FUNDRAISING UPDATE AND JULY PROGRAMS

posted by Laura McKee

Dear friends,

Thanks to all of you who stepped up to support Arizona Public Media’s fiscal year-end fundraising countdown campaign. The great news is that with your support, and that of thousands of Southern Arizona families, AZPM was able to surpass its annual fundraising goal. Going forward, your support is more critical than ever in order to ensure that AZPM’s educational and entertaining radio, television, and online platforms continue to thrive.

I recently posted a guest opinion in the Arizona Daily Star (July 2, 2014) to clear up inaccuracies in media reporting on the University of Arizona’s budget reduction to AZPM, and in response to the many emails and phone calls we received. In that AZPM is a journalistic enterprise, I felt obligated to communicate the facts. If you missed it, you can view the letter here.

Summer monsoons finally arrived and we have a host of engaging, educational and entertaining programs to enjoy while you stay dry and cool inside. As mentioned in a previous posting, PBS 6 will honor the 45th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing on Sunday, July 20, with two special programs: Rocket Men, a BBC production, will air at 2 p.m., followed by Earthlight, a new documentary produced by the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, at 3:30 p.m. Both programs will also broadcast on the UA Channel. Check here for the UA Channel‘s schedule.

Hollywood at Home, the Saturday evening film series with host Victoria Lucas, presents “double features” of award-winning classic and contemporary films. On July 12, Cool Hand Luke and Bonnie and Clyde; July 19, Slumdog Millionaire & Woman of the Year; and on July 26, Cabaret & A Streetcar Named Desire. For more information on these films and great bits of trivia visit azpm.org/hollywood.

Starting Wednesday, July 16, PBS 6 premieres two new, four-part nature series, My Wild Affair at 8 p.m. and Sex in the Wild at 10 p.m. Each program brings you fascinating stories about wild animals and their relationships with humans and one another. At 9 p.m. we offer an encore broadcast of the popular NOVA series Australia’s First 4 Billion Years.

Continuing our long tradition of keeping voters informed, AZPM and the League of Women Voters have joined forces to produce a series of six political forums. All six forums will be free, open to the public and held at Pima Community College. The first forum, featuring the Republican Primary Gubernatorial candidates, will be Wednesday, July 30 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are required. The forums will stream live on azpm.org and broadcast on NPR 89.1, PBS 6, WORLD, and the UA Channel at a later date. You can reserve tickets and learn more about all of the forums here.

On behalf of everyone at Arizona Public Media, please accept our very sincere thanks for your support and dedication.

Sincerely,

Jack Gibson

YOUR INVESTMENT IN AZPM RESULTS IN GREAT PROGRAMS

posted by Laura McKee

Dear friends,

Over the past week, with news of the UA funding cuts spreading throughout the community, many of you have taken the time to express your support for AZPM with comments or through fiscal year-end donations or additional gifts. I appreciate your efforts to help AZPM remain fiscally sound during the year ahead. Your ongoing contributions will allow us to continue to provide the educational, informative, and entertaining programming that are AZPM’s hallmarks.

Among the outstanding special programs AZPM will offer Southern Arizonans this month are a celebration of the United States’ 238th birthday and the 200th anniversary of our National Anthem on July 4. A Capitol Fourth 2014 will broadcast live on PBS 6 at 5 p.m. from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol and will feature a host of celebrity performances along with the traditional fireworks display. Encore television broadcasts will air at 7:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. that night, and the next morning, July 5, at 10 a.m. The audio portion of the program will also be broadcast on Classical 90.5 at 8:00 p.m. on July 4. Visit azpm.org for complete program schedules.

We will also honor the 45th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing on Sunday, July 20, with two special programs: Rocket Men, a BBC production, will air at 2 p.m., followed by Earthlight, a new documentary produced by the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, at 3:30 p.m. Hosted by Alan Fischer, Public Information Officer at the Tucson-based Planetary Science Institute, Rocket Men is the story of man’s giant leap into the unknown. Earthlight explores the challenges facing the human race and how the technology we are designing for a return to the Moon might be extremely useful here on Earth as well. Earthlight will also be broadcast on the UA Channel. Check here for the UA Channel‘s schedule. Don’t forget Sunday nights on PBS 6. You can enjoy masterful dramas and thrilling mysteries starting at 7 p.m. each Sunday in July with new seasons of Last Tango in Halifax, Masterpiece Mystery! Endeavor, Inspector George Gently, Masterpiece Mystery! Poirot, and the premiere of Vicious, a new series starring Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi.

Your support will be more critical than ever to AZPM as we go forward. I hope I can count on your continued investment in AZPM as we work together to meet the needs and exceed the expectations of viewers and listeners in Southern Arizona. I hope, too, that you will respond generously to appeals from AZPM that arrive in your mailbox and to the on-air fundraisers we will conduct over the coming weeks and months.

Thank you for your ongoing support. It provides the foundation without which AZPM’s many services to the community would not be possible.

Sincerely,

Jack Gibson