Posted on August 3rd, 2010

KLRU is off to a great start, but the need for resources remains.  In the last four days, our community has given $81,000 towards our goal of $240,000.  We have 13 days to go.  Give your gift now to help us reach our goal and return to uninterrupted programming early.

Last night was a great example of how KLRU is changing the way we think about on-air fundraising.  We pledged ANTIQUES ROADSHOW live in our studios at its regular time.  Instead of offering expensive thank you gifts, KLRU offered tickets to an event that brings the community together.  By giving $120 in support of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, you can receive 2 tickets to the KLRU Antiques Appraisal Fair in January. You’ll be entitled to bring up to three items to the event to have them appraised by local antiques experts. Help us continue to provide great content like ANTIQUES ROADSHOW by giving a gift now at this link.

A total of 80% of our funding comes from right here in Central Texas, at an average gift amount of $80.  Our ability to provide you the highest quality PBS programming, local productions, one-of-a kind events and outreach activities depends on you.  We help you explore your world, and your support makes that exploration available to everyone.

Thank you for supporting and watching KLRU!

Posted on July 30th, 2010

KLRU-TV, Austin PBS needs to raise $240,000 in the next 17 days.  If we reach our goal early, we’ll return to uninterrupted programming immediately.

As you know KLRU has experimented this year with ways to reduce our need to raise money via pledge.  In recent years we’ve reduced on-air pledge from 86 days to just 49 days so far this year.  In June, we tested pledging our regular schedule on five-consecutive nights, while highlighted groups doing good work in our community.  We stopped fundraising after 11pm on weeknights, so that Charlie Rose airs at its regular time.  During our March drive, we reduced the number of pledge interruptions by 20%, while investing new resources to raise money online.  Finally we reduced the use of expensive thank you gifts by offering tickets to events that fulfill our mission, while showing you our appreciation.

Next year, we plan to cut back on pledge as never before. However, the need for resources remains.  A total of 80% of our funding comes from right here in Central Texas, at an average gift amount of $80.  Our ability to provide you the highest quality PBS programming, local productions, one-of-a kind events and outreach activities depends on you.  We help you explore your world, and your support makes that exploration available to everyone.

Thank you for supporting and watching KLRU!

Posted on June 29th, 2010

Post-disaster food aid saves lives, but it can also undercut local merchants critical to the supply chain. FRONTLINE/World and NPR’s Planet Money reporter Adam Davidson explores this predicament in “Haiti: The Aid Dilemma,” the latest in a series of economic reports from post-earthquake Haiti.

The story airs as the second of three magazine-length segments in this week’s episode of FRONTLINE/World. In advance of the broadcast, we are previewing the segment on the Web and inviting viewers to post questions and comments. Davidson will be responding to the postings the day of the broadcast: today, June 29,  from  11 a.m. to noon.

Preview the segment and post questions here

Posted on June 28th, 2010

KLRU will be airing the hearings on KLRU-Q and streaming them live here:

Webcam chat at Ustream

Posted on June 10th, 2010

KLRU’s contract for Last of Summer Wine has expired.  We are negotiating with the distributor for new episodes for this series.  Once that deal has been finalized, KLRU will work the series back into the line-up.

Posted on March 20th, 2010

Liz Carpenter passed away earlier today at the age of 89. Evan Smith interviewed her for Texas Monthly Talks in 2005. Here is a clip from that interview.

Political Writer & Humorist Liz Carpenter from Texas Monthly Talks on Vimeo.

Posted on March 18th, 2010

Watch KLRU this weekend of March 20th for a pecial evening featuring NEW episodes of Lark Rise to Candleford and Doc Martin.  On Saturday, March 20, at 8 p.m. and then again on Sunday, March 21, at 9 p.m. KLRU will premiere new episodes of two of our member’s favorite British shows.

Posted on March 9th, 2010

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:

• March 23: The Aging Brain
• April 20: The Emotional and Vulnerable Brain
• May 25: The Anxious Brain
• June 22: The Mentally Ill Brain
• July 20: The Disordered Brain
• September 28: The Deciding Brain
• October: The Artistic Brain
• November: The New Science of the Mind

Posted on March 5th, 2010

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

Posted on February 16th, 2010

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 Force on   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.