Nine PBS Magazine | May/June 2021 by Nine PBS

MAY | JUN 2021

Stories that move us.

Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir p. 4 Nine PBS recognized for gender equity p. 8

Donkey Hodie inspires kids to keep trying p. 10

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Contents May–Jun 2021 | Volume 12, Number 3

Message from the President

Feature

Happening Now

From the Archives

Beyond Programming

Program Guide

Eyes on the Prize Sundays, May 16, 23, 30, June 27, 5 pm

The iconic history series on race in the U.S. returns to Nine PBS.

Team Member Spotlight Russ Hitzemann Vice President and Chief Individual Giving Officer t Nine PBS: 11½ years A What show(s) on Nine PBS are you watching or recommending ? I enjoy watching all the locally produced specials like Mid-Century Modern in St. Louis and the St. Louis Browns documentaries. I enjoy watching Nova and Nature. Briefly, what is your responsibility at Nine PBS? My team is responsible for all individual member and donor fundraising. The acquisition, retention, and cultivation of members across all levels—basic membership to major gifts, IRA and donor-advised fund distributions, and estate or planned gifts. What do you enjoy doing when you're not at work? During the pandemic, DIY home projects at my house and my kids’ houses have become popular. When travel opens, I’m going to enjoy the beach and hiking in the mountains.

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Lynanne Feilen DESIGNER

Allie Bronsky DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Megan Grisolano ADVERTISING SALES

Elaine Bodker Margo Cooper (314) 432-8097

Marvin Sanders (314) 514-9137

Nine PBS respects the privacy and confidentiality of our donors and will not sell, give, or exchange any information to any entity. Nine PBS Magazine (ISSN 1086-8828) (USPS 736-890) is published bimonthly by St. Louis Regional Public Media Inc., 3655 Olive St., St. Louis, MO 63108-3601. Periodicals class postage paid at St. Louis, MO. Postmaster: Send address changes to Nine PBS Magazine, 3655 Olive St., St. Louis, MO 63108-3601. Subscriptions are available by annual membership contribution of $60 or more to Nine PBS. ©2021 St. Louis Regional Public Media Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of Nine PBS Magazine without express written permission from the publisher is prohibited.

MAY–JUN 2021 | ninepbs.org

M SN AY A P S H OT S

Local stories both celebrate and hold our community accountable.

Senior Producer Ruth Ezell served to moderate and curate questions from St. Louis City residents during the live mayoral debate March 30 at Nine PBS.

Kid and parent favorite, Albert Sanders Jr., an educator at Adams Elementary, Saint Louis Public Schools, relates to his audience with engaging reading and math lessons on Teaching in Room 9.

Host and Illinois chef Lasse Sorensen introduces viewers to the passionate people and culture behind the diverse food scene in St. Louis in Food Is Love; season two is around the corner.

The Donnybrook panelists have kept the community up to date with the latest on the coronavirus with numerous interviews on Donnybrook Next Up with Dr. Alex Garza, Incident Commander, St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force (bottom right).

Nine PBS Magazine | MAY–JUN 2021

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Nine PBS Board of Directors Chair Mark C. Lindgren Vice Chair Cynthia Brinkley Treasurer Kathy Barney Secretary Ashley Kemper Immediate Past Chair David Steward II

Dear Friends, We mourn the passing of our friend and longtime board member, Ted Koplar, in April. Ted was a television pioneer and entrepreneur, and St. Louis benefited from his generosity. He will be missed. May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and it’s also Mental Health Awareness Month. It has been an uneasy time in our country, with the rise in violence against Asian Americans and the pandemic’s toll on mental health. Racial equity gives us the strength to affirm our shared values and keep working on behalf of all children, families, and communities. We stand in solidarity with the Asian American community and those in our community who are hurting. You will find a full schedule of Asian American and Pacific Islander content on the Asian American experience and their extraordinary contributions to our country in this issue. Amy Tan, who graces our cover this issue, is one of many. You’ll also find programming that celebrates our humanity, offers resources, builds character, and unites us. I hope you check out our offerings.

Inside Nine PBS, we’re focused on creating a positive, more inclusive, and high-performing culture. The Women’s Foundation of Greater St. Louis recently recognized Nine PBS as a top place for women to work. It’s an honor to receive this distinction for all the women who work at Nine PBS, those on our board, and to me personally as the first female president and CEO of the organization. When women do well, everyone benefits. Thank you to our team, our volunteers, our board, and our donors and members for the patience, resilience, flexibility, and deep commitment you have shown to serving our community while working remotely, embracing the new normal, and rising to unprecedented challenges. The Nine PBS 2020 Annual Report to the Community reflects and celebrates our team’s impact producing stories that moved us during a particularly challenging year. Find it at ninepbs. org/annualreport. Best,

Amy Shaw President and CEO

Members Donald Aven Lee Broughton David Conner Christopher Gagliano Harvey A. Harris Dennis Hummel Rob Kirkland Robert Koplar Mark Krieger Brendan Lind Dennis Lower Thomas C. Melzer Mary Nelson Cynthia Peters Hugh Scott, III James Snowden Chad Stiening James E. Williams, Jr. Emeritus Dan Burkhardt Maxine Clark Pepe Prince Finn Juanita Hinshaw Janet M. Holloway Ted Koplar* Ken Kranzberg Jeffrey McDonnell Kim Olson Jack Schreiber Patrick Sly Dr. Donald Suggs Milton P. Wilkins, Jr. Executive Team Dick Skalski, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial and Operations Officer Angela Carr, Vice President and Chief Impact Officer Russ Hitzemann, Vice President and Chief Individual Giving Officer Matt Huelskamp, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Chrys Marlow, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Kate Diouf, Senior Director of Organizational Excellence

*deceased

MAY–JUN 2021 | ninepbs.org

M F EAY AT U R E

Novelist Becomes the

Voice of a Generation of Asian Americans

Her family legacy provides Tan an inexhaustible well of creative inspiration.

Although Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir was programmed to coincide with Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May, hateful rhetoric and crimes against Asian American communities were occurring at the time of publication. Nine PBS stands in solidarity with the Asian American community. To learn more, go to ninepbs.org/asianamericans. Amy Tan’s success was central to the history of Asian American representation in literature and on-screen. American Masters—Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir is an intimate portrait of the groundbreaking author. It interweaves archival imagery, including home movies and personal photographs, animation, and original interviews to tell the inspiring story of Tan’s life and career.

Nine PBS Magazine | MAY–JUN 2021

Her hit debut novel, The Joy Luck Club (1989), catapulted her to commercial and critical success, spending over 40 weeks on The New York Times' best-seller list. With the 1993 blockbuster film adaption that followed, which was selected for the National Film Registry in 2020, as well as additional best-selling novels, librettos, short stories, and memoirs, Tan firmly established herself as one of the most prominent and respected literary voices working today. She speaks with remarkable frankness about traumas she’s faced in her life and how her writing has helped her heal. The film traces her meteoric rise, from the point when she picked up fiction writing as a mental break from her freelance writing business to being offered three book deals after completing only three short stories.

F E ATM U AY RE

Amy Tan and her family (left); with her mother (right).

Humanity Infuses Her Work Remainders, a band comprised of best-selling authors, including Stephen King, Scott Turow and Dave Barry, as well as a look at her recent explorations in nature journal sketching, the film offers an inside look at a brave artist whose humanity infuses all of her work.

Born to Chinese immigrant parents in Oakland, CA, in 1952, it would be decades before Tan would come to fully understand how her mother’s battle with suicidal tendencies was rooted in a legacy of suffering common to women who survived the ancient Chinese tradition of concubinage. However, this legacy provides Tan an inexhaustible well of creative inspiration, and her work has made her a global icon for Asian Americans.

The documentary had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival in February. The last completed film from director James Redford (1962– 2020), American Masters—Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir features new interviews with Tan; fellow writers Kevin Kwan, Isabel Allende, Dave Barry, and Ronald Bass; actors from The Joy Luck Club, including Lisa Lu, Rosalind Chao, Tamlyn Tomita, and Kieu Chinh; and friends and family.

Tan’s other best-selling novels include The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Saving Fish from Drowning, and The Valley of Amazement, and her work has been translated into 35 languages. Featuring footage of her performing as the lead singer of the Rock Bottom

Ways to Watch

›

Premiere broadcast on Monday, May 3, 9 pm

›

treams on demand after broadcast at ninepbs.org S and the PBS Video app for a limited time.

›

Livestreams during broadcast for those in the Nine PBS viewing area.

MAY–JUN 2021 | ninepbs.org

M F EAY AT U R E

Other Asian Pacific American-Focused Programs

Asian Americans Led by a team of Asian American filmmakers, this five-part series that first aired in 2020 examines the significant role of Asian Americans in shaping American history and identity, from the first wave of Asian immigrants in the 1850s to the modern refugee crises in a globally connected world. Begins Tuesday, May 4, 10 pm, on Nine PBS, and May 1, 9 pm, on Nine PBS World

The Registry This film breaks open the hidden history of the U.S. Army's Military Intelligence Service (MIS) during World War II—a story made possible because of a few aging Japanese American veterans with a little internet savvy and a lot of determination. Sunday, May 9, 2 pm

American Experience: Mr. Tornado Meet pioneering meteorologist Ted Fujita, who transformed our understanding of tornados. His technological advancements saved lives and helped Americans prepare for and respond to dangerous weather phenomena. Sunday, May 16, 2 pm

Antiques Roadshow: Celebrating Asian-Pacific Heritage Roadshow turns the spotlight on incredible items with Asian and Pacific Islands origins, including a Hawaiian kou bowl, a Ghandi presentation spinning wheel, and an 1888 Joseph Nawahi painting. May 10, 9 pm

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders programming can be streamed on the PBS Video App and is airing in May on Nine PBS World.

Independent Lens: The Donut King Hard knocks, redemption, wealth, survival, risk, and donuts—Ted Ngoy’s life story has it all. It’s the American Dream, with a (glazed) twist. Monday, May 24, 10 pm

Nine PBS Magazine | MAY–JUN 2021

In Memoriam Edward “Ted” Koplar, 1943–2021 Edward “Ted” Koplar, a longtime friend of Nine PBS and a board member since 2008, passed away April 4, 2021. He was 77. Koplar served on the Nine PBS Board of Directors as vice chair from 2009–2011 and presided as chair in 2012. He had been an emeritus member since 2017. While on the board, he was instrumental in the success of the first public capital campaign and the design and completion of the Public Media Commons. He was an advocate for our Stay Tuned public affairs series, American Graduate, Arts Are Alive programming, and the 2012 Homeland: Immigration in America special. Koplar was a television pioneer and entrepreneur, making his mark in broadcasting, video production, and real estate. As president and chief executive officer of Koplar Communications International, he grew KPLR-TV into one of the most successful independent television stations in the country.

Summer School Starting June 7, our

on-air classroom is all new!

• Help your pre-k though third-grade students curb learning loss during the “summer slide."

• Local educators teach literacy, math, science, and related arts weekdays from 11:30 am–1:30 pm.

• Broadcast free on Nine PBS (9.1). ninepbs.org/room9

Supported by

M HA AY PPENING NOW

Nine PBS Named

Top Place for Women to Work

“When women do well, everyone benefits,” says Amy Shaw, president and CEO, Nine PBS, shown in center photo with Ruth Ezell (right), senior producer. Left column: Angie Carr, vice president and chief impact office (top), Anne-Marie Berger, senior director of content (bottom). Right column: Megan Grisolano, director of communications (top), Kate Midgett, senior director of organizational excellence (bottom).

Unlike most “Best Places to Work” reports that rely on employee opinion surveys, the Women in the Workplace: Employment Scorecard looked at objective criteria and outcomes, including women in top leadership roles, most highly compensated employees, starting wage, flexible work policies, and recruitment and retention programs targeted at advancing women.

Nine PBS Magazine | MAY–JUN 2021

“ I am proud to carry

on Nine PBS’s 66-year commitment to our region as its first female president and chief executive officer.

“

In late March, the Women’s Foundation of Greater St. Louis recognized Nine PBS as a top place for women to work in its fourth annual “Women in the Workplace: Employment Scorecard.” Nine PBS was recognized as one of 21 employers in St. Louis demonstrating excellence in four areas of workplace gender equity—leadership, compensation, flexible work policies, and recruitment and retention.

—Amy Shaw, President and CEO, Nine PBS

H A P P E N I N G NMOAY W

Local Teens Perform in Talent Competition Fifty metro-area high school acts competed in the semifinal round of the 11th Annual St. Louis Teen Talent Competition. The 14 acts (20 students) who moved to the finals performed in April on the Fabulous Fox stage, which will air as a special Nine PBS broadcast on May 24. Due to pandemic constraints, the competition was not filmed in front of a live audience, but the finalists had the opportunity to perform in front of a small group of their closest family and friends. The full list of finalists can be found at foxpacf.org/2021-slttc-finalists. The Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation will award nearly $50,000 in prizes, cash awards, and college scholarships to the top competitors. Finalists will be judged on technical ability, interpretation, stage presence, and originality. Immediately following the broadcast, join us for the live after-party on the Nine PBS Facebook page, where you will have a chance to vote for the Audience Choice Award. The broadcast is coproduced by Nine PBS and Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation, supported by Grand Center Arts Academy.

The 2020 winner, hip-hop dancer DemBari Taneh (pictured here) will be featured in the special.

Ways to Watch: Monday, May 24, 7 pm, with encores Saturday, May 29, 3 pm, and Sunday, May 30, 9:30 am and 2 pm on Nine PBS. Livestream during broadcast or anytime at ninepbs.org.

Web Series on All Things Nine PBS The Nine Outline web series, hosted by two Nine PBS team members from Membership and Viewer Services, promotes upcoming programs and events, and even has a special guest from time to time. The series launched on January 28, 2019. Sean and Ernmardia have been recording the series in their homes since the pandemic.

T he

show has the latest Nine PBS information, and lots of laughs, too. For a fun way to keep up to date with all things Nine PBS, check out ninepbs.org/nineoutline and Nine PBS’s Facebook page.

MAY–JUN 2021 | ninepbs.org

M HA AY PPENING NOW

Virtual Storytime with Pinkalicious Author

New Kids Series Inspired by Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

Gather your family for a fun virtual event that will inspire your children to explore the arts and express themselves creatively.

Donkey Hodie is a whimsical, new PBS KIDS® puppet series produced by Fred Rogers Productions and Spiffy Pictures. It encourages preschoolers to aim high, embrace challenges, and work hard to achieve their goals.

PBS KIDS® Pinkalicious & Peterrific brings music, dance, theater, and visual arts to life through the adventures of Pinkalicious, her brother Peter, and their many friends. Best-selling picture book author Victoria Kann will read a story, and Nine PBS’s Alex Stallings and Fatama Moorer will be on hand to moderate questions and lead an activity. L ive

on Nine PBS’s Facebook page:

facebook.com/ninepbs S aturday,

May 15, 10 am

Go to ninepbs.org/events to register.

The colorful multiplatform show follows the adventures of Donkey Hodie, granddaughter of the original Donkey Hodie character from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (now known as “Grampy Hodie”). Original new music, along with reimagined versions of Rogers’s songs, is a big part of the show and reinforces the stories’ positive messages. Ways

to Watch: Broadcast premiere on Nine PBS: May 3, 9 am, on Nine PBS KIDS: May 3, 3 pm. Livestream or anytime at ninepbs.org/ninepbskids or the PBS KIDS App.

Watch Your Favorite PBS KIDS Shows on the Go The PBS KIDS Video App gives kids and parents access to thousands of free videos, including full episodes and clips from top PBS KIDS series. You can watch your favorite shows without an internet connection using the new download feature on your tablet or mobile device. This feature is available for phones and tablets on Android and iOS. To begin downloading videos, a network connection is required. Once videos are downloaded, they can be watched with or without a network connection.

Nine PBS Magazine | MAY–JUN 2021

Vote for your favorite Nine PBS series with your donation on Give STL Day! Our local series share diverse perspectives, explore unfamiliar places, celebrate what unites us, and connect us to new ideas.

• D onnybrook • Living St. Louis

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St. Louis Community Foundation

• Teaching in Room 9 If you support them all or something else we do, Give STL Day is the place to make your support known.

Giving to Nine PBS is easy, go to

givestlday.org/ninepbs

It is because of you that we remain a vital and relevant institution.

Thank you! For contributing to the future of Nine PBS

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PBS VIDEO APP Stream the best of PBS. Anytime, anywhere. DOWNLOAD THE APP

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F R O M T H E A R C H IM VAY ES

‘

Schools of the Future through a 90s Lens In the era of The Lion King, Friends, and Playstation, Nine PBS examined the potential impact of technology on education in a four-part series called Schools of the Future (parts one and two were distributed nationally). By the time the first episode aired in 1994, computers were already considered indispensable, and kids had discovered how easy it was to do homework with “word processing” and explore resources at distant libraries.

schools because it hooks them up to the outside world, to big universities, and vocational schools.

In the January 1996 edition of the KETC Guide, the series producer, Mary Leahy, wrote that teachers were being trained to equip students with the skills they need to not only ask questions, but find the answers themselves. Enter dial-up internet access via modem to online databases and CD-ROMs.

“I think my biggest criticism at this stage would be that the schools are often mindlessly applying technology. ...without asking more fundamental questions about...how to educate. Could we use technology to do something completely different that would be more effective?” wondered Christopher Dede, George Mason University.

She noted “how touchy machines can be about entries” and “the syntax error” her five-year-old got by entering, “How come Davy Crockett got deaded.” (When entered in Google today, about 605,000 results were returned.) This was back in the day of computers equipped with 8 megabytes of memory. Today, an average computer has up to 32 gigabytes. Residents in some Missouri towns were concerned that “interactive instructional TV” would close schools. But one teacher interviewed correctly predicted that the technology might be a high-tech lifeline for rural

Computers were thought of as electronic workbooks, with a tendency for educational TV to feel just like a normal classroom. But it was just the starting point, said Linda Roberts, former director, U.S. Department of Educational Technology. “Every technological tool offers a new set of capabilities, and lots of times we don’t even know what those capabilities are.”

Nine PBS’s latest foray into educational television is Teaching in Room 9, which began in April 2020 in response to the coronavirus, which necessitated remote learning. The on-air classroom series connects students with their teachers via video camera, but it is much more playful, aligns to stateapproved learning goals, and has a diverse lineup of educators. Check

out the series at ninepbs.org/room9.

MAY–JUN 2021 | ninepbs.org

M B EAY YO N D P R O G R A M M I N G

Nine PBS’s Community Impact Initiatives Building strong relationships with partners is the crux of Nine PBS’s engagement work. By providing reliable and accountable services over the years, Nine PBS has fostered community trust and developed programming informed by community priorities. Two important partnerships making moves this spring are with East St. Louis School District 189 and Saint Louis Public Schools.

Saint Louis Public Schools Since 2017, Nine PBS and Saint Louis Public Schools (SLPS) have been strong partners united around the goal to advance the well-being of vulnerable learners and connect educators to essential resources. On February 12, Nine PBS held a training for SLPS early educators. This virtual professional development engaged pre-k teachers in playful learning strategies, discussed how to approach the topics of race and racism with young learners, and provided tips for how to meaningfully integrate media into their learning environments.

This training was so successful that Nine PBS is holding a second training on May 4 for the additional teachers eager to attend. Through these two trainings, Nine PBS will have extended this professional learning opportunity to all 90 Saint Louis Public Schools pre-k educators, impacting almost 1,500 vulnerable early learners. This work is possible, in part, thanks to PNC Grow Up Great.

AS A RESULT OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

90%

agreed that their understanding of media literary increased

› 14

93%

found Nine PBS’s race and racism content to be a beneficial component

gained valuable information they plan to use with young learners

Early education resources Nine PBS KIDS resources build social and emotional learning, literacy, STEM, social studies, and art skills for children across the region.

90%

ninepbs.org/learningtoolkit

B E YO N D P R O G R A M MJIU NN GE

East St. Louis School District 189 When Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships Sydney Stigge-Kaufman, MSW, shared the district’s need for early education resources, Nine PBS and Ameren joined together to support these young learners.

East, 67% of third graders were below grade level in English/Language Arts in 2019 (IL Report Card, 2020). Nine PBS is excited to grow the footprint of our on-the-ground work to support high-quality early education across our entire region.

On March 9, Nine PBS, in partnership with Ameren, distributed essential learning resources to 302 kindergarten and 414 first-grade students in East St. Louis School District 189. First graders received Nine PBS Learning Kits with school supplies, and kindergarteners received PBS KIDS® Playtime Pads preloaded with educational games, apps, and videos for hours of educational fun with or without the internet. In addition, all students received a book from St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature thanks to support from Dana Brown Charitable Trust.

Nine PBS has been working to build relationships in East St. Louis for the last three years through active participation in the Greater East St. Louis Early Learning Partnership and with the Erikson Institute’s Early Development Instrument (EDI), a neighborhoodlevel population measure for the development of young children. This new programming with East St. Louis School District 189 is the result of years of work in the region.

Superintendent Arthur R. Culver said, “The past year has been particularly challenging for our young learners while in remote learning. We are grateful for the additional digital devices and supplies that will help engage students in learning.” To ensure the long-term impact of these resources, Nine PBS is providing professional development for East St. Louis School District 189 educators and parents of kindergarten and first-grade students. Together, they will strengthen their digital literacy skills and confidence implementing proven PBS KIDS educational resources in the classroom and at home. This collaborative effort between families and schools is the kind of innovation needed to close achievement gaps. In St. Clair County in the Metro

PBS KIDS Playtime Pads can be enjoyed for hours without the internet, which helps to bridge the digital divide.

“ The past year has been particularly challenging for our young learners while in remote learning. We are grateful for the additional digital devices and supplies that will help engage students in learning.

”

—ARTHUR R. CULVER Superintendent, East St. Louis School District 189

Contributed by Lizzy Petersen, Grants Manager, Nine PBS.

MAY–JUN 2021 | ninepbs.org

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710

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185

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