Dear Friends,
Happy New Year! As we embark upon 2024 together, my first thoughts are those of gratitude for the support of our members, donors, viewers, and listeners, without whom public media would cease to exist. You are the reason AZPM is able to serve Southern Arizonans day in and day out with quality educational programming, community engagement events, trustworthy, in-depth news and information, and quality entertainment.
I’m happy to report that AZPM achieved its calendar year-end financial goal, which we reported on through the final weeks of December. Although the goal may have seemed ambitious, it was typical for our December fundraising campaign. Thank you for your ongoing support; we couldn’t do it without you! Explore AZPM's Annual Report to the Community and find out what we've accomplished together this past year.
A rendering of the new ‘Paul and Alice Baker Center for Public Media’ at UArizona’s Tech Park at the Bridges.
2024 will be a pivotal year for AZPM as we break ground on the state-of-the-art Paul and Alice Baker Center for Public Media. Thanks to the generous support of area philanthropic leaders and community members alike, AZPM is more than 85% of the way to its funding goal for the new facility. To be clear: the University of Arizona is providing no cash funding for this project. The University’s support will be in the form of in-kind services such as building maintenance, groundskeeping, utilities, and so on. The facility is truly a community center; one funded by the community for the benefit of the community. If you have not yet given to the capital campaign, please consider how much you count on public media every day and give accordingly at support.azpm.org/capitalcampaign.
January sees the season premieres of several long-time fan favorites on PBS 6, starting with the Season 10 premiere of Finding Your Roots available to stream starting January 2. Guests include Alanis Morissette, Valerie Bertinelli, LeVar Burton, Dionne Warwick, Tracy Morgan, and more. New seasons of Miss Scarlett and the Duke and All Creatures Great and Small start on Sunday, January 7 at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. respectively on PBS 6. New to the Sunday night drama lineup is Funny Woman, premiering at 10 p.m. January 7, in which a small-town beauty queen heads to swinging 60s London, where she takes the male-dominated world of comedy by storm. All three dramas will be available to binge on AZPM Passport starting on the night of their premieres.
Catch up on Season 12 of Call the Midwife on AZPM Passport before the new season premiere in March.
A new season of the beloved Call the Midwife is in the wings for March; in the meantime, catch up on all eight episodes of Season 12 on AZPM Passport. Also coming to Passport January 5 are all eight episodes of Astrid Season 3. Astrid, a neuro-diverse police records clerk, uses her photographic memory and ability to spot overlooked details to help investigators solve the most shocking crimes. Available on demand now are Seasons 1 and 2 of Nina, a warm-hearted French medical drama. After enduring a painful divorce and dropping out of medical school to care for her gravely ill child, Nina returns to work as a nurse trainee – only to find her ex-husband is now her boss. Both Astrid and Nina are available via Walter Presents, a curated collection of award-winning international dramas presented in their original languages with English subtitles and available to stream with AZPM Passport.
Listeners of both NPR 89.1 and Classical 90.5 may have noticed some on-air hiccups and glitches recently. Over the last several weeks, AZPM has been installing and commissioning new automation software on both stations. We’ve experienced some growing pains as our antiquated technology learns to interface with the new software, but we are hopeful that the worst is behind us. My thanks to those of you who have let us know what you’re hearing; I appreciate your being our eyes and ears.
On Sunday, January 7, Classical 90.5 salutes French composer Francis Poulenc on the 125th anniversary of his birth with major works, including his iconic Stabat Mater, during the morning hours. Martin Luther King Jr. is honored on January 14 with substantial works specific to him from various composers throughout the day.
Public media exists for the community and because of the community. Without your support, the programming you rely on to keep you informed and entertained would not be possible. Thank you for your support in 2023, and all best wishes for health and happiness in 2024.
Sincerely,
Jack Gibson
Chief Executive Officer
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