March 13th, 2010

Broadcasting Live with Ustream.TV

March 12th, 2010

If you’re not in the Central Texas viewing area you can watch Texas Music Extravaganza streaming live from this blog. Check this space tomorrow at 7pm to join in the fun.

January 18th, 2010

Please note the following changes in tonight’s lineup for KLRU (18-1)

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW at 7 p.m.
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW visits North Carolina’s Museum of the Cape Fear in Fayetteville, once the site of a U.S. arsenal seized by the Confederacy, to look at some of the weapons made in North Carolina during the Civil War. Highlights include an archive of items related to Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1966 visit to St. Mark’s AME Zion Church in Durham; a circa 1800 heirloom Virginia-made table, purported to have ties to Thomas Jefferson; and a pair of circa 1725 chairs, made by New England furniture maker John Gaines, whose value - much diminished because the pieces are refinished - is estimated to be $30,000 to $50,000

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: INFLUENZA 1918 at 8 p.m.
As the nation mobilized for war in the spring of 1918, ailing Private Albert Gitchell reported to an army hospital in Kansas. He was diagnosed with influenza, a disease about which doctors knew little. Before the year was out, America would be ravaged by a flu epidemic that killed 600,000 people — more than died in all the wars of this century combined — before disappearing as mysteriously as it began.

BENJAMIN LATROBE: AMERICA’S FIRST ARCHITECT at 9 p.m.
Noted architecture critic Paul Goldberger hosts this documentary biography of Benjamin Latrobe, the creator of the first uniquely “American” architecture. Latrobe’s tumultuous life was a series of creative triumphs, personal tragedies and constant re-invention. The film features computer-generated animation, interviews with architects and historians and location shooting as Goldberger explores Latrobe’s life, from his early years in England to his immigration to the young republic and his work on such iconic buildings as the U.S. Capitol, the White House and the Baltimore Basilica.

WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL: A NEW CENTURY, A NEW CALLING at 10 p.m.
This documentary film explores the history and contemporary life of America’s great gothic masterpiece and “House of Prayer for All People.” It was conceived by George Washington’s own architect to sit atop the highest hill in the nation’s capital as a moral reminder to civic leaders. Today, as the Cathedral marks its 100th anniversary, it has also become a spiritual crossroads, a center for prayer and dynamic worship for the most religiously diverse nation on earth.

CHARLIE ROSE at 11 p.m.

TAVIS SMILEY at midnight

WORLDFOCUS at 12:30 a.m.

October 21st, 2009

October 2nd, 2009

Pearl Jam ACL simulcast giveaway, originally uploaded by KLRU-TV.

The ticket giveaway for the simulcast of the Austin City Limits Pearl Jam taping.

Some fans were in line at 5:30am and over 300 tickets were given away in the first 5 minutes.

July 13th, 2009

For the last week KLRU has had many calls and emails from Grande Communications customers about audio problems on their Channel 9. Grande is using a downconverted version of KLRU-HD and the device they are using is switching the primary and secondary audio streams. The result is either no audio or DVI/SAP audio on the main audio channel. Grande technical staff is working on the problem, but KLRU can’t be sure when it will be fixed. If you experience this problem, please contact Grande at http://www.grandecom.com/contact_us/

May 26th, 2009

The Territory
Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m.

The new season of the Austin Museum of Art’ annual television showcase of international film and video, The Territory, begins this May on KLRU. The Territory features fourteen programs that blend experimental, documentary, narrative and animated shorts from around the world.

The Territory’s 32 season highlights the work of artists from Texas, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, The Netherlands, Australia, Argentina, Columbia, Korea, and Israel. Within the 30-minute format, artists experiment with techniques and subjects in a condensed format similar to a short story.  These film and video shorts are recognized as vibrant sub-genre of independent voices in the media world. The Territory brings these challenging works directly to the PBS audience across Texas — thereby stretching conventional television boundaries. For complete episode descriptions go to The Territory’s web site at  amoa.org/theterritory

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May 12th, 2009

Program: Independent Lens “Crips and Bloods: Made in America”
Date: Tuesday, May 12
Time: 9 p.m.

Guns, knives, drugs…what could I be blogging about on a PBS station in regards to these three things?  The options are pretty narrow, but the answer is Independent Lens’ Made In America, a documentary airing on KLRU on May 12 about gangs in Los Angeles.

Like most people, I couldn’t say I knew much about the origins of the Bloods or the Crips, but Independent Lens certainly gave me a ton of insight.  African Americans were not allowed to participate in the Boy Scouts in Los Angeles, so they created their own social groups, based on geographic locations, they even had their own hand signs.  LA was highly segregated geographically; a black person dare not cross a street into a white community or risk being questioned and beat by the police.  As time progressed, the Community got fed up with the racism; they rioted, hence the Watts riot lasting for five days in 1965.  Following the riots, there were increased pledges to fix the poverty and issues in Los Angeles, but nobody followed through.  With conditions stagnant, family life in these communities was poor; the young came together once again in their geographically isolated groups, but this time, revolving around crime, territory and drugs.
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May 8th, 2009

Nature at 7 p.m. Sunday follows the female loggerhead turtle as she makes the long journey from Mexico to Japan to lay eggs in the place she was born.

Masterpiece Mystery! at 8 p.m. Sunday presents the three part series of “Wallander,” which tracks the scruffy Swedish Inspector Kurt Wallander as he goes after the growing crime affecting contemporary Sweden.

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May 6th, 2009

KLRU is taking proactive steps to strengthen operations in light of budget shortfalls and tough economic times by making staff reductions and other cost saving measures.

KLRU remains fully committed to our vision – that the PBS programs we are privileged to present can play an important role in building a stronger, more engaged and informed Austin community.

Beginning next week KLRU will cease broadcasting between the hours of 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. Although we will be signing off overnight, we are still increasing total broadcasting hours with the addition of a new channel – 18-3 – later this summer.

We are also moving forward with our efforts to make more content available on the Web, allowing viewers to access KLRU content anywhere and at anytime at klru.tv.

We are suspending production of Docubloggers, KLRU’s weekly community journalism series and revising the scope of In Context to focus instead on a series of specials featuring local arts organizations. The next special will air May 14th at 8 p.m. featuring Ballet Austin’s Hamlet.

Public broadcasting and KLRU are more important and relevant than ever before for its unbiased programming. The need for trusted, reliable information during periods of rapid change is vital. For more than 4 decades, KLRU has provided our viewers with a way to come together to honestly address community concerns and opportunities. That is why public broadcasting is a fundamental part of our community, and will continue to be well into the future. Help us continue to fulfill our mission by showing your financial support or by placing a comment below.

– Bill Stotesbery, KLRU CEO and General Manager