Paula Kerger News

Today at the Television Critics Association Press Tour, PBS president Paula Kerger announced that the first-ever autobiographical documentary of physicist Stephen Hawking, called A BRIEF HISTORY OF MINE (w.t.), is slated to air in 2013.

PBS and WGBH announced today that the premiere of MASTERPIECE CLASSIC 'Downton Abbey, Season 3' captivated viewers nationwide, building on the love affair with the series that started two years ago. An average audience of 7.9 million viewers tuned in for Sunday's premiere. (Nielsen Fast National data, 5.1 household rating.) The third season premiere of the Emmy(R) and Golden Globe(R) Award-winning series, a Carnival/MASTERPIECE co-production, quadrupled the average PBS primetime rating, and exceeded the average rating of the second season premiere of 'Downton Abbey' by 96 percent (based on metered market averages).

With the first of last night's 2012 Presidential debates focussing on the economy, much of President Obama and Mitt Romney's discussion had to do with the national debt, creating jobs, and social security, but one of Romney's ideas about reducing govenment spending got most of the media attention- getting rid of PBS. In the video below, the chief of PBS, Paula Kerger, adresses Romney's war against Big Bird.

BBC Worldwide America Sales & Distribution and PBS previously announced the sale of the first season of the critically acclaimed British drama, CALL THE MIDWIFE to PBS. The series will premiere tonight, September 30, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. leading into MASTERPIECE CLASSIC 'Upstairs Downstairs,' transforming Sunday nights into a destination for drama on PBS. Watch a preview of the show below!

POV (Point of View) , launched on PBS in 1988, is celebrating its 25th anniversary on-air, online and on the ground in communities across the United States. American television's longest-running independent documentary series, POV is spearheading a wide array of activities featuring the brightest names in nonfiction film to complement its 2012-2013 season.

Award-winning political journalists Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill will co-anchor gavel-to-gavel broadcast coverage from the PBS Skybox at both the Republican National Convention in Tampa, FL (August 27 - 30) and from the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC (September 4 - 5) as well as the Bank of America Stadium (September 6).

BBC Worldwide America Sales & Distribution and PBS announced today the sale of the first season of the critically acclaimed British drama, CALL THE MIDWIFE to PBS. The series will premiere on September 30, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. leading into MASTERPIECE CLASSIC 'Upstairs Downstairs,' transforming Sunday nights into a destination for drama on PBS. Watch a preview of the show below!

The runaway British hit CALL THE MIDWIFE, a new drama that depicts midwifery in 1950s London, kicks off the PBS 2012 fall season with a six-part Sunday-night run that begins September 30. A production of BBC Worldwide and Neal Street Productions, MIDWIFE further strengthens PBS' hold on quality Sunday night programs and launches a fall full of drama - both fictional and real - anchored by Ken Burns's new documentary THE DUST BOWL, PBS ELECTION 2012 coverage of the presidential campaign including FRONTLINE's award-winning 'The Choice,' and the season two return of MASTERPIECE CLASSIC 'Upstairs Downstairs.'Sundays continue to be a source of captivating drama for PBS, while strong Wednesday 'Exploration' nights feature new episodes of the science series NATURE, NOVA and an updated NOVA scienceNOW, hosted for the first time by tech guru and New York Times reporter David Pogue. Monday nights open with a series of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW specials that lead into the first fall season of MARKET WARRIORS. The award-winning film series INDEPENDENT LENS moves to Mondays at 10 p.m. beginning October 29, creating a new space for independent film that will also be the home for POV's 2013 season. Friday night PBS ARTS programs include the four-part series VOCES, which highlights Latino and Hispanic arts, and AMERICAN MASTERS 'Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance.'

PromaxBDA announced today that renowned actress and comedienne Betty White will be the recipient of its PromaxBDA Lifetime Achievement Award at The Conference 2012, June 12-14 in Los Angeles.

As the Social Good Summit, held this week in New York alongside the United Nations General Assembly, wraps up today, in-person and online participants have sparked a global conversation about the world's most important issues.

The free concert offered by internationally acclaimed tenor Andrea Bocelli on Central Park's Great Lawn, Thursday, September 15, 2011, will be recorded in high definition by THIRTEEN's GREAT PERFORMANCES. Accompanied by the New York Philharmonic, under the direction of music director Alan Gilbert, the Westminster Symphonic Choir, conducted by Joe Miller, with special guest artists to be announced, the gala event is a special gift to New York City.

The free concert offered by internationally acclaimed tenor Andrea Bocelli on Central Park's Great Lawn, Thursday, September 15, 2011, will be recorded in high definition by THIRTEEN's GREAT PERFORMANCES. Accompanied by the New York Philharmonic, under the direction of music director Alan Gilbert, the Westminster Symphonic Choir, conducted by Joe Miller, with special guest artists to be announced, the gala event is a special gift to New York City.

PBS' president and CEO Paula Kerger is optimistic about the pubcasters, according to Deadline. During PBS' portion of the TCA summer press tour, Kerger explained that the government funding crisis that was happening the last time she faced critics (in January) was less severe now.

Join Maurice Hines and cast members of Arena Stage's Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies for the 18th Annual Arena Stage Benefit for Community Engagement: Swingin' with Sophisticated Ladies, Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at the Lincoln Theatre.

Join Maurice Hines and cast members of Arena Stage's Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies for the 18th Annual Arena Stage Benefit for Community Engagement: Swingin' with Sophisticated Ladies, Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at the Lincoln Theatre.

Harvey Fierstein, the multi award-winning comic actor currently winning rave reviews in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway, will host the 50TH ANNUAL DRAMA DESK AWARDS on Sunday, May 22, 2005 at 9:00 PM, at the LaGuardia Concert Hall at Lincoln Center.