Grant Wins ‘Pulitzer Of Broadcasting’
Reporter Tom Grant and his station, KREM-2, won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award on Thursday, one of the most prestigious awards in television and radio journalism.
These awards are sometimes referred to as the “Pulitzers of broadcasting,” since both are awarded by Columbia University.
The Silver Baton, as it is called, went to Grant and the station for Grant’s coverage of the Wenatchee child sex ring case. Grant was the first, and for many months the only, reporter to challenge the official allegations that Wenatchee was the scene of an organized child sex ring.
Grant has already won the national George Polk Award and several regional awards for these stories, but the DuPont-Columbia award is an even bigger honor. Jane Pauley was the host of the awards banquet, which was held in the rotunda of the Low Memorial Library at Columbia University in New York City. The program was televised nationwide on many PBS stations (but not Spokane’s).
The winner of the highest award, the Gold Baton, was a five-part documentary on Yugoslavia’s disintegration for the BBC and the Discovery Channel. Twelve Silver Batons were awarded, and KREM’s was the only one awarded for small market television (markets under 500,000 households).
Is ‘The Postman’ on schedule?
Still no official word on whether Kevin Costner’s futuristic epic, “The Postman,” will be filmed in the Metaline Falls area this spring.
But sources in Metaline Falls report that the film’s location manager was up for another visit last week, which is a good sign. “The Postman” will probably shoot at least part of its footage up there - maybe nine or 10 days at Boundary Dam and another four or five days in Metaline Falls.
‘Dante’s Peak’ gala
Plans have been finalized for the “Dante’s Peak” premiere in Wallace and Kellogg.
Local organizers were unable to get an advance print of the film, so the festivities will take place on Feb. 8, the day after the film opens nationwide.
It all begins at 12:30 p.m. with an invitation-only champagne gala for dignitaries and the long-suffering Wallace business people (their streets were covered with “ash” for weeks at a time) at the Elks Club in Wallace. They will then head to the Rena Theatre in Kellogg for the first screening of the movie.
Meanwhile, a second champagne gala will get under way at the Elks Club, with tickets available to the public at $25 each. Party-goers will then head to the Rena Theatre for the second screening. These gala tickets go on sale this Friday at Wallace City Hall.
Later that evening, three more screenings will be held at the Rena at 7:40 p.m., 10 p.m. and midnight. Tickets will be only $4, available at the theater in advance or at the time of the show.
Of course, you can also see the movie a day earlier in Spokane or Coeur d’Alene.
The local ‘Prefontaine’ connection
Another movie with a local connection, Disney’s biopic, “Prefontaine,” arrives in theaters Friday.
The Mead High School cross country team appears in the movie, which was filmed in Tacoma and Seattle. The team’s coach, Pat Tyson, was one of runner Steve Prefontaine’s roommates. He is portrayed in the movie by Breckin Meyer, who played a goofy skateboarder in “Clueless.”
‘Winnie’ is extended
Tickets for the two scheduled performances of the touring version of “Winnie the Pooh” on Feb. 9 at The Met are already sold out.
So the Best of Broadway people have added a third performance at 2 p.m. on the same day. The show will now run at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
This production is by the Cleveland Signstage Theatre, which produces its shows in both spoken English and American Sign Language. It features both deaf and hearing actors on stage.
The high ticket demand bodes well for the future of a touring children’s theater series in Spokane. “Winnie” was considered a test of the market for such a series.
An Ambiguous play contest
You’ve probably never heard of a Spokane literary magazine called Ambiguous, since it hasn’t published an issue yet.
But editor Kara Beach plans to do so in June. Meanwhile, she is sponsoring a one-act play contest, with the five winning plays to be performed at The Met in April.
She’s looking for 10- to 20-minute plays on any subject. The deadline is, well, Monday, which is not exactly a lot of advance notice. But if you have a play sitting around or can whip one out in the next two days, send it to Ambiguous, 1314 S. Grand, #2-146, Spokane WA 99202.
KPBX news roundup
“The Inland Journal,” the local public affairs program on KPBX-FM, returns to a four-day-a-week schedule beginning Feb. 10.
The show started out on a daily schedule, but a year ago news director Doug Nadvornick scaled it back to once a week. Now, he says, it’s time to go back to the old schedule because “we feel we’ve gotten lazy doing a once-a-week program.”
It will run Mondays through Thursdays.
In other KPBX news, the station’s open house is Tuesday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., followed by the community advisory meeting until 8:30 p.m. The station is at 2319 N. Monroe.
Pick of The Peak
Just in case you haven’t been keeping count, here’s a list of the most-played songs on KAEP-FM (The Peak, 105.7) last week: “Crash Into Me,” the Dave Matthews Band; “Lady Picture Show,” the Stone Temple Pilots; “Criminal,” Fiona Apple; and “Everyday Is a Winding Road,” Sheryl Crow.
The most requested song: “Naked Eye” by Luscious Jackson.
To leave a message on Jim Kershner’s voice-mail, call 459-5493. Or send e-mail to jimk@spokesman.com, or regular mail to Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.
, DataTimes