Posts tagged PBS
Boulder Public Library celebrates 25th anniversary of BoulderReads! program Friday Oct 14
Oct 15th
Boulder Public Library celebrates 25th anniversary of BoulderReads! program
Boulder Public Library will commemorate 25 years of the BoulderReads! literacy program on Friday, Oct. 14, with a community celebration, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Canyon Gallery at the Main Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave. (north wing).
Twenty-five years ago, Boulder Public Library created a new program to help adults improve their reading and writing. At that time, ABC and PBS were running a two-year campaign to raise awareness about how many adults in America were unable to read and write at the level needed to be fully functional as parents, employees and community members.
“One of the best benefits of that campaign was that adults who struggled with reading realized that they were not the only people with that difficulty,” said BoulderReads! Director Diana Sherry. “Another benefit was that they learned that community programs existed or were being created to serve them.”
Libraries were one of the front runners in this effort, and BoulderReads! was one of those new programs. Since 1986, BoulderReads! has grown to serve around 300 adults and children every year. Its core services include free, one-on-one tutoring at four public libraries and the Boulder County Jail, GED classes and testing, a Reading Buddies program for children, and numerous support activities for these learners, as well as the general public.
This 25-year milestone will be celebrated by the BoulderReads! students, volunteers and funders, as well as other interested community members. To attend, please RSVP to Laurie Watkins at 303-441-3151 or via email to: watkinsl@boulderlibrary.org.
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CU-BOULDER STUDENT NATHAN ROBERSON CHOSEN FOR PBS’S STUDENT FREEDOM RIDE
Apr 7th
The ride will present an experiential learning opportunity for the participating college students in conjunction with the broadcast of “Freedom Riders” and the 50th anniversary of the original May 1961 Freedom Rides.
Roberson (pronounced RAH-ber-son) is an international affairs major with interests in ethics and voter enfranchisement.
The 40 Student Freedom Riders were chosen from nearly 1,000 applicants and represent a diverse cross-section of America. Participating students hail from 33 states and the District of Columbia, along with others who grew up in China, Tajikistan and Haiti.
Students from a broad range of schools are represented — from state universities to community and junior colleges, from religiously affiliated schools to the Ivy League. Students were selected on the basis of their essays on their reasons for wanting to participate, their thoughts on the role of social media and technology in civic engagement today, and their extracurricular activities.
Over a 10-day journey from May 6 through May 16, the ride will be a moving classroom in which the students will retrace the route of the original Freedom Rides. Accompanied by filmmaker Stanley Nelson, original Freedom Riders and others, the ride will engage students in this important era in our country’s history, as they learn about the extraordinary commitment and courage of the individuals who took part in the Freedom Rides.
Roberson will miss his May 6 commencement ceremony to participate in the PBS event.
“At ‘American Experience,’ we think history is fascinating, but more importantly, we know it informs almost every social and political decision made today,” said “American Experience’’ executive producer Mark Samels. “We saw that in Egypt, where protesters looked to the American civil rights movement for instruction and inspiration.
“Fifty years after the original Freedom Rides, young people all over the world are once again having their voices heard. They’re using new and very different tools to do that, but drawing on lessons from history to inform how they use those tools. It’s those lessons from 1961 and how they are informing civic engagement today that we look forward to exploring on this ride.”
“Freedom Riders” will be broadcast on PBS on Monday, May 16, at 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
A website, twitter stream and Facebook page will be chronicling the riders experiences, as well as cataloging in-depth information about the original Freedom Riders.
NPR, PBS on chopping block backed by Boulder City Council
Mar 8th
According to Cowles ” I have no interest in ever having public broadcasting back in Boulder.” That gang at city hall then took all of our dedicated funds to public broadcasting , stole it, miss-used it and put in censorship everywhere.
Tell Congress: Don’t pull the plug on NPR and PBS!
We’re only a few weeks into the 112th Congress, and Republicans are already attempting to pull the plug on public media.
In a budget proposal made public last week, House Republicans announced plans to zero out all funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the nonprofit responsible for funding public media including NPR, PBS, Pacifica and more.
If the Republicans are successful, it would be a tremendous blow to the entire public interest media sector.
We cannot allow Republicans to destroy public media.
Tell Congress: Fully fund NPR and defend public service media!
Republicans are disingenuously claiming that they need to cut funding for public media because of budgetary constraints. But what they fail to highlight is that national public broadcasting is remarkably cost effective, providing local news and information, free of charge, for millions of viewers while only receiving about .0001% of the federal budget.1
More to the point, it’s nearly impossible to put a price tag on the actual value of public broadcasting.
Public media is one of the last bulwarks against the corporate media, where the combination of consolidation and profit motive has long since shifted the focus to infotainment rather than substantive news. In many rural and less affluent communities, broadcasters rely on federal funding to provide the only available high-quality news and public affairs programming.
Without public media, corporate media monopolies would increase their already large control of what we see on television, hear on the radio or read in the newspaper.
This outcome should deeply worry all of us. The increased accumulation and consolidation of corporate power is a threat to our democracy. And nowhere is this more evident than in our media.
At a time when media consolidation is shrinking the number of perspectives we have access to over the airwaves and when newsrooms are shrinking, we need more diversity in our media not less. And we simply cannot afford to lose what public media brings to the table.
Tell Congress: Fully fund NPR and defend public service media!
Conservatives have longed for any opportunity to defund NPR, PBS and other public media. And with Speaker Boehner wielding the gavel, it looks like they may finally get their wish.
Don’t let Congress pull the plug on NPR and PBS! Tell them reject cuts to public broadcasting.