WSBE Airs Three Programs in Memorial Day Tribute

On Sunday, May 29 - the day before Memorial Day - WSBE Rhode Island PBS presents three programs in honor of those who nobly served and survived, and those who courageously fell.

At 9 p.m., WSBE airs Journey of an American Warrior (formerly titled "WWII Honor Flight: A Journey into the Past"). For 60 years, World War II veterans didn't have a monument, didn't have a place to go to remember their friends who didn't come back. Finally in 2004, the United States government finished the monument. By that time, however, many of the veterans were well into their 80s, and unable to make the trip to Washington to visit the monument that honored them and their fallen comrades. Journey of an American Warrior is the story of one man's dream to make sure every veteran has a chance to stand before the granite stars and stripes in the nation's capitol. In this 30-minute documentary, climb aboard the Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., and fly backward in time with these heroes of World War II. (re-broadcast Tuesday, May 31 at 1:30 a.m.)

Click here for more information about the Honor Flight Network featured in the film.

At 9:30 p.m., WSBE Rhode Island PBS airs National Memorial Day Concert. For more than 20 years,  PBS's National Memorial Day Concert has led the nation in honoring the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, their families at home and all the fallen who have given their lives for our country. The multi award-winning event will be co-hosted for the sixth year by Emmy Award-winner Gary Sinise (CSI:New York) and Tony Award-winner Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds), two acclaimed actors who have dedicated themselves to veterans causes and supporting our troops in active service. Joining them will be an all-star line-up of dignitaries, actors and musical artists. (Re-broadcast Tuesday, May 31 at 2 a.m.)

Finally, at 11 p.m., WSBE features Rhode Islander director Tim Gray's moving and local story, D-Day: The Price of Freedom. This story captures the emotional reunion of five World War II veterans from Rhode Island as they travel together to Normandy, France, 60 years after surviving the invasion. Jim Karpeichik was the film's cinematographer. D-Day: The Price of Freedom will also air the night before, Saturday, May 28 at 7 p.m., as part of WSBE's series Rhode Island Stories.

Bloggers and Reporters Ponder "Journalism and New Media"

In the uncontrolled - and uncontrollable - world of Internet mass communication, the twisting branches of the modern grapevine are electronic pulses instead of whispers. The bunches of fruit are clusters of followers on social networks: blogs, Facebook, Twitter. "Likes," "shares," and "re-tweets" are the new shoots that help the grapevine thrive and spread.

But what about the root system of this new, sophisticated grapevine? How can the public be confident that a source of news and information is trustworthy? What is fact, what is opinion, and what is opinion disguised as fact – and how can one tell the difference? What are the challenges, opportunities, and foreseeable future of traditional news outlets? If, online, everyone is an opinion columnist, what happens to "news reporting" – that essential service of objectively presenting verified facts, without interpretation, analysis, or slant? Has the casual tone and spontaneity of online communication replaced the high standards of journalistic integrity?

Barbara Meagher, associate professor of journalism at the University of Rhode Island and former television investigative journalist, hosts a panel of five New Media writers and entrepreneurs, as well as crossovers from traditional journalism to the blogosphere, in the WSBE production JOURNALISM AND NEW MEDIA.

The program, taped before a studio audience of students in the political science and journalism programs at the University of Rhode Island, airs on WSBE Rhode Island PBS on Wednesday, May 25 at 8 p.m., with re-broadcasts on Friday, May 27 at 12:30 a.m. and Sunday, May 29 at 2 p.m. JOURNALISM AND NEW MEDIA also airs on WSBE Learn on Sunday, May 29 at 8 p.m., as well as Monday, May 30 at 3:30 a.m., and Tuesday, May 31 at midnight.

The discussion during the first half of JOURNALISM AND NEW MEDIA among panelists Joshua Fenton, Froma Harrop, Dan Kennedy, Ted Nesi, and Gregory Sullivan, spans a range of topics and challenges, including the differences between new and traditional media, viability of print media, the public demand for instant and constant access to news and information, ethics and fact verification, “citizen journalism,” writing and reporting standards, and media bias.

In the second half of the program, URI students step up to the microphone to ask the panelists an array of probing questions about how new media is affecting politics and journalism.

Selected quotes from the program:

"We're in this period of transformation… To say if you lost a hard copy of a newspaper, you've lost journalism [is] an absurd reaction…The reality is [people] can collect the same quality of information via smartphone, via laptop, via tablet…in a more immediate or dynamic and user-friendly way." – Joshua Fenton

"The more the information explosion happens, the greater the need for journalists who can take a story, do some investigation into…exactly what is accurate and what is not. That is the role…that's always been there and always will be." Gregory Sullivan

"My concern is money not coming in to support real journalism... Our civic culture depends on having government covered by a newsroom…My concern is that the public will not be able to appreciate the real journalism from…uninformed or opinion journalism." Froma Harrop

"The more…the community is digesting and discussing the content is incredibly important to a democracy." Joshua Fenton

JOURNALISM AND NEW MEDIA panelists:

Joshua Fenton is co-founder of the news and information Web site, GoLocalProv.com. With experience in politics, government policy, advertising, marketing, and public relations, Fenton is recognized for his special expertise in developing integrated communications. His awards for advertising and marketing excellence include a CLIO award, a Bell Ringer award, and recognition for one of his spots on the ABC television program "America's Best Commercials."

Froma Harrop is a nationally syndicated opinion columnist and member of The Providence Journal editorial board. A Loeb Award finalist for economic commentary, Harrop was honored by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. New England Associated Press News Executives Association has named her for five awards.

Dan Kennedy is an assistant professor at Northeastern University's School of Journalism, contributing writer for the Boston Phoenix, and a regular commentator on media issues on WGBH's “Beat the Press.” His blog, Media Nation, boasts the following review by the Boston Globe: "Dan Kennedy... exercises the blogger's imperative to bloviate beyond his expertise."

Ted Nesi covers politics, money, and media for wpri.com, since joining the Eyewitness News team in July 2010. Nesi started his career a reporter and columnist at The Sun Chronicle in Attleboro, and was a reporter and online editor at Providence Business News. Nesi is the winner of two New England Press Association awards and was a fellow at the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting in 2009. He has also written for The Providence Journal and PBS.org.

Gregory V. Sullivan is the former corporate counsel for the New Hampshire Union Leader, an instructor at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications, and an adjunct faculty member of Suffolk University Law School where he lectures about First Amendment issues and media law.

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WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits over the air on digital 36.1; on Cox 08 / 708HD, Verizon 08 / 508HD, Full Channel 08, Comcast 819HD (check local Comcast listings for standard definition channels); on DirecTV 36 and Dish Network 7776. WSBE Learn transmits on digital 36.2; on Cox 808, Verizon 478, Full Channel 109, Comcast 294 or 312.

Ilha dos Meus Sonhos (Island of My Dreams) Tells Azorean Immigrant Stories

Ilha dos Meus Sonhos (Island of My Dreams) puts faces to the stories of common people with uncommon courage to leave their impoverished island homeland of the Azores, determined to create a better life in America for themselves and their children. Azores is the name of the Portuguese archipelago of nine islands in the Atlantic Ocean, about 2,400 miles off the east coast of the United States.

Ricardo Rebelo, a Rhode Island filmmaker and instructor of TV and film at Bristol Community College, and himself an Azorean emigrant, captures these untold stories of Portuguese immigration to the Fall River area, particularly the two waves of emigration from the Azores in the 1950s and '70s. The film also explores how the immigrants have maintained their Portuguese culture and traditions here in America, while the modern culture in the Azores has actually changed dramatically since the revolution.

Ilha dos Meus Sonhos (Island of My Dreams) presents the experiences in a personal way – from what life was like on the islands, to what motivated so many Portuguese to abandon their birthplace to immigrate to America. Rebelo also interviews family members who chose not to leave, but who stayed on the islands. The narrated documentary includes interviews with immigrants in their native Portuguese language (with English subtitles), interspersed with vintage family photos and rich scenic footage of stunning natural beauty of the Azores.

The Ilha dos Meus Sonhos (Island of My Dreams) documentary film makes its public television premiere exclusively on WSBE Rhode Island PBS on Saturday, May 21 at 7 p.m. (rebroadcast on Sunday, May 22 at 11 p.m.) as part of the ongoing WSBE series Rhode Island Stories.

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WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits over the air on digital 36.1; on Cox 708HD / 08, Verizon 508HD / 08, Full Channel 08, Comcast 819HD / 09, 19, 20, or 11, depending on location (check local Comcast listings for standard definition channels); on DirecTV 36 and Dish Network 7776. WSBE Learn transmits on digital 36.2; on Cox 808, Verizon 478, Full Channel 109, Comcast 294 or 312.

WSBE Rhode Island PBS is operated by the Rhode Island Public Telecommunications Authority, a public corporation established by Rhode Island General Laws 16-61-2. WSBE is a viewer-supported member of the PBS network of public broadcasting stations, and transmits on two channels: WSBE Rhode Island PBS and WSBE Learn. Committed to lifelong learning for more than 43 years, WSBE uses the power of commercial-free media to educate, engage, enrich, inspire, and entertain viewers of all ages in Rhode Island, southeastern Massachusetts, and eastern Connecticut. For more information about the programs and education services at WSBE, visit www.ripbs.org.

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Opera in June: Great Performances at the Met

WSBE Learn ushers you to your front row seats at the Metropolitan Opera every Saturday night. The curtain rises for these Great Performances at 8 p.m. Here are your reserved tickets for June 2011:


June 4: Don Carlo





June 11: La Fanciulla Del West




June 18: Iphigenie en Tauride




June 25: Nixon in China






WSBE Learn transmits over the air on 36.2. On cable, find Learn on Cox 808, Verizon 478, Full Channel 109, Comcast 294 or 312.