Series Creator and Executive Producer of American Masters, Susan Lacy

The Producers Guild Awards celebrate the year’s finest producing work in motion picture and television. This past Saturday, American Masters was honored as Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television, beating out 30 for 30 from ESPN, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations from the Travel Channel, Deadliest Catch from the Discovery Channel, and Undercover Boss from CBS.

The PGA Awards win follows other honors for the 25th anniversary season of American Masters, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Primetime Nonfiction Series – its eighth win in 11 years! – and two Peabody Awards for A Letter to Elia and LennoNYC .

Congratulations to the American Masters team! Other winners from the PBS family include Masterpiece’s Downton Abbey (with the David L. Wolper Producer of the Year Award in Long-Form Television) and Sesame Street (with the Children’s Programs award).

At the Paley Center returns for a second season on January 19, this time focusing on the series, “She’s Making Media.”

In keeping with the Paley Center’s history of celebrating women’s contributions to the media landscape, the series features digital media’s next generation of women leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators while also looking at the work and wisdom from some of media’s icons.

At the Paley Center airs Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. on THIRTEEN.

Enter our giveaway for a chance to win a pair of tickets to an upcoming screening of “Hey Hey Hey…it’s Bill Cosby” at the Paley Center for Media.

Check out the full lineup of guests:

January 19: Glenn Close

January 26: Marlo Thomas

February 2: Jane Fonda

February 9: Arianna Huffington

February 16: Eve Ensler

February 23: Maria Elena Salinas

When Downton Abbey returns this Sunday, viewers can expect major changes as World War I makes its presence felt throughout the household and the lives and conventions of Downton’s residents are turned upside down.

Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, and Elizabeth McGovern are back with an all-star cast for the second season of Julian Fellowes’ Emmy Award winning drama.

Matthew Crawley and Lady Mary (Courtesy of (c) Carnival Film & Television Limited 2011 for MASTERPIECE)

Learn more about the series with video clips and extras, along with our brand new blog, Downton Dish, featuring episode recaps.

Season two of Downton Abbey airs Sundays January 8 through February 19 at 9 p.m. on THIRTEEN. Full episodes will also be available to watch online the Monday after broadcast, and available through March 6.

Neal Shapiro, President and CEO of WNET, recently sat down with Downton Abbey star Elizabeth McGovern (Lady Cora) to discuss season two, similarities to her character, her career in the theater, and much more:

Neal Shapiro, President and CEO of WNET, Dorothy Pacella, Executive Director of the Friends of THIRTEEN, and members of the Friends of THIRTEEN board joined the Macaulay Honors College in celebration of its 10th anniversary. Macaulay is the flagship honors program of the City University of New York, established in 2001 to attract top college applicants to CUNY with diverse academic and professional opportunities, extraordinary advisors, and a full academic scholarship. Since 2007, WNET has partnered with Macaulay to bring on exceptional students and alumni as volunteers, interns, production assistants, and staffers.

The anniversary event featured students and alumni telling stories of how Macaulay helped them achieve personal “firsts.” “Tonight you are seeing an institution that puts students at the center of everything we do,” said Dean Ann Kirschner. “Macaulay students are an incredibly talented, hard-working, and inspirational group.”

One of the featured student/alumni stories covered a recent highlight of the Macaulay-WNET partnership: a segment for SundayArts called “My First Opera.” Macaulay alumnus Daniel T. Allen, Production Coordinator for MetroFocus, WNET’s local news and culture magazine, presented alongside current student George Kruchinina about the project. During their winter break, six Macaulay freshmen spent weeks backstage as The Metropolitan Opera prepared Nixon in China for its Met debut. The SundayArts segment followed the students as they interacted with and interviewed composer John Adams, director Peter Sellars, Met general manager Peter Gelb and the many other professionals who make opera possible.

Watch My First Opera on PBS. See more from SundayArts.

Daniel began at WNET as an intern and went on to serve as the first Director of Community Engagement for Friends of THIRTEEN. He helped to develop several local documentaries including local supplements to Ken Burns’ The National Parks: America’s Best Idea and The Tenth Inning. Since joining WNET, Dan has been instrumental in establishing and cementing Macaulay’s partnership with the station. Since Dan came on in 2007, Macaulay has provided WNET with dozens of interns and volunteers, contributing hundreds of hours of volunteer service. Five Macaulay Honors College alumni are full-time employees at WNET.

The partnership has been beneficial for both parties, giving Macaulay students real world experience at one of New York’s premiere media, arts, and educational organizations, and offering the station access to a talented pool of passionate young pre-professionals with diverse interests. WNET looks forward to continuing this fruitful partnership for many years to come!

Lidia Bastianich

On Saturday, November 5, 2011, Fairway Stamford and public television host and renowned chef Lidia Bastianich will celebrate food and community in an event to support WNET New York Public Media, the parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21, New York’s public television stations and operator of NJTV.

Fairway Market will donate ten percent of sales on Friday, November 4th, and Saturday, November 5th, from its Fairway Wines & Spirits shop in Stamford to WNET as part of Fairway’s corporate sponsorship of the inaugural season of Vine Talk, a series about wine airing nationally on public television.

Lidia’s new series, based on the book of the same title, Lidia’s Italy in America, airs Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. (ET) on THIRTEEN and Mondays at 8 p.m. (ET) on WLIW21 (check local listings).

Enter to win a prize pack, including Lidia’s new book, Lidia’s Italy in America, a gift card from Fairway, and a THIRTEEN/WLIW21 tote bag!

Watch a preview of Lidia’s Italy in America:

Lidia will kick-off the festivities at 11 a.m. with the signing of her series companion cookbook, Lidia’s Italy in America (Knopf) and her popular children’s book, Nonna Tell Me a Story: Lidia’s Christmas Kitchen (Running Press Kids).  Filled with adventures and irresistible recipes, both books are  journeys into the heart of authentic Italian cooking.  Wine tasting will follow the book signing at the adjacent store, Fairway Wines & Spirits.

At the event on Saturday, November 5th, Fairway Stamford will feature a free spectacular sampling of LIDIA’S pasta and sauces and Fairway food specials for the fall. Guests are also invited to a tasting of Bastianich’s wines at the Fairway Wines & Spirits shop in Stamford.  (There will be wine tastings on both Friday, November 4th*, and Saturday, November 5th.)

EVENT SCHEDULE:
Fairway with Lidia Bastianich for WNET
Saturday, November 5, 2011
11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Fairway Stamford (699 Canal Street, Stamford, CT 06902)
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Book signing: 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Fairway Wines & Spirits (689 Canal Street, Stamford, CT 06902)
Friday, November 4, 2011
Wine tasting: 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.*

Saturday, November 5, 2011
Wine tasting and bottle signing:  12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

*Lidia Bastianich will not be at Friday’s wine tasting.

Sample a recipe from Lidia’s Italy in America: Read More …

Executive Producers of 'Women, War and Peace,' Abigail E. Disney, Gini Reticker and Pamela Hogan (Photo courtesy of Andy Fredericks)

Inside Thirteen recently spoke with Abigail E. Disney and Gini Reticker, the filmmakers behind Pray the Devil Back to Hell, which tells the groundbreaking story of the Liberian women who took on the warlords and the regime of dictator Charles Taylor in the midst of a brutal civil war, and won a once unimaginable peace for their shattered country in 2003.

Here, Disney and Reticker discuss their inspiration for the film, and the challenges they faced in acquiring footage.

Pray the Devil Back to Hell premieres as part of Women, War and Peace on October 18 at 10 p.m.

Ms. Disney and Ms. Reticker answered our questions via email.

Inside Thirteen: What inspired you to make Pray the Devil Back to Hell?

Gini Reticker: I have always been interested in women’s stories and have produced and directed docs on women around the world, including Africa. So when Abigail Disney, the producer of Pray the Devil Back to Hell, told me that she had met some Liberian women with an amazing and inspiring David and Goliath story, I wasn’t sure I believed her. I couldn’t believe the amazing true story of how a simple, interfaith, nonviolent protest movement—women in white T-shirts—had broken down a brutal war machine that had seemed permanently entrenched in Liberia. Surely, if it were true, someone would have reported it and all that was in the press were reports of the overwhelming atrocities committed against women in Liberia. Then we met Leymah Gbowee and I knew that this was a story that had to be told.

Abigail E. Disney: I was very interested in Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf because she was elected as the first female head of state in Africa since Cleopatra. While this may be an overstatement, it nevertheless grabbed my attention because I know from my experience working with women that an election such as this doesn’t come from nowhere. There had to have been some groundwork laid for such an historic event to have occurred. So my interest was already piqued when a friend, Swanee Hunt, who ran the Women & Public Policy program at the Kennedy School at Harvard, asked me to go with her to Liberia to see if there was anything we could do to support Ellen’s presidency. During our trip, I heard the story of women’s involvement in the peace process that ended Liberia’s civil war. I heard it repeatedly and was struck by the fact that I hadn’t heard this story in the news. It was historic, epic and courageous, yet no one outside of Liberia knew it. And what was worse was that it was clearly on its way to being forgotten. It was an oral story that wasn’t written anywhere. While the women were telling it amongst themselves, I was concerned that the process of erasure was setting in. I went home from the trip with the sense that it might be possible to pull this important story back from the edge and the feeling that we had to choose to prevent this erasure from occurring, and beyond that, to lift up the example of these women and show the world what they’d done.

IT: Was there any resistance to allowing the events surrounding the peace talks in Accra be filmed?

GR: We were not filming during this time. All of the footage from this event is archival footage.

IT: What was the hardest part of making this film?

GR: The most difficult part making this film was finding footage of the women’s actions. Though hours and hours of footage exists that captures child soldiers, horrible brutality and battle scenes, there was virtually no footage of the women’s involvement fighting for peace. I knew that if we didn’t find the footage to back up their story—which I had pieced together from hours of interviews with over 20 women—it would be as if what they did had never happened. Their story would disappear from its rightful place in history. So we kept searching, turning over ever stone imaginable, eventually getting some of the key footage from Charles Taylor’s own videographer.

AD: We didn’t understand at the time we started how much we would have to rely on archival footage, so the lack of footage didn’t daunt us at the beginning. We didn’t really understand until we were deep into production just how hard it was going to be to find the archival footage we needed. In fact, a pivotal moment in the film, when Leymah Gbowee threatens to strip naked, was footage we couldn’t find until the last three weeks of the editing process. It was like our Moby Dick. We just couldn’t find it!

Women work in informal networks: a friend of a friend said, “I hear you’re looking for this. I think you should try this guy.” It turned out that this man had been the presidential videographer in Liberia since 1978. He had been there for the original coup, the assassination of everybody in the ministries, and the mortar attacks on the presidential palace. In an effort to cut costs, President Sirleaf had eliminated the position of presidential videographer but he had kept everything in boxes spread around in safe houses because he understood how inflammatory it was; it was dangerous to have, and he had everything.

IT: How has the women’s peace movement changed the way women are viewed and treated in Liberian society? Can the fact that a female president was elected following the war be attributed to their success?

Liberian women demonstrate at the American Embassy in Monrovia at the height of the civil war, 2003 (Photo courtesy of Pewee Flomoku)

GR: There are more girls enrolling in school, running for class office; more women going to night school to learn to read; more women participating in the electoral process; more women in government. As Leymah Gbowee says at the end of the film, “There’s no way that the history of Madam Sirleaf can be written without the history of the women’s peace work. It was the cake, and then her election was the icing.”

IT: What message do you hope viewers will take from the film?

GR: I hope viewers take away a sense of hope and inspiration that can apply to their own lives. If these women from Liberia, who are not really very different than any of us, can face the odds they did and still do what they did, any of us can do the same. It has been said before, but it’s worth repeating: you can never underestimate the power of a small group of determined people to change the course of history!

AD: I hope that viewers will take away with them the sense that the women of Liberia, when faced with the terrible trauma of war, were not simply victims but were propelled to be leaders and peacemakers. A lot of people who watch the film, both men and women, have a tendency to personalize it in a way that really surprised and incredibly pleased me. People have embraced the film and feel a certain relief at finding somebody for whom they can genuinely use the word “hero.”

For the first time in history, the four leading government and private organizations overseeing management of the Great Lakes are meeting in Detroit simultaneously.  Detroit Public Television is providing public access to those discussions with Greak Lakes Now, allowing all affected states, including New York, to be involved in the conference.

Great Lakes Week will take place in Detroit from October 11th to the 14th, and includes simultaneous conferences from the International Joint Commission, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Great Lakes Commission, Healing Our Waters/Great Lakes Coalition, and the EPA’s Areas of Concern annual meeting.

The event marks the largest gathering of scientists, political voices, educators, environmentalists, and interested groups ever assembled to discuss the status and the future of the Great Lakes.

Coverage highlights include:

•    Keynote speakers: Former Vice President Al Gore, U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson

•    Great Lakes Town Hall: Wednesday afternoon, with live online audience participation 
(Special Hashtag: #askGLW)

•    Speakers from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Washington, Toronto, Windsor, Ottawa, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia

•    Key Issues: Health of the Great Lakes, chemicals of concern, successful restoration efforts, economic and employment opportunities of the Great Lakes, invasive species, water quality, stormwater and wastewater issues, infrastructure issues, and algae bloom.

Live Programming Schedule (EST)
C-Span style coverage of conference sessions, interviews with experts and scientists.

•    Wednesday, October 12:  12N-6PM

•    Thursday, October 13:  8:30AM-5PM

•    Friday, October 14:  8AM-4PM

Watch live coverage here:

This year, Masterpiece took home six Primetime Emmy Awards for Downton Abbey, including Outstanding Miniseries or Movie.

Check out the full list of awards:

Outstanding Miniseries or Movie
Downton Abbey (A co-production of Carnival and Masterpiece)

Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special
Julian Fellowes

Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special
Brian Percival

Oustanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham

Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie
David Katznelson, DFF, Director of Photography

Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
Susannah Buxton, Costume Designer

The series was just granted another honor: Guiness World Records has awarded Downton Abbey for having the “highest critical ratings for a TV show,” making it the most critically well-received show in the world!

Downton Abbey returns to Masterpiece on January 8, 2012. Check out the series’ new site for behind-the-scenes features, cast Q&A’s, and more.

Watch a preview of Downton Abbey Series II:

(View full post to see video)

The Bryant Park Corporation has announced the fourth annual Bryant Park Fall Festival presented by Bank of America, which will be held from September 16-23 in Bryant Park. WNET again joins the Festival as a media partner.

The Festival will feature evening performances by Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber, China Institute in America, Ballet Hispanico, the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Jazzmobile, Elisa Monte Dance, Jennifer Muller/The Works, RIOULT, and daytime programs from City Winery, operamission, the Rubin Museum of Art, PuppetMobile, and Vital Theatre Company.

Families can look forward to a new addition to the Festival line-up: pre-performance interactive programs presented by Kids Club Thirteen on September 20, 22, and 23, along with lunchtime presentations on 9/17 and 18 (see schedule below for details).  The performing arts come to life with workshops, hands-on activities, favorites from PBS kids shows, and more.

Fans of THIRTEEN on Facebook are able to enter to win VIP treatment on all eight nights of the Festival. Benefits include: priority reserved table seating for two (in front of general seating), light snacks from ‘wichcraft, two drink tickets compliments of City Winery and more.

Check out the full event schedule:

Friday, September 16

12:30 pm: City Winery

Red Poetry: wine and poetry collide in City Winery’s latest limited edition wines.  Grape-inspired poetry gets a rhythmic beat with live music and readings by the Bowery Poetry Club.

6 p.m.: Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber

Greg Tate, Vernon Reid, Melvin Van Peebles, and Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber rock the James Brown, Bowie, Van Peebles, Miles, and Sugar Songbooks. Presented by the Black Rock Coalition.

Saturday, September 17

1:00 pm: Kids Club Thirteen presents the PuppetMobile

Master puppeteers tell the story of Bessie the Cow’s dream to join the circus.  Don’t miss the pre-show workshop at noon.

6:00 pm: China Institute in America

The Shanghai Restoration Project and Le Zhang.  Classical Chinese music meets jazz, hip hop, and electronica.

Sunday, September 18

1:00 pm:  Kids Club Thirteen presents Vital Theatre Company

Sing along to a medley of favorites from Pinkalicious, The Musical and Uncle Pirate.  Celebrate all things pink and meet Pinkalicious herself.

6:00 pm: Ballet Hispanico

Theatrical and passionate works from the nation’s premier Latino dance company.

Monday, September 19

12:30 pm:  operamission

Figaro al fresco: a comic cliffhanger.  Acts I & II of Mozart’s opera Le Nozze di Figaro in a fresh and vibrant new staging.

6:00 pm: Jennifer Muller/The Works

Electrifying and virtuosic movement by the world-renowned contemporary dance company.

Tuesday, September 20

5:00 pm: Kids Club Thirteen Pre-Performance Workshop

6:00 pm: The Metropolitan Opera’s  Lindemann Young Artist Development Program Opera’s rising stars perform a selection of favorite arias, songs, and duets.

Wednesday, September 21

12:30 pm: Rubin Museum of Art

Famed opera and theater director Peter Sellars and the dramatization of the irreverent and profound Vimalakirti Sutra.

6:00 pm: Jazzmobile

Seasoned drummer and vibrant band leader Winard Harper leads a superb septet in a non-stop set of Jazz and African rhythms.

Thursday, September 22

5:00 pm: Kids Club Thirteen Pre-Performance Workshop

6:00 pm: Elisa Monte Dance

Ferociously exciting modern dance company – a performing tour-de-force.

Friday, September 23

5:00 pm: Kids Club Thirteen Pre-Performance Workshop

6:00 pm: RIOULT

Musically astute, visually arresting, kinetically thrilling modern dance.

**Additional support for the Bryant Park Fall Festival is provided by the Durst Organization Inc. and HBO, and by media partners WNET New York Public Media, WNYC, and amNEWYORK.

This Saturday night, WNET took home five Primetime Emmy Awards: two for Great Performances, two for American Masters, and one for Great Performances at the Met (see categories below).

This marks the 8th time that American Masters has won the Emmy for Outstanding Non-Fiction Series in 11 years.

Congratulations to all of our winners!

OUTSTANDING MUSIC DIRECTION
Harry Connick Jr., In Concert On Broadway (Great Performances)

Harry Connick Jr., Music Director

OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A SERIES (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE)
American Masters
John Muir In The New World

Garth Neustadter, Music by

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL DIRECTION, CAMERAWORK, VIDEO CONTROL FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A SPECIAL
Don Pasquale (Great Performances At The Met)

Emmett Loughran, Technical Director
Miguel Armstrong, Camera
Joseph Debonis, Camera
Manny Gutierrez, Camera
Shaun Harkins, Camera
John Kosmaczewski, Camera
Bob Long, Camera
Jay Millard, Camera
Alain Onesto, Camera
David Smith, Camera
Larry Solomon, Camera
Ron Washburn, Camera
Mark Whitman, Camera
Anthony DeFonzo, Video Control
Matty Randazzo, Video Control
Paul Ranieri, Video Control

OUTSTANDING NONFICTION SERIES (Area Award: Possibility of more than one award.)
American Masters

Susan Lacy, Executive Producer
Stanley Buchthal, Executive Producer
Michael Cohl, Executive Producer
Prudence Glass, Series Producer
Julie Sacks, Supervising Producer
Michael Epstein, Producer
Jessica Levin, Producer

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL
Sondheim! The Birthday Concert (Great Performances)

Lonny Price, Directed by