WGBH pressroom

November 3, 2009

PBS and NPR stations across the country collaborate to launch the newly redesigned Forum Network, an online video lecture service and website

Boston, MA – PBS, NPR and WGBH announce today the launch of the redesigned Forum Network (forum-network.org), a national digital media lecture service and website that provides free educative content in the form of online lectures to citizens of local communities and beyond. Public stations across the country are working in collaboration with local mission-driven community organizations, and cultural and educational institutions to produce free online lectures that educate, inform and engage people in ideas, cultural diversity, and compelling issues of our time.

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October 29, 2009

Frontline Correspondent Lowell Bergman investigates the massive consumer loan industry in "The Card Game"

Tuesday, November 24 at 9pm on WGBH 2/HD

As credit card companies face rising public anger, new regulation from Washington, and staggering new rates of default and bankruptcy, Frontline correspondent Lowell Bergman investigates the future of the massive consumer loan industry and its impact on a fragile national economy. In "The Card Game"—a follow-up to the Secret History of the Credit Card and a joint project with The New York Times—Bergman and the Times talk to industry insiders, lobbyists, politicians and consumer advocates as they square off over attempts to reform the way the industry has done business for decades.

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WGBH, WGBY to launch Massachusetts edition of Teachers’ Domain

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to offer free standards-based digital media resources to educators

WGBH Boston and WGBY Springfield today announced that Teachers’ Domain, the public broadcasters’ free online media library of classroom-ready digital resources for teachers and students, is partnering with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to launch Massachusetts Teachers’ Domain. This edition of Teachers’ Domain will align all its media resources for PreK-12 educators and students to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. The goal of Massachusetts Teachers’ Domain is to give Massachusetts educators direct access to digital resources related to concepts and skills in the Frameworks to help galvanize classroom learning.

Today’s launch of Massachusetts Teachers’ Domain is the first step in a multi-year partnership between WGBH, WGBY, and the Massachusetts DESE to make the service increasingly useful to Massachusetts educators, students, and parents. Massachusetts Teachers’ Domain currently offers more than 2,200 free, classroom-ready media resources from the best in public television, including video and audio segments, interactives, student activities, and lesson plans for teachers.

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WGBH names Melinda Braithwaite Vice President of Human Resources

WGBH today announced the appointment of Melinda Braithwaite as the public broadcaster’s Vice President of Human Resources.

In her new role, Braithwaite will oversee WGBH’s comprehensive Human Resources operations, a role critical to the continued success of the Foundation’s educational mission. Among her duties will be supervision of all personnel activities, including hiring, training, performance evaluation and career-advancement initiatives.

“We’re delighted to have Mindy join our senior management team,” said Ben Godley, Executive Vice President, WGBH, to whom she will report. “She’s adept at aligning HR strategy and tactics with a company’s objectives, helping organizations of many sizes design and implement systems that maximize effectiveness. Mindy will certainly be an asset for WGBH.”

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Download photo (.jpg) Caption: Melinda Braithwaite, WGBH Vice President of Human Resources; Credit WGBH

WGBH presents first ever Curious George® holiday special "A Very Monkey Christmas"

Premieres Thursday, November 26 at 8am on WGBH 2/HD

Go on a holiday adventure with Curious George as he prepares for Christmas Day in "A Very Monkey Christmas"—the charming new holiday special from WGBH's Curious George. "A Very Monkey Christmas" marks George’s first foray into the world of holiday-themed programming, and is bound to become a holiday tradition for kids from one to 92! Peppered with classic Christmas carols, "A Very Monkey Christmas" also features three original songs —“Are You Ready?”, “Something As Special as You”, and “Christmas Monkey.” “Viewers of all ages will fall in love with "A Very Monkey Christmas,”" said Executive Producer for WGBH
Dorothea Gillim. “The special features some of the series’ most beloved characters in a story that reveals the true spirit of the holiday season, and highlights the importance of spending time with those you love all year long.”

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Telling Our Stories: Native Americans celebrates Native American culture

Throughout November on WGBH 2, WGBH 44, WGBH World, WGBH 89.7 and Forum Network

www.wgbh.org/stories

During the month of November, WGBH commemorates Native American Heritage Month with Telling Our Stories, an initiative that builds on WGBH’s year-round commitment to create and broadcast programs that reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity of the communities WGBH serves. Local sponsorship of Telling Our Stories is generously provided by UMass Boston.

TELEVISION
Summer Sun, Winter Moon
Words on the Wind
Aleut Story
Frontier Visionary: George Catlin and the Plains Indians
For the Rights of All: Ending Jim Crow in Alaska
To Brooklyn and Back: A Mohawk Journey
P.O.V.: “Standing Silent Nation”
Independent Lens: “Power Paths”
River of Renewal
Independent Lens: “March Point”
Way of the Warrior
True Whispers: The Story of the Navajo Code Talkers
American Experience: “We Shall Remain”
A Blackfeet Encounter
Playing for the World: 1904 Indian Girls Basketball
Jim Thorpe: World’s Greatest Athlete
Weaving Worlds
Independent Lens: “Miss Navajo”

RADIO
Classical Music With Cathy Fuller
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate: Tracing Mississippi Thunderbird/Azica

Arts & Ideas
Among the Navajo — A Journey into the In Between

WGBH FORUM NETWORK
www.wgbh.org/forum
• In Their Own Voice: Native Americans Tell Their History
• French and Indian War: Struggle for North America
• Patriots of Color: Revolutionary Heroes
• Holding the Truth: Reflections of a Navajo Artist

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October 26, 2009

WGBH hosts special Veteran’s Day screening and discussion of The End of the Tunnel, the final episode of the award-winning series Vietnam: A Television History

WHAT:
WGBH screens The End of the Tunnel (1973-1975), the final episode of the series Vietnam: A Television History. This hour focuses on the last two years of the conflict, from the signing of the Paris Peace Agreements to the fall of Saigon, and features the voices of soldiers from North and South Vietnam, as well as American political and military advisors.  The screening is followed by a panel discussion with the program’s producer, award-winning filmmaker Elizabeth Deane, and scholars Hue-Tam Ho Tai, Kenneth T. Young Professor of Sino-Vietnamese History at Harvard University, and Marc J. Selverstone from the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs, who will speak to the war’s impact and perspectives in America and Vietnam.  

PANELISTS:
Elizabeth Deane, WGBH producer/writer, The End of the Tunnel
Hue-Tam Ho Tai, Kenneth T. Young professor of Sino-Vietnamese History, Harvard University
Marc Selverstone, professor, University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs

MODERATOR:    
Judith Vecchione, WGBH associate producer, The End of the Tunnel

WHEN:       
Wednesday, November 11, 7-9pm
Veterans and WGBH members: free; Non-members: $10
RSVP is required, to reserve your seat, please call (617) 300-5400 or visit: http://www.wgbh.org/vietnamticket

WHERE:    
WGBH’s Yawkey Theater, One Guest Street, Brighton, MA

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October 22, 2009

Antiques Roadshow premieres Special Edition: “Relative Riches”

Monday, November 23, 2009 at 8pm on WGBH 2/HD

Fans of Antiques Roadshow know the owner’s version of an object’s history can be highly unreliable. Roadshow’s Special Edition: “Relative Riches,” puts family folklore to the test, as experts reveal the true stories of eighteen purported heirlooms from Roadshow’s thirteen-year inventory.

Did that refinished chair once seat royalty? Did a tall tale get passed down with a tall chest? “Relative Riches” demonstrates the proof is in the provenance, Monday, November 23, 2009 at 8pm on WGBH 2/HD.

“Relative Riches” revisits—and sometimes redeems—some of Roadshow’s shakiest heirloom claims, including: a questionable 1815 Kentucky corner cupboard that might have more value as firewood than furniture; an 1849 Colt pocket revolver reportedly fired during Abraham Lincoln’s assassination; and a ruby and diamond bracelet family legend attributes to Marie Antoinette.

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WGBH’S Emily Rooney to receive 3rd Annual John Kleshinski Prize

Citywide supporters of arts and culture will gather at four-star Hamersley's Bistro in the South End on Sunday, October 25 at 1:00 p.m. to celebrate award-winning journalist and talk show host, Emily Rooney. Ms. Rooney will receive the 3rd Annual John Kleshinski Prize from Community Music Center of Boston.

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AfroPop: “The Ultimate Cultural Exchange II”

Documentary Series on Contemporary African Diaspora Returns for Second Season

Tony Award winning actress Anika Noni Rose, who recently made history by being cast as the first-ever African-American princess in Disney's The Princess and the Frog, hosts the new season of AfroPoP: "The Ultimate Cultural Exchange." An innovative documentary series on contemporary life, art and pop culture in the African Diaspora, AfroPoP’s second season begins Sunday, November 15 at 7pm on WGBH 44. The series is produced by the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC), and co-presented by American Public Television (APT).

The Films:

The Fighting Spirit – Sunday, November 15 at 7-8pm on WGBH 44
Dir. George Amponsah
Desert Bayou – Sunday, November 15 at 8-9pm on WGBH 44
Dir. Alex LeMay
Black to Our Roots – Sunday, November 22 at 7-8pm on WGBH 44
Dir. Tre Whitlow
Moving to the Beat – Sunday, November 22 at 8-9pm on WGBH 44
Dir. Caleb Heymann/Abdul Fofanah

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October 20, 2009

WGBH Radio hosts children from Brighton’s Conservatory Lab Charter School for live performance in Fraser Studio

WHAT:
WGBH Radio hosts a group of children from the Conservatory Lab Charter School in Brighton for a live performance by baroque trio Aldo Abreu (recorderist), Peter Sykes (harpsichordist) and Sarah Freiberg (cellist). The visit is part of WGBH’s “Music Unfiltered” campaign that stresses the importance of music education as a foundation for life long learning. As a major presenter of music in New England and the rest of the world, WGBH is dedicated to bringing the public music in its purest, unfiltered form — without commercial interruption. For details, please visit www.wgbh.org/musicunfiltered.

WHO:
Cathy Fuller, WGBH radio host
Aldo Abreu, recorderist
Peter Sykes, harpsichordist
Sarah Freiberg, cellist
Conservatory Lab Charter School children

WHEN:
Thursday, October 22, 10:30am (performance begins at 11am)
Interviews at noon

WHERE:
WGBH’s Fraser Performance Studio, One Guest Street, Brighton, MA

Special thanks to the Pita Pit for its generous support of WGBH.

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October 15, 2009

American Experience “The 1930s”

Mondays, October 26-November 23, 9-10pm on WGBH 2/HD

Five-part series examines the political and cultural life of America during one of history’s most tumultuous decades

They were years of uncertainty, perseverance and hope. An economic crisis unlike any before — fueled by stock market manipulation, flowing credit and a real-estate bubble — swept across the nation. Unemployment was soaring; consumer confidence falling. On the horizon, an environmental catastrophe loomed if humanity refused to accept nature’s limits. In the White House, a newly elected president championed a bold stimulus plan to revitalize the economy, including an innovative proposal to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in environmental conservation.

Local sponsorship of American Experience is generously provided by Northeastern University.

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Masterpiece Contemporary “Place of Execution”

Sunday, November 1, 2009, 9-10:30pm on WGBH 2/HD
Sunday, November 8, 2009, 9-10pm on WGBH 2/HD

Juliet Stevenson stars as a journalist trying to solve the four-decade-old disappearance of a 13-year-old girl; David Tennant hosts

Juliet Stevenson (Bend It Like Beckham, “The Politician’s Wife”) stars as a journalist trying to crack a four-decade-old case of a missing girl in “Place of Execution,” based on the psychological thriller by best-selling Scottish novelist Val McDermid (Wire in the Blood). The recent UK broadcast had critics spellbound. “What a haunting, perfect piece of drama … Fanatically gripping!” raved The Observer.

Local sponsorship of Masterpiece is generously provided by Huntington Theatre and Skinner.

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Nova “Becoming Human: Unearthing Our Earliest Ancestors”

Tuesdays, November 3-17, 2009 8-9pm on WGBH 2/HD

Remarkable discoveries and vivid images illuminate the journey of our earliest ancestors in Nova’s comprehensive three-part series on human evolution

Nothing is more fascinating to us than, well, us. Where did we come from? What makes us human? The first in-depth televised investigation documenting an explosion of recent discoveries, Nova's three-part special, “Becoming Human: Unearthing Our Earliest Ancestors,” examines what the latest scientific research reveals about our hominid relatives — putting together the pieces of our human past and transforming our understanding of our earliest ancestors.

Featuring interviews with renowned scientists, each hour unfolds with a “CSI”-like forensic investigation into the life and death of a specific hominid ancestor. “Becoming Human” was shot “in the trenches,” where discoveries were unearthed throughout Africa and Europe. Dry bones spring back to life with stunning computer-generated animation and prosthetics. Fossils not only offer clues to what early hominids looked like, but, with the aid of ingenious new lab techniques, how they lived and how we became the creative, “behaviorally modern” humans of today.

Local sponsorship of Nova is generously provided by Bentley University, Putnam Investments, and Wolf Greenfield.

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New Independent Lens films air on WGBH in November

Sundays at 9pm (unless otherwise noted) on WGBH 44

pbs.org/independentlens/

WGBH 44 presents a number of new Independent Lens films in November, including:

November 8 – Independent Lens: “Power Paths”
November 8 (10-11:30pm) – Independent Lens: “D Tour”
November 15 – Independent Lens: “No Subtitles Necessary: Laszio and Vilmos”
November 22 – Independent Lens: “Objectified”

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October 8, 2009

WGBH’s Basic Black launches 2009-10 season with 26 live episodes and new, interactive web portal

Live, half-hour panel discussions air Thursdays on WGBH 2/HD beginning October 22 at 7:30pm and stream live at www.basicblack.org

WGBH announced today that Basic Black returns for its 42nd season on the airwaves with 26 new episodes, premiering on Thursday, October 22 at 7:30pm on WGBH 2/HD. The new season features live panel discussions in a provocative and fresh examination of the black experience and an in-depth look at local and national current events. Simultaneously, the program streams online at its new companion web portal (www.basicblack.org), in concert with a live chat, so that the general public can join the discussion or comment online in real time. Local sponsorship of Basic Black is generously provided by Umass Boston.

Follow Basic Black on Twitter or join the Facebook group

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WGBH presents When a Child Knows Someone with Cancer: Helping Young Children Cope with the Cancer Diagnosis of a Loved One

Special screening of the “The Great MacGrady,” a new episode from the children’s program Arthur, followed by an expert panel discussion at WGBH’s Brighton Studios

Watch a trailer of this half-hour special on cancer and survivorship that features a guest appearance by Lance Armstrong

WHAT: WGBH hosts a special screening and discussion of “The Great MacGrady” with experts in the field of pediatric health and education. Parents, caregivers, school guidance counselors, nurses, teachers, principals, and health educators invited to special event that helps families and school staff communicate with children about cancer. Attendees will receive new educational tools, including When Someone You Know Has Cancer, an activity booklet for families, and K-2 classroom lesson plans developed in partnership with LIVESTRONG at School, a program of the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

PANELISTS:
Dr. Johnye Ballenger, pediatrician, Cambridge, MA
Jill Charney, MSW, School Adjustment Counselor, Winter Hill Comm. School, Somerville, MA
Devon McGoldrick, MPH, Education and Program Development, Project Manager, Lance Armstrong Foundation
Mark Springer, M.Ed., Principal Mason-Rice Elementary School, Newton, MA. Mark is a cancer survivor and appears in the live-action segment of “The Great MacGrady.”
Dr. Susan Swick, Director of the PACT (Parenting at a Challenging Time) Program at the Newton Wellesley Hospital’s Vernon Cancer Center, and Attending Psychiatrist in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.

MODERATOR:
Paula Rauch, MD, director of the Child Psychiatry Consultation Service to Pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the founding director of the PACT Program.

WHEN: Sunday, October 18, 2-3:30pm
This event is free and open to guests over the age of 16, but RSVP is required.
Visit wgbh.org/arthurscreening to reserve your seat.

WHERE: WGBH’s Yawkey Theater, Brighton, MA 

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WGBH presents Boston Theater Now: The New Artistic Directors Take the Stage

Greater Boston’s Jared Bowen hosts Q&A with the Hub’s new artistic directors and cast appearances from WGBH’s Yawkey Theater

WHAT: Boston’s newest artistic directors join Greater Boston’s Jared Bowen for an evening highlighted by live performances and discussion of the Hub’s evolving theater scene. Joining Bowen are Peter DuBois, Huntington Theatre Company; Diane Paulus, American Repertory Theater; and Kate Warner, New Repertory Theatre.

The evening is expected to include cast appearances from the Huntington’s A Long And Winding Road, New Rep’s Hot Mikado and the A.R.T’s The Donkey Show.

PANELISTS:
Peter DuBois, Artistic Director, Huntington Theatre Company
Diane Paulus, Artistic Director, American Repertory Theater
Kate Warner, Artistic Director, New Repertory Theatre

MODERATOR: Jared Bowen, reporter, Greater Boston

WHEN: Wednesday, October 21, 6:30-8:30pm
This event is free for WGBH members and $10 for non-members.
RSVP is required, to reserve your seat, please visit: http://www.wgbh.org/theatrescene

WHERE: WGBH’s Yawkey Theater, Brighton, MA

MORE INFO: Parking is free; Light cocktail reception follows the discussion.

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New documentary website from WGBH's Nova Science Unit offers unprecedented look at human emptions and provides tools for building social connections

pbs.org/thisemotionallife showcases real stories, expert information, and offers valuable social support to all Americans in the quest for happiness

PBS, Vulcan Productions and the WGBH/NOVA Science Unit launched a new website today to support the upcoming "This Emotional Life" documentary, which premieres on WGBH in early 2010. The documentary series is hosted by Daniel Gilbert, Harvard psychologist and best-selling author of Stumbling on Happiness, and weaves the latest scientific research with compelling personal stories through deeply personal interviews with ordinary people, such as returning veterans and new parents, as well as celebrities.

The website, pbs.org/thisemotionallife, combines video and text to provide authoritative, factual information based on interviews with leading scientists about the latest biological and social science in the field of human emotions. In addition, the site provides compelling personal narratives that reveal how we manage relationships, cope with challenges and ultimately strive for more fulfilling lives. Featuring partnerships with Meetup.com and leading organizations from across the country, the site facilitates the building of social support networks for people seeking to connect with peers – both online and offline.

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WGBH Masterpiece Classic to present new adaptation of modern literary classic “The Diary of Anne Frank” on Holocaust Remembrance Day 2010

Sunday, April 11, 2010, 9-11pm on WGBH 2/HD

A new adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank will premiere this spring on Masterpiece Classic on WGBH. The two hour film will air on the Emmy-winning drama series on Sunday, April 11, 2010, which is Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The Diary of Anne Frank is a modern literary classic and an extraordinary social document that gives a unique account, from the perspective of a teenage Jewish girl, of life in hiding during Nazi terror in World World II. Since its publication more than 50 years ago, it has become the world’s most widely read work of non-fiction after the Bible.

Local sponsorship of Masterpiece is generously provided by Skinner.

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