SPRING PLEDGE CAMPAIGN SUCCESS
posted by Laura McKee
Thank you to all of the members and supporters of Arizona Public Media for the successful completion of our Spring Radio Pledge campaign on NPR 89.1 and Classical 90.5. With your help and that of 2,349 other loyal contributors, we surpassed our goal. This success provides AZPM with the financial support to continue to acquire programs from NPR and other national distributors. Volunteers donated more than 400 hours of their time to help with this radio campaign and we could have not achieved our goal without them and you. Thank you!
Speaking of volunteers, each year in April, AZPM honors the loyal corps of dedicated, resourceful, energetic, and enthusiastic people from our community who step up and donate their time to this organization throughout the year. They all share a belief that AZPM plays an essential role in the educational and cultural life of our community and they provide countless hours each year to help make Arizona Pubic Media come alive. This year’s event, held at the beautiful and historic Lodge on the Desert, toasted all these special friends. I encourage you to consider volunteering at AZPM and join this fabulous group.
We launch into May with a live cinecast of “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” The show will be beamed to select theaters in Southern Arizona on Thursday, May 2nd at 8 p.m. from the NYU Skirball Center for Performing Arts. Here is your chance to see the show in 2D and meet the faces behind one of our audiences’ favorite radio programs on NPR 89.1. Host Peter Sagal and official judge and scorekeeper Carl Kasell will be joined by panelists Paula Poundstone, Mo Rocca, and Tom Bodett to play the quiz in front of a live audience. Special guest Steve Martin will join the cast for the “Not My Job” segment. Visit here for a list of local theaters and to purchase tickets.
PBS 6 programming in May features CONSTITUTION USA with Peter Sagal. This four-part series takes viewers on a fast-paced, surprising journey across the nation to examine the 4,418 words — and 27 amendments — that made America. The series debuts on Tuesday, May 7th at 9 p.m. and coincides with the 225th anniversary of the ratification of the Constitution. Sagal talks with ordinary Americans who are struggling with issues of affirmative action, same-sex marriage, voting rights, the role of government, and equal protection. The long awaited American Masters special “Mel Brooks: Make a Noise” premieres on Monday, May 20th at 9 p.m. After 60 years in show business, Mel Brooks has earned more major awards than any other living entertainer; he is one of 14 EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) winners. Yet, the comedy giant has energetically avoided having a documentary profile made, even issuing an informal gag order on his friends … until now.
For architecture and history buffs, “10 Buildings that Changed America” premieres on Tuesday, May 14th at 8 p.m. This special features striking videography, rare archival images, distinctive animation and interviews with some of the nation’s most insightful historians and architects (including Frank Gehry and Robert Venturi), tied together with fast-paced editing and contemporary music. “The National Memorial Day Concert” airs Sunday, May 26th at 5 p.m (with repeats at 6:30 p.m. and on Monday, May 27th at 8 p.m.) Join co-hosts Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise for a night of remembrance featuring an all-star line-up performing with the National Symphony Orchestra. The 24th annual broadcast of the concert airs live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol before a concert audience of hundreds of thousands, millions more at home, and to our troops around the world on the American Forces Network.
May features a blockbuster line-up of classic films on Saturdays at 9 p.m. for the Hollywood at Home film series. May 4th, “Witness for the Prosecution” (Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich), May 11th, “Planet of the Apes” (the original with Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter), May 18th, “Suspicion” (Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine), and May 25th “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane” (Joan Crawford and Bette Davis). For great film trivia visit here.
On ReadyTV, the featured chef of the month is none other than Martha Stewart. On May 1st tune in to the premiere of her brand new baking series Martha Bakes and the new Martha Stewart’s Cooking School. Both programs will air on Wednesdays starting May 1st at 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., respectively.
On behalf of all of us at AZPM, thank you for your viewership, listenership, and continued support.
Jack Gibson
