On Thursday November 5th, New York Governor David Paterson appeared on THIRTEEN in a special town hall meeting on the state’s economic crisis, moderated by WNET.ORG special correspondent Rafael Pi Roman. The hour-long discussion featured questions for the governor solicited from thirteen.org. If you missed the program, you can watch it below.

Forty years ago, Sesame Street premiered on New York television. In celebration of November 10, 1969, check out this clip from that very first episode, featuring the appearances by Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Gordon, Susan, Bob, and Mr. Hooper.

(View full post to see video)

After several decades of advancement in Muppet and video technologies, the Sesame Street cast and crew still inspire and educate millions of children all around the world.

Got a favorite Sesame Street character? We’re sharing the 13 characters we love the most — now tell us your faves!

As the world remembers the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, watch “After the Fall,” which aired on PBS’ Global Voices in 2008. The film is a portrait of modern Berlin, recounting the story and disappearance of the most absurd of the world’s constructions: the Berlin Wall.

WNET.ORG correspondent Rafael Pi Roman speaks with Donald G. McNeil, Jr., Science and Health Reporter at The New York Times, about President Obama’s declaration of a H1N1 national emergency, and the reports of shortages of the H1N1 vaccine.

For more on how the H1N1 “swine flu” virus is affecting New York, please visit our comprehensive website that features the latest news from across the PBS spectrum as well as original reports from the field.

Laura Berning earns a living by knocking on strangers’ doors and asking to peek inside. She’s scouted and managed locations for major Hollywood motion pictures, including Quiz Show, Donnie Brasco, and Spider-Man 2. Generally, Laura sticks to scouting Manhattan, snapping photos and putting together location files for directors to review. She’s the subject of the latest installment of the thirteen.org original video series “New York on the Clock.” Inside THIRTEEN spoke with Daniel Ross, a producer of the series, about his experience on location with Laura Berning.

Q. During the course of your shoot, did you come across a location with Laura where you thought, “Damn. I’d love to film something else here someday…”

A. We visited a roof terrace at Rockefeller Center (which you see in the piece). It’s actually a really strange spot, about 10 stories above the street, dominated by sleek skyscrapers, pre-war office buildings, and the steeples of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Q. As a filmmaker yourself, do you have the same eye as Laura when it comes to scouting locations? Or does she have a different way that she looks at places?

A. Laura’s scouting is a bit different than what I encounter when shooting. Usually, I shoot where I have to — a subject’s workplace, home, hangout, etc. I don’t really get to choose. When I do sit-down interviews with a subject, I get to frame him or her with the background I want, but it still has to come from a location that’s part of the subject’s life. Laura works in fiction, so she has the good fortune (or curse) to be more choosy. She can also imagine a location’s potential after set and production design
inevitably alter it from its natural state.

Q. Has Laura’s job changed a lot since she started in the business 15 years ago?

A. Now that we’re in a severe recession, Laura says, buildings and homeowners are less likely to offer bargain deals for permission to shoot their locations. While more places are opening their doors to film productions as an added source of revenue, the ability of studios to negotiate low shooting fees has decreased.

Despite polls that showed Michael Bloomberg with a double-digit lead in New York City’s mayoral election, the incumbent squeaked by Comptroller William Thompson to win a third term as mayor Tuesday night. With 100% of New York City precincts reporting, Bloomberg edged out Thompson, the Democratic challenger, by 51 percent to 46 percent. Bloomberg becomes the fourth mayor of New York City to serve at least three terms.

What do you think of Mayor Bloomberg’s victory? Are three terms too much? Please post your comments below.

This Thursday at 9 p.m. on THIRTEEN, New York Governor David Paterson will appear in a special town hall meeting to answer questions from New Yorkers about the economic climate in the state.

Got a question for the governor? Submit your question to Gov. Paterson in our comments section below — it may be asked in Thursday’s town-hall meeting.

Submission deadline: Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 3 p.m.

Paula Kerger – President and CEO of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) – returned “home” to WNET.ORG on October 21st to address the Board of Directors of the Friends of THIRTEEN. Kerger, who began her public broadcasting career at THIRTEEN, was the keynote speaker in a meeting that also featured presentations by WNET.ORG President and CEO, Neal Shapiro, and WNET.ORG Vice President for Education, Ron Thorpe.

Kerger is a familiar face in the halls of WNET.ORG’s headquarters in midtown Manhattan. During her 13-year tenure with public television in New York, she held a series of leadership positions and was instrumental in overseeing the growth and diversification of THIRTEEN, WLIW21 and their many channels and services. In 2006, she was serving as WNET’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer when she was tapped to become the head of PBS in Washington. Read More …

Ev’rybody’s talkin’ ’bout
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism, ism ism ism
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

- Lyrics from Give Peace a Chance, John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band

John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s famous song was written and performed during their “Bed-In” in a hotel room in Montreal in June of ‘69. But it didn’t become a true anti-war anthem until Pete Seeger led nearly a quarter of a million people to sing the song during the largest anti-Vietnam war protest in America in November of that year in Washington, D.C.

This is just one example of the power that music, and the artists that create it, can have to change the world. And it’s the message of How The Beatles Rocked the Kremlin, a documentary coming to THIRTEEN on November 9th. The film tells the surprising story about how The Beatles and their music instilled rebelliousness in Eastern Bloc youth, ultimately bringing down the Soviet Union.

To celebrate music as a force for social change, THIRTEEN is asking viewers to go online – www.thirteen.org/beatles — to nominate bands or musicians that have changed the world. Read More …

Allan Miller has produced and directed over 35 films and television programs around the world, documenting some of the most important musical events of the last two decades. He has won 2 Academy Awards: best Feature Length Documentary for his 1979 film “FROM MAO TO MOZART - Isaac Stern in China,” and in 1975 for “THE BOLERO,” best short feature, with Zubin Mehta and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. “SMALL WONDERS,” the story of a violin program in the public schools of East Harlem, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1996. His newest film, YOU CANNOT START WITHOUT ME – Valery Gergiev – Maestro, a co-production of Thirteen in association with White Nights Foundation of America and WNET.ORG premieres at Symphony Space on November 2nd thru Nov 7th 2009 with Sunday screenings on Nov 8th, 15th and 22nd. The film is an intimate portrait of Russian dynamo Valery Gergiev, one of the leading conductors of our time. The film moves between rehearsal and performance sequences in major capitals around the world, and provides a glimpse of Gergiev’s demanding life as administrator of the enormous Mariinsky theater in St. Petersburg. Read More …