nature April 6 and 13.

There’s a new site for Thirteen/WNET that you should check out! I’m Colin Fitzpatrick, a web producer for Thirteen/WNET. I’d like to alert you to our launch of SundayArts, a site that brings our new Sunday afternoon cultural showcase online.

SundayArts is weekly magazine format program that will provide arts news, report on new museum acquisitions, inform you of the newest performances, and profiles and interviews with artists and art figures. The first 14 weeks of broadcast circulate around opera broadcasts from Live at Lincoln Center, like this week’s broadcast Madama Butterfly, and Great Performances @ the Met. This is all just a jumping off point for the web site, which will offer exclusive web content and a blog online, all with the ability for you to comment, provide feedback and questions.

On the blog, we’ve welcomed three fantastic writers who will keep you up to date with arts related news, reviews, and interviews. Jennifer Melick, whom this afternoon I discovered is a fellow ex-student of the double reeds like myself, has already put together an interview with Shu-Wing Li, who plays the title role in this Sunday’s Madama Butterfly. Also writing on the blog are Adam Wasserman, editor of Opera News, and Elisabeth Vincentelli, arts editor for Time Out New York, and former colleague of mine in my L.B.T. (Life Before Thirteen). You can learn more about all three of them here. I know I am definitely looking forward to seeing their work on the blog.

And this is only the beginning of what we will offer online for SundayArts. Look forward to both arts and performance event information on our site as well as a web exclusive series featuring young opera performers at the beginnings of their careers. In the meantime, you can subscribe to our RSS feed (look for the button near the bottom of the right hand bar) by just following the instructions on our site, and you’ll receive our online content updates as they happen. Enjoy.