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From the General Manager entry

JUNE GM LETTER

Changes Coming to Public Affairs Programming

Jim Lehrer will take another step toward “winding down” his 36 years of anchoring or co-anchoring the daily public television news broadcast known now as the PBS NewsHour. Effective June 6, Lehrer will no longer be part of the regular daily anchor rotation team, but will still appear on many Friday evenings to moderate the weekly analysis of Shields and Brooks which features syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks. Lehrer said he will also remain involved in the editorial direction of the PBS NewsHour and with the program's producer, MacNeil/Lehrer Productions.

AZPM’s own Kimberly Craft has decided to leave Tucson to be closer to family and has accepted a position with KNAU-FM, our sister NPR station in Flagstaff. Kim has served audiences well as the interim host of Arizona Illustrated for the last several months. In Flagstaff, she will host local KNAU radio newscasts around All Things Considered. Since 1984, Kim has been reporting stories and hosting programs for AZPM and our community. She has served as AZPM’s principal education reporter and produced programming for a number of years in our multimedia division. We wish her all the best in her new endeavor and hope to work with her again soon --through the magic of radio.

We know our audiences depend on AZPM for the best in public affairs programming, both locally and nationally. We will take the summer to analyze our efforts with regard to Arizona Illustrated to determine what opportunities exist to improve the program -- to better serve our local community. We intend to re-launch an improved Arizona Illustrated just after Labor Day, on Tuesday, September 6th at 6:30 p.m.

In other news, June takes us to the end of another fiscal year and our year-end membership countdown. Viewer and listener support is critical to meet our financial obligations and start next year on a solid footing. Given the volatility of both state and federal funding, individual supporters have never been more critical to sustain AZPM and the programs you enjoy.

To thank those of you who have invested in AZPM and to encourage those of you who have not stepped forward to help to defray program costs, we have assembled some great programs this month on PBS-HD Channel 6. Highlights include special music performances from Eric Clapton and Les Misérables, to a new season of the popular afternoon costume drama Lark Rise to Candleford, (now airing one hour earlier at 1 p.m. starting June 13th).

For complete program schedules and episode summaries, click here.

Our efforts for the benefit of Southern Arizona would simply not be possible without you. Please accept my sincere thanks for your continued support and best wishes for the summer.

Jack Gibson, Director & General Manager

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About From the General Manager

Thoughts and Letters from Jack Gibson.