The Maine Public Broadcasting Network announces the launch of its annual Life is Better with MPBN campaign. The contest begins on May 1, 2013, and concludes at 8:30 pm Eastern Time on June 30, 2013. Contest rules and directions are posted on MPBN.NET.

The Radio Television Digital News Association announced that Maine Public Broadcasting Radio Reporter Jay Field was selected as one of the winners of the 2013 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. The awards recognize work of the highest quality produced by radio, television and online news organizations around the world.

The Maine Public Broadcasting Network announces a number of free concerts on Saturday, April 27th as part of MPBN’s Music That Moves ME initiative taking place all of April.

Building on the excitement of MPBN’s previous Super Thursday One-Day Radio Pledge drives, the statewide network launched another single day fund-raising effort on Thursday, April 11th. With goals of 600 new members and $300,000 in total pledges, the pledge drive outperformed expectations over only 18 hours of fundraising. In total, 612 new members joined MPBN’s membership base and 3,300 pledges were made totaling $342,453 in funds raised.

The Maine Public Broadcasting Network announced today that it is making employee layoffs to address the effects of the unexpected shortfall in Federal and State funding this year. MPBN received word that funding for fiscal year 2013 will be over $100,000 less than expected due to both the Federal budget sequestration and additional curtailments by the State of Maine. This decline in funding is in addition to MPBN’s State appropriation being reduced by $260,000 in 2013. In addition, the challenges of a slow economic recovery in the philanthropic community have led to an overall projected shortfall of over $400,000 by the end of this fiscal year.