Category Archives: news

KLRU announces Hardly Sound

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KLRU is excited to announce a new addition to KLRU Q’s 11pm music block, Hardly Sound. The documentary series focuses on Texas underground music and artists but goes beyond the recording studio to tell the story of the band members with insight into the creative process.

Meet the Creators from Hardly Sound on Vimeo.

In episode one, follow Austin twang wave band, The Bye & Bye in their quest to understand their future through the telling of their past. Future episodes will feature The Bad Lovers, Royal Forest, Emcee Eats, and Ralph White

New episodes air the first Monday of the month at 11pm on KLRU-Q, beginning with the Bye & Bye airing this Monday. To keep up with Hardly Sound visit http://hardlysound.tumblr.com/.

Watch and Win! Celebrate Julia Child tonight at 7pm

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We have been looking forward to this night for a very long time! In celebration of Julia Child’s 100th birthday, some of the best chefs and foodies in Austin will be joining us LIVE in studio during a special presentation of three classic episodes of The French Chef featuring Julia’s take on omelettes, boullaibase, and roasted chicken, tonight at 7pm on KLRU.

If you call in during the evening with your support for KLRU, you might be talking with one of these wonderful people on the phone: Rene Ortiz (La Condesa, Sway), Laura Sawicki (La Condesa, Sway), Philip Speer (Uchi/Uchiko), Aaron & Stacy Franklin (Franklin BBQ), Karla Loeb (Slow Food Austin), Larry McGuire (Lamberts, Perla’s, Elizabeth Street Cafe, Fresa’s, Jeffrey’s), John Bates (Noble Pig), Sonya Cote (Hillside Farmacy, Homegrown Revival) and Casey Wilcox (Justine’s), and Patty Cater (Central Market).

This is the perfect opportunity to support the great history of cooking shows on public television and celebrate the incredible culinary scene here in Austin. We love when we can connect the awesome programming on KLRU with our local community and who better to showcase the KLRU vision of inspiration and creativity than Julia herself.

Every gift made tonight (or made online here) will automatically be entered to win one of several gift certificates to the places above and others: Olive & June, Parkside, Olivia, The Back Space, Foreign & Domestic, Lenoir, Chez Nous, Trace, Dai Due, Second Bar + Kitchen, and Barley Swine. A gift of just $25 could mean a dinner at a critically-acclaimed Austin restaurant – and you’ll be supporting Austin’s only locally owned and operated television station at the same time – what’s not to love about that?!

KLRU needs your support during this August pledge drive – if you love food, you won’t want to miss out on tonight’s special tribute to Julia Child beginning tonight at 7pm. Thank you for celebrating with us.

#CookForJulia: Ooh, La, La! Watch classic episodes of The French Chef online

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Presented in honor of Julia Child’s 100th birthday, PBS has released full episodes of Julia’s first PBS show, The French Chef – originally broadcast in the 1960s. Today’s episodes feature French Tarts, Quiche Lorraine, and French Onion Soup. Watch them now then re-create a recipe (or two!) and share with us to celebrate Julia Child’s legacy and memory on PBS!

#CookForJulia – The Most Important Thing is Having Fun

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Austin’s own chef extraordinaire Paul Qui shares his tribute of Julia Child with PBS Food:

Julia Child pioneered food culture in the United States and opened the door for Chef’s like me. I’ve learned to be fearless and determined in the kitchen and that the biggest hurdle is the fear of failure. But the most important thing is that cooking is about having fun.

About Paul Qui

Paul Qui has quickly made a name for himself as one of the next best chefs in the country. He began his culinary career in Austin, Texas at Uchi, a Japanese farmhouse dining and sushi restaurant, in 2003. He progressed to become Executive Chef at Uchiko and also founded East Side King, a series award-winning of food trucks. In 2012, Paul won Top Chef Season 9, the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest. Chef Paul is currently working on his latest concept, soon to be announced.

Celebrate Julia Child’s 100th Birthday by sharing your favorite Julia Child memories and recipes here, on Facebook, or Twitter using the #CookForJulia hashtag!

Celebrate 100 Years of Julia Child!

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Julia Child is a quintessential PBS icon and pioneer who opened up new worlds for a whole generation of Americans, showing them that cooking – even French food – is easy, enjoyable and within reach for all. In honor of what would have been her 100th birthday on August 15, KLRU is planning a 10 day celebration of special tributes, videos, and more to commemorate her life and memory.

Starting today on the KLRU blog, Facebook, and Twitter, we’ll have special Julia posts and we want you to join in the fun – use the #CookForJulia to share your favorite Julia Child recipes, memories, episodes and more with your friends on Facebook or Twitter (and us, too!).

This is a nation-wide celebration that we’re so excited to share with you in the Austin community – check out all the national buzz here and stay in touch because we’ll be sharing a lot of Julia goodies in the next 10 days!

Olympic Fever

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Every four years, Summer Olympics keep us on the edges of our seats. As the Opening Ceremony nears, excitement for the games reaches a fever pitch. KLRU is here to help tide you over.

Saturday, July 21 at 8pm: My Music, British Beat
This year’s Closing Ceremony aims to celebrate fact that music has been one of Britain’s strongest cultural exports over the last 50 years. Why wait for August? Tune in as My Music travels on location to London and around the UK to the place where the British Beat was born.

Thursday, July 26 at 9pm: Strong!
 In a few days, we get to see serious athletic glory. But what about all the hard work that goes into preparing for an Olympic competition? Strong! follows Cheryl Haworth as struggles to defend her champion status as her lifetime weightlifting career inches towards its inevitable end. Strong! chronicles her journey and the challenges this unusual elite athlete faces, exploring popular notions of power, strength, beauty and health.

Stotesbery added Latino Public Broadcasting board

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KLRU’s Bill Stotesbery named to national Latino Public Broadcasting board

Austin, TX — KLRU-TV, Austin PBS, announces that CEO and General Manager Bill Stotesbery has been elected to the Latino Public Broadcasting Board of Directors. In his announcement, letter Edward James Olmos, President of the LPB Board, wrote that Stotesbery’s “leadership and expertise will greatly contribute in helping our organization grow.”

Under Stotesbery’s leadership, KLRU has worked on several projects with focusing on the Latino community, most recently the addition of VMe, an all-Spanish language public television service, on KLRU’s digital cable channel 18.4.

“I am pleased to be included in this vital public broadcasting organization ,” said Stotesbery. “The LPB is very active in ensuring the diversity of PBS offerings and making sure Latino filmmakers have their stories heard.”

“As Latinos become this nation’s largest minority group, we face an exciting time ahead of us as we help bring diverse talent and content to public broadcasting,” Olmos said. “The programs we support bring new audiences to public television and have a recognizable impact on a broad range of viewers; present a diverse subjects and viewpoints from a variety of Latino producers across the country; and both complement and challenge existing public television offerings.”
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Chris Isaak live in Studio 6A to premiere his Beyond the Sun special!

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On February 13, Chris Isaak brought the house down at ACL Live at the Moody Theater with his Beyond the Sun tour featuring the classic rock ’n roll that inspired his own musical career. In case you weren’t one of the lucky ones in the venue that night, there’s no need to worry: We filmed it and will air the special on Monday evening at 7pm!

Even better, we’ll be coming to you live from KLRU Studio 6A with Chris Isaak to talk about this tour and what makes him come back again and again to create memorable music on public television.

This is not only a special evening because of Chris Isaak’s concert, but it’s also an important night for KLRU. We’ll be sharing the Chris Isaak Beyond the Sun special with public television stations all over the country to help them showcase the quality music that can only be found on public television. From concert specials like this to the music on Great Performances and American Masters, PBS gives audiences the best seats in the house to the best concerts week after week. We’re so thrilled to be able to share Chris Isaak’s incredible concert with other cities, communities and families.

We hope you’ll tune in on Monday night to support your public television station and to rock out with Chris Isaak! And if you haven’t already supported KLRU during our March pledge drive, you’ll want to call in with your donation on Monday – we have the DVD of his Beyond the Sun concert as well as his exclusive 2-CD Beyond the Sun album as thank you gifts!

Because this is such a special evening for KLRU, we want to look our best! Wardrobe provided by 81Poppies.com.

In the Studio: Jill Abramson tapes Overheard 3/12

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Please join KLRU’s Overheard with Evan Smith for an interview with
Jill Abramson, executive editor of The New York Times
DATE: March 12
TIME: 1:30 p.m. (doors open at 1 p.m.)
LOCATION: KLRU’s Studio 6A (map).
RSVP: The event is free but an RSVP is required. RSVP now

Abramson became executive editor last fall, and has described her new job as like “ascending to Valhalla.” She’s a New York native who says the paper was like religion in her home growing up. She’s also the first woman to head the Times – an important milestone for a paper with a history of lawsuits and anecdotes alleging discrimination. Abramson worked as a deputy bureau chief and investigative reporter at The Wall Street Journal before joining the Times in 1997. She rose quickly, becoming Washington bureau chief in 2000 and managing editor in 2003. Abramson is the author of several books, including Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas and The Puppy Diaries.

We hope you’ll be there as Overheard with Evan Smith continues a second season of great conversation with fascinating people, always on the news and always with a sense of humor. The show features in-depth interviews with a mix of guests from politics, the arts, literature, journalism, business, sports and more, and reaches PBS viewers from California to Florida. We’d love to see you in the studio for the interview, and for a chance to join the audience Q&A after the interview. Watch past Overheard interviews at klru.org/overheard

KLRU Endowment Receives Gift From Luci Baines Johnson and Ian Turpin

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KLRU Endowment Receives Gift From Luci Baines Johnson and Ian Turpin Recognizing Longtime Supporters Sandy and Dudley Youman

Gift In Honor of Station’s 50th Anniversary

Austin, TX — KLRU-TV, Austin PBS, announces that Luci Baines Johnson and Ian Turpin have created the Sandy and Dudley Youman Fund within the KLRU Endowment honoring two of the station’s key supporters and the station’s 50th anniversary.

“PBS’s success depends on having best friends, and KLRU, Ian, and I have all survived and thrived because of the selfless service and extraordinary talent of our unsung heroes Sandy and Dudley Youman,” Johnson said. “Their tireless commitment of time, talent and treasure has been a blessing beyond measure to PBS and to us and we know the greatest way to thank them is to give back to the cause they love.”

“Sandy and Dudley certainly have a place at center stage in the history of KLRU, and I’m very happy that this gift recognizes that and helps us continue the station’s great work into the next 50 years,” said KLRU CEO Bill Stotesbery.

The Sandy and Dudley Youman Fund, part of the KLRU Endowment, will be used to help support KLRU programming and events. The KLRU Endowment was established in 1991 to provide a permanent fund that furthers KLRU’s vision to make Central Texas the most vibrant, informed, and engaged community in the country through the creative use of educational and inspirational content.

Sandy Youman retired from KLRU in 2005 after a career at the station spanning two decades. While at KLRU, Youman was instrumental in building membership, increasing major donors and in creating the Producers Circle. Sandy and Dudley, a physician, have continued to support KLRU and other non-profit organizations in Austin through their boundless volunteer activities.

“As I told Luci,” Sandy Youman said, “This is a real ‘grace-gift,’ defined as thoroughly unexpected, unnecessary at a level of such magnitude, but certainly really appreciated! I am humbled and thrilled that through this fund we can continue to play a part in making a difference for KLRU; not only inspiring the next generation of Youmans, but for the KLRU families throughout Austin, Central Texas and beyond.”

About KLRU
KLRU-TV, Austin PBS, presents quality multimedia content that engages people in the thoughtful exchange of ideas, the expression of the arts, and enjoyable lifelong learning opportunities, resulting in a more vibrant community and a higher quality of life. In addition to providing locally produced and quality national television programming, KLRU is also a non-profit organization helping to build a stronger community through educational workshops, community engagement projects and public events. Known as the producing station of the longest-running live music television show Austin City Limits, KLRU has also worked on several other national productions including Overheard with Evan Smith and documentaries like Citizen Architect and Last Best Hope. Get more information about KLRU at klru.org.

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