We know public affairs are important to you and that’s why we’ve decided to keep Charlie Rose and Tavis Smiley on at their regular times during the March pledge drive. You can watch Charlie Rose each week night on KLRU (18-1) at 11 p.m. Monday through Friday. These episodes repeat a day later on KLRU-Q (18-3) at noon. You can pledge your support for these public affairs shows at klru.org.
In other Charlie Rose news, Charlie Rose has gathered together some of the foremost experts and scientists in brain research. For those of you who have been following the Charlie Rose “Brain” series, I wanted to let you know that more programs are scheduled in the coming weeks. Here are some of the airdates planned. (Please note that this tentative schedule can be changed.)
More information about the CHARLIE ROSE “Brain” series is available through the program’s Web site at charlierose.com. According to the Web site, the upcoming shows are as follows:
The new version of klru.org launches today. This redesign has taken several years and many members of the community have participated by testing the site. The redesign was sparked by a need to make klru.org more flexible so the user experience would be a great one.
Here are some highlights of the changes:
The new site reorganizes all the content on klru.org so that you can reach any page from the top navigation bar.
We have a new drop down schedule that shows the next three hours of programming on all three channels.
Content is constantly being fed to the footer section from all our blogs so you can get the latest news at a glance.
We have a new video site with new and old KLRU programs as well as your other favorite PBS shows. New content to appear weekly, so keep checking back.
KLRU will be redesigning the schedule section of the site shortly. If you would like to be included in the beta group for this project, either in person or over the internet, contact Libby Peterek, Director of Web Services, at lpeterek@klru.org
KLRU, KUT-FM and The Austin American Statesman are partnering to present Austin @ Issue: Energy For the Future on Thursday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m. This 30-minute special features a discussion of Austin’s proposed long-range Austin Energy’s Generation Plan with Austin Energy General Manager Roger Duncan and other experts and stakeholders.
Austin Energy has proposed that the City of Austin increase its portfolio of renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar, increase the City’s investment in energy efficiency and conservation, and phase down Austin’s reliance on coal. Duncan talks in-depth about the plan followed by a discussion, moderated by Alberta Phillips from The Austin American Statesman, featuring:
• Carol Biedrzycki, Executive Director Texas Ratepayers Organization to Save Energy
• Matt Johnson, Policy Analyst, Energy Efficiency Renewable
• Phillip Schmandt, partner with the law firm of McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore and Chair, City of Austin Electric Utility Commission; also Chair, Mayor’s Task Forceon Generation Resource Planning
• John Sutton, corporate services assistant vice president TG; past president of the Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) and member and past president of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA).
KLRU.org, KLRU’s online television resource, will also feature a media roundtable discussion about the issue featuring Mose Buchele from KUT-FM and Marty Toohey and Asher Price from The Austin American Statesman about the issues surrounding the plan. The full interview with Austin Energy’s Roger Duncan will also be available online.
There will be a Mayor’s Energy Generation Town Hall meeting on Monday, Feb. 22, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Palmer Events Center to allow public input on the plan and a more detailed analysis.
KLRU broadcasts programming created by and about people from all cultures year-round, from public affairs to history to independent film to kids programming. In celebration of Black History Month, KLRU will broadcast these new programs honoring and exploring African American culture.
IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE will air Feb. 11 at 8 p.m.
President and Mrs. Obama host a concert in the White House East Room in honor of Black History Month. Artists include Yolanda Adams, Joan Baez, Natalie Cole, Bob Dylan, Jennifer Hudson, John Mellencamp, Smokey Robinson, the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Howard University Choir and The Freedom Singers, featuring Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, Rutha Harris, Charles Neblett and Toshi Reagon. Morgan Freeman is a guest speaker.
FACES OF AMERICA WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. airs Feb. 10, 17, 24 and March 3 at 7 p.m.
What made America? What makes us? These two questions are at the heart of FACES OF AMERICA WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. Building on the success of his series AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES (called by The New York Times “the most exciting and stirring documentary on any subject to appear on television in a long time”) and AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2, Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. again turns to the latest tools of genealogy and genetics to explore the family histories of 12 renowned Americans.
FOR LOVE OF LIBERTY: THE STORY OF AMERICA’S BLACK PATRIOTS Sundays Feb. 14 and 21 at 2 p.m.
This two-part series is an inspiring, definitive and unprecedented look at the largely untold history of African-American participation in America’s armed forces, from the earliest days of the Revolutionary War to the conflict in Afghanistan. Ten years in the making, this mini-series examines why, despite enormous injustice, these men and women fought so valiantly for freedoms they did not enjoy. Introduced by General Colin Powell and hosted by Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry, the film uses letters, diaries, speeches, journalistic accounts, historical text and military records to document and acknowledge the profound sacrifices and largely ignored of African-American service men and women. The films also include dramatic readings by an all-star roster of actors, including Morgan Freeman, Mel Gibson, Bill Cosby, Susan Sarandon, Lou Gossett Jr., John Travolta, Ossie Davis, Robert Duvall, Danny Glover, Sam Elliot, Delroy Lindo, Isaac Hayes, John Goodman, Ice-T and many others.
Family Choice: HISTORY DETECTIVES Sunday, Feb. 14 at 5 p.m.
Host Wes Cowan visits a music historian in Los Angeles to explore the coded messages and the melodies that laid the foundation of modern blues, gospel and protest songs of future generations. He also meets with Washington, DC’s Howard University Choir for a special concert of selections from Slave Songs sung in the traditional style of mid-1800s spirituals. Josh White Guitar - A Michigan man owns a Guild brand acoustic guitar that he says once belonged to legendary African-American folksinger Josh White, who is credited with introducing black folk, gospel and blues music to a world audience in the 1940s. HISTORY DETECTIVES host Elyse Luray travels around New York City and New Jersey to explore the crossover appeal of Josh White’s music and his ability to win over a racially polarized music industry. Birthplace of Hip Hop - A hip hop enthusiast from New York City has always heard that 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx is the birthplace of hip-hop. The story goes that on August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc, a building resident, was entertaining at his sister’s back- to-school party and tried something new on the turntable: he extended an instrumental beat (breaking or scratching) to let people dance longer (breakdancing) and began MC’ing (rapping) during the extended breakdancing. This, the contributor believes, marked the birth of hip-hop. The music led to an entire cultural movement that’s altered generational thinking - from politics and race to art and language. HISTORY DETECTIVES host Tukufu Zuberi sets out to examine an inner-city environment that helped lay the foundation for a cultural revolution.
AMERICAN MASTERS presents “Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun” on
Monday, February 22 at 9 p.m.
Zora Neale Hurston was a writer, cultural anthropologist, chronicler of folk roots and ethnic traditions and daughter of former slaves. Hurston was one of the most celebrated — and most controversial — figures of the 1920s Harlem Renaissance. She attained unique success in all areas, but her words and her conclusions were often surrounded in contention. She ultimately died a pauper’s death in total obscurity. Now considered a lioness of African American literature, she was resurrected by Alice Walker and such works as her “Dust Tracks on a Road” and “Their Eyes Were Watching God” are now essential reading.
KLRU’s crafty viewers asked for their favorite shows to be added to the KLRU Create lineup. Once equipment was in place for the station to modify the PBS channel, we made those changes. Now each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we feature programs requested specifically by Central Texas viewers. Find out more:
We did it together! KLRU has reached its goal of $230,000 for the December Fundraising Drive. Our current total is $248,808. If you were among the thousands of KLRU supporters who gave a gift this December, thank you. If you’d planned to give in support of your PBS station, but didn’t get around to it, take a moment and give a gift now. This is your last chance to take advantage of our fantastic list of December thank you gifts.
We are less than $1,200 from reaching $250,000. Help KLRU extend its reach Beyond TV by giving a year-end gift in support of the programs and services that improve lives in Central Texas.
Thank you once again for supporting and watching your public television station. Your support this December has made a big difference.
KLRU has been selected to participate in on a pilot program for students around the country to create their own NewsHour Reports and share them on NewsHour Extra (the student and teacher web site of the PBS NewsHour). The program, called Student Reporting Labs, teams up individual classrooms with local area journalists, and the national NewsHour Team. Other cities selected to participate include have Washington, DC, Philadelphia, PA, Salt Lake City, UT, Slidell, LA and Middletown, CT.
KLRU partnered with KUT (90.5 FM) and their reporter Erika Aguilar on the project to mentor the students from Academy for Global Studies and the Media Lab at Austin High School. Each term, students will work on a different story: first term the focus is Supreme Court, second term the focus is climate and the third term they can pitch any topic they want. The completed stories will be shared on NewsHour Extra. Here is the first video from the Austin students Catalina Lizarraga, Matt Azarmehr, Kelly Schaefer, Elena Bernal Lee Mendez, Nick Newman, Lea Jackson, Karem Miramontes, Reece Ousey and Roy Rayos.
Our December Fundraising Drive is off to a strong start, but this is a crucial weekend, and you can help take us over the top. In the past 7 days, KLRU has raised $105,848 towards our December goal of $230,000. Only 10 days remain to shore up funding for the PBS programs you depend on and services that go Beyond TV to enrich the lives of our entire community.
With your support, KLRU will continue to provide you trusted news with THE PBS NEWSHOUR, FRONTLINE and TEXAS MONTHLY TALKS; engaging education with NOVA, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and NATURE; and entertainment that enriches your life with GREAT PERFORMANCES, MASTERPIECE and AUSTIN CITY LIMITS.
We’ll also bring you experiences that push beyond the boundaries of TV with education initiatives like READY TO LEARN and TEACHERLINE and community forums that spark debate like the KLRU COMMUNITY SCREENING SERIES and the KLRU COMMUNITY TOWNHALL SERIES.
Thank you for supporting and watching KLRU. Together we will turn your support into television and services that help everyone in Central Texas explore both their community and world.
Sincerely,
Bill Stotesbery
President & CEO
KLRU-TV, Austin PBS
Volunteers needed to answer phones for our membership drive on 12/7 during Ken Burns: The National Parks - America’s Best Idea. By volunteering to answer phones during the live on-air nights of our fundraising drive you will get a behind-the-scenes look at our studio, meet our staff, appear on TV, and help support the great programming you welcome into your home. Dinner will be provided by one of our local business supporters. This is a great opportunity for you to participate in your PBS station. Volunteers will be needed between 5:30 and 9:30 p.m. Sign up for one of the volunteer spots at here
To commemorate the 35th anniversary of the first taping of the award winning PBS series AUSTIN CITY LIMITS, Mayor Lee Leffingwell has declared October 17 “Austin City Limits Day.” The date recognizes the show’s very first taping, which took place on October 17, 1974 and featured the iconic Willie Nelson. To mark the honor KLRU and ACL will stream the original episode in its entirety for one month. For more information visit the newly launched austincitylimits.org. And, on November 15, ACL will again present a very special episode with Willie Nelson, in a joint performance with Austin legends Asleep at the Wheel.
Watch the proclamation ceremony:
AUSTIN CITY LIMITS: “Great Music. No Limits.” Now the longest-running music series in American television history, ACL showcases popular music legends and innovators from every genre. In addition to being honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum as a rock and roll landmark, AUSTIN CITY LIMITS is the only television program to ever receive the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest award for artistic excellence. Still to come in this exciting anniversary season are shows with Kenny Chesney, Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello, The Avett Brothers, Mos Def and more.
