Spring 2012: The Circle by WGBH Educational Foundation

The Circle

spring 2012

the wgbh leadership circle newsletter

Leadership Circle

The Invaluable Antiques Roadshow

Q The WGBH-produced Antiques Roadshow, now in its 16th season, is public television’s most-watched series. What’s the secret to its success and longevity? A There are a lot of reasons people watch. Maybe you like history, maybe you like old things, maybe you want to make sure you don’t put your $15,000 vase out in a yard sale for $50. Or maybe you want to recognize a $50 vase that could be worth a lot more. We’re smart reality television. It’s an hour of pure information broken up into delicious, three-minute segments. Q Roadshow is part history, part arts and culture lesson. Does its versatility keep people watching? A Deﬁnitely. Every object we feature has a story to tell, and that makes for great television. We provide the context. It would be impossible, for example, to watch Roadshow and not learn when the Civil War happened. But the learning is organic, not forced, because you’re curious. There’s no better way to enter the past than through the present.

Q What has Roadshow’s impact been on American audiences? A There’s an informed public out there now. Before Antiques Roadshow, most of us didn’t realize it was possible that a piece of furniture could sell for seven figures. We have taught people to ask the right questions— to be smart buyers and sellers. Q What’s it like to tape an event right here in Boston? A We’re returning to our roots, and we’re able to measure how far we’ve come. The very first an excited antiques roadshow fan waits for an appraisal of a Roadshow appraisal vintage television set at the show’s stop in pittsburgh, pa event was held in Concord, MA, 16 years ago. About Q You’ve been at the helm of 300 people showed up to the Armory. Roadshow for almost a decade. This time around, we’re giving out Do you still enjoy it? 3,000 pairs of tickets to randomly A I’ve got the best job in television. chosen applicants from a pool of tens I love the never-ending learning, the of thousands. It’s a don’t-miss event. personal stories we hear in every city, We haven’t staged an appraisal event and the real, human moments we in Boston since 2001, and won’t be chronicle. And I love working at WGBH. back for at least another five years. The producers here are given guidance but also room to move and make choices Q I hear you’re working on another that make for great television. You don’t exciting antiques-related series. find that kind of support everywhere. What can you tell me about it? A It’s a reality competition show that Visit pbs.org/antiques, Antiques will feature four “pickers” who know a Roadshow’s website, where you can lot about buying and selling antiques. explore a searchable archive, watch They’ll travel to flea markets and other Web-exclusive video appraisals, and similar venues where they’ll buy objects play the game “What’s It Worth?”. to take to auction. Whoever makes Check out Roadshow’s iPhone and the most money, wins. It’s not your iPad app games on iTunes. grandmother’s PBS. But viewers are still going to learn about history and value along the way.

JEFF DUNN FOR ANTIQUES ROADSHOW

arsha Bemko is executive producer of WGBH’s Antiques Roadshow, PBS’s top-rated primetime series and the longest-running appraisal show on American television. The series has opened the doors of the rariﬁed world of antiques and collectibles to millions of viewers, who tune in each week for Roadshow’s irresistible combination of history lesson, treasure hunt, and human drama. Bemko recently sat down with WGBH’s Matt Roy to talk about the show, its upcoming return to Boston for an appraisal event on June 9, and a new series that is currently in production.

on television and online

Masterpiece’s Sherlock Is Back W

Blood). “Sherlock writer Steven Moffat is a genius,” Pulver says. “He beautifully encapsulates Conan Doyle’s legend, and subtly and wittily brings it to life.” Tune in to unwrap the gift that is Sherlock, Series 2. Masterpiece’s Sherlock, Series 2, premieres Sunday, May 6, at 9pm on WGBH 2, and continues on the next two Sunday nights. Visit pbs.org/ masterpiece for a sneak peek of the second season, and ﬁnd Masterpiece on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ masterpiecepbs) and Twitter (@masterpiecepbs).

TAYLOR CROTHERS/SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

Experience Goat Rodeo

he name—Goat Rodeo—requires an explanation. It’s a situation so chaotic that it would take a miracle for everything to work out. The irony is that the late January 2012 concert celebrating an album called The Goat Rodeo Sessions couldn’t have gone better. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, ﬁddler Stuart Duncan, mandolinist Chris Thile, and bassist Edgar Meyer took the stage at Boston’s House of Blues to share their unusual but exciting blend of musical styles—from classical to bluegrass—and WGBH was there to capture every imaginative note. The performance, beamed live that night to more than 400 theaters

nationwide, will premiere in May 2012 on WGBH 2 and across the US. “There was magic in the room,” says WGBH’s Laurie Donnelly, recalling the mix of orchestrated music and improvisation that also featured folk singer Aoife O’Donovan, daugher of WGBH’s own Brian O’Donovan. Donnelly is producing a broadcast that will double as a DVD released by Sony. “It was a musical journey and you didn’t know where it would lead you,” she says, “but it was just to this unbelievable place.” WGBH collaborated closely with Yo-Yo Ma on the concert and TV special. “Not only is Yo-Yo the world’s ﬁnest cellist, he is an artist who always thinks outside the box,” Donnelly says. “Goat Rodeo Sessions represents his openness and ingenuity, and it represents what public television tries to do, which is always push the envelope, always do something new, and always reinvent itself.” The Goat Rodeo Sessions, a PBS Arts special, premieres Friday, May 25, at 9pm on WGBH 2.

BBC/HARTSWOOD FILMS FOR MASTERPIECE

GBH’s Rebecca Eaton, executive producer of Masterpiece, considers Sherlock a “gift from the television gods.” “When Sherlock, Series 1, premiered on Masterpiece in spring 2011, we thought we had something good,” Eaton says. “We had no idea it would be as successful and popular as it was.” The Wall Street Journal called it “wonderfully weird” and The Washington Post declared it “absorbedly witty and brisk.” The reimagined literary classic places Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in edgy, 21st-century London. Sherlock Holmes, played masterfully by Benedict Cumberbatch (War Horse), is a brilliant, fast-thinking investigator who spends more time texting than talking on the phone. And his stalwart sidekick Dr. Watson, played by Martin Freeman (The Hobbit), is a veteran of the Afghanistan war. In May 2012, this dynamic duo returns in Sherlock, Series 2. This time around, Holmes takes on Jim Moriarty, the unassuming mastermind of evil played by Andrew Scott (Lennon), and meets his match in the beguiling Irene Adler, played by Lara Pulver (True

Frontline Takes On Wall Street Since 2008, Wall Street and Washington have fought against the tide of the fiercest financial crisis since the Great Depression. What have they wrought? WGBH’s Frontline explores this question in Money, Power and Wall Street, a new four-hour investigation premiering in April 2012. The two-part series begins by looking at how two US administrations have confronted the crisis and charts the effectiveness of the largest government bailout in the country’s history. Frontline tells the story of how the newly elected Barack Obama, with his mandate for change, grapples with the multiheaded menace of economic instability. Part 2 focuses on the inner workings of global high finance. Looking to Europe as well as America, Frontline interviews officials and leading bankers, probing deeply into the background of big banks —how they developed, how they crashed, and whether many of the practices that caused the crisis remain a threat. Uncompromising reporting is what viewers have come to expect from Frontline, the only independent, investigative long-form journalistic series on US television. No news source is better qualified to answer the question, “Is the global economy again on the brink?” Watch Money, Power and Wall Street, Tuesday, April 24 at 9pm, and continuing on Tuesday, May 1, on WGBH 2. Visit pbs.org/frontline, Frontline’s website, to watch complete films, check out timely updates to past reports, interact with filmmakers, and explore the series’ archive.

Nova’s New App! In tandem with the April premiere of Hunting the Elements, a documentary about the wonders of the periodic table, Nova is releasing its ﬁrst iPad app. It features an interactive periodic table and a learning game in which players build atoms and molecules to make everyday things. Find it on iTunes.

On the Campaign Trail T he problem with reducing an election to a horse race is that substance—the issues that determine how people vote—can be sacriﬁced, and the narrative can change on a dime. “It’s a bit like standing before a funhouse mirror,” Phil Redo, managing director of 89.7 WGBH, Boston Public Radio, says of the horse-race approach. “You’re seeing distorted images and, while it can be quite entertaining, it doesn’t necessarily reflect what is really going on.” Heading into an eventful summer and fall in national and local politics, 89.7 WGBH promises to be a reliable place listeners can turn to for more than the horse race. The station will focus not only on the presidential election, but also contests within the Commonwealth,

including the US Senate election and Congressional races affected by the state’s redistricting. In the 30 days leading up to Election Day, 89.7 will highlight 30 different issues, talking to local stakeholders and experts, and endeavoring to provide listeners a nuanced understanding of each issue and the candidates’ position on it. “There are not two sides to stories, there are multiple sides to stories,” Redo says. “Health care in Boston is a great example. It’s a huge economic engine and the perspectives on it vary. It’s not just about insurance coverage. It’s about the development of technology, and improving the management and delivery of care.” 89.7 WGBH will report on the Republican and Democratic conventions,

and the station is part of a consortium sponsoring a US Senate debate in the fall. Listeners can expect 89.7’s stable of reporters, in collaboration with WGBH television news, to keep them informed with up-to-the-minute coverage on radio and online at wgbh.org/news. And as it did during this year’s New Hampshire primary, 89.7 will tap WGBH’s vast archive to give presentday stories deeper context by airing the voices of candidates and others from our political past. “Our archives are a tremendous asset,” Redo says. “Not many news organizations have access to 60-plus years of media resources.”

arm summer evenings and great classical music are married every year in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts. This iconic union— otherwise known as the Tanglewood Music Festival—turns 75 this year, and WGBH’s Classical New England will celebrate the anniversary in a variety of exciting ways, including revisiting some classic broadcasts of the world-renowned concerts in Lenox, MA. “We’re going to share some of our great Tanglewood memories such as the opening of Seiji Ozawa Hall in 1994, the last concert conducted by Leonard Bernstein in 1990, and the 1984 concert when Midori broke not one, but two violin strings during her Tanglewood debut,” says Benjamin Roe, managing director of Classical New England. These and other “Tanglewood Tales” will be heard on radio and online at classicalnewengland.org.

STEVE ROSENTHAL, COURTESY OF BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Celebrating Tanglewood’s 75th W

The rich reservoir of recordings speaks to the strength of another union worth celebrating: Classical New England and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. WGBH signed on the airwaves in 1951 with the inaugural concert of the BSO season. Ever since, the world-class orchestra has had a home on WGBH radio. An expansion of the fruitful partnership in 2011 made BSO concerts available not only live on Saturday evenings, but via rebroadcasts on Sundays, and at any time on Classical New England’s online BSO Radio Channel. This summer, Classical New England and the BSO are teaming up to bring

the sounds of Tanglewood to the largest audience possible. “We have two broadcasts that are going to be heard around the world,” Roe says. Working with its European partners and American distributors, Classical New England will broadcast Opening Night at Tanglewood, a re-creation of the ﬁrst ever Tanglewood concert from 1937. The all-Beethoven program on July 6 will be led by conductor Christopher von Dohnányi. The second broadcast on July 14 will be of a gala featuring some of Tanglewood’s greatest names, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, singer James Taylor, and conductors Seiji Ozawa, John Williams, and Keith Lockhart. Be a part of these and other milestone moments from Tanglewood by listening to Classical New England and visiting classicalnewengland.org.

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on radio and online

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The Circle spring 2012

Leadership Circle

the wgbh leadership circle newsletter

MEASURING YOUR IMPACT See how your support is helping WGBH create innovative programs and services that educate, inspire, and entertain. View our 2011-2012 WGBH annual report online at wgbh.org/annualreport.

wgbh leadership circle spotlight

High School Quiz Show High School Quiz Show launched three years ago to shine a positive light on education. “We wanted to showcase bright kids, celebrate what they’re doing, and rally the community around them,” says WGBH executive producer Hillary Wells. “It’s happening, and it’s really exciting.” Students representing nearly 80 public high schools statewide showed up at WGBH’s Brighton studios last October to take High School Quiz Show’s 100-question entrance exam. The top-scoring 16 teams advanced. Since mid-February, they have competed in a single-elimination

tournament with two teams squaring off every Sunday on TV. The brainpower battle, hosted by Billy Costa, culminates with the championship on Sunday, May 20, at 6:30pm on WGBH 2. Stay tuned afterwards for the ﬁrst ever Celebrity High School Quiz Show featuring Keith Lockhart (Boston Pops conductor), Wesley Morris (Boston Globe ﬁlm critic), Matt Siegel (KISS 108 radio host), and other local celebrities. View past episodes at wgbh.org/ quizshow, and check out facebook.com/ HighSchoolQuizShow.

Don’t Miss Out… It was a last-minute opportunity to offer a sneak peek at Downton Abbey, Season 2, before its premiere in January, and we didn’t have time for snail mail. So we emailed Leadership Circle members about a special screening of the hit series’ ﬁrst hour. Make sure you’re there for exclusive moments like this by giving us your email address. Call us at 617-300-3505 or email us at leadershipcircle@wgbh.org.

Our Thanks WGBH salutes our local sponsors for their support: Antiques Roadshow: Brookline Bank Masterpiece: Huntington Theater, Skinner, Inc. Frontline: Northeastern University High School Quiz Show: Major sponsorship is provided by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation and Safety Insurance. Additional funding is provided by Massachusetts Teachers Association, XFINITY from Comcast, Harvard Summer School Secondary School Program, and Subaru of New England.

Save the Date!

Celebrate Classical New England like never before with The Classical Festival on Saturday, May 12, at our WGBH Studios. Enjoy live performances, demonstrations, displays, and appearances by our on-air hosts. The Circle is a publication of WGBH One Guest Street, Boston, MA 02135 Writer: Matthew Roy Designer: Danielle Pierce Leadership Circle staff: Daren Winckel, Stacy Kasdin Constituent Communications: Cynthia Broner, Susan Reed © 2012 WGBH Educational Foundation 120133