Mpt

"To The Contrary," Maryland Public Television's news-analysis show featuring women anchors and guests, will debut at 8 tonight on MPT (Channels 22 and 67). Because the show is scheduled to be taped this morning, it was not available for preview.Tonight's topic is the economy, an MPT spokesperson said. Bonnie Erbe, of Mutual/NBC Radio, is the host; panelists are: Dorothy Gilliam, columnist for the Washington Post; Linda Chavez, commentator for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and National Public Radio; Kate O'Beirne, of the Heritage Foundation; and Julianne Malveaux, economist from the University of California, Berkeley.

"Crabs," Maryland Public Television's comedy show, has been canceled after seven years on MPT. The last show will tape on April 24 and air May 1."It's been a strong seven-year run," said Dick George, the show's creator. "In the end, we were done in by our inability to turn our popularity into cash."In other words, the show could not find funding for another season. Mr. George said efforts will be made to find money to bring the show back.

Robert J. Shuman wants MPT to be more than just Maryland's public television station.Six months into his job as head man at MPT, he wants to do more than just provide Marylanders with news, information and entertainment via the airwaves. He sees MPT's future as an information provider in all sorts of ways: via computers, mobile facilities, civic boosterism, maybe in ways that haven't been invented yet.Last week, Shuman unveiled a list of eight initiatives, the first real indication of where he'd like to take public television in Maryland.

Legislative auditors are taking a skeptical look at the process by which a former Maryland Public Television vice president won a $270,000 federal grant for the state broadcaster that included $54,000 for her longtime boyfriend. Beverly Bricker, then MPT's vice president for interactive media, secured the grant with the largest component - $176,000 - reserved for the Alexandria-based Web consulting firm Bean Creative. Bricker's live-in boyfriend of 15 years, Marc Montefusco, was given a subcontract through Bean Creative without any bidding process.

Challenged by state budget cuts and competition from cable programming, public television, which has never successfully marketed itself to younger viewers, is fighting back.In an effort to attract a "new, younger audience," Maryland Public Television will begin airing reruns of "St. Elsewhere" on June 1, station officials announced yesterday.Not only is it rare for a public TV station to air reruns of commercial network shows, but the time slot -- 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday -- will pit "St. Elsewhere" against local late news shows and PBS' "MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour," on Washington's WHMM-TV (Channel 32)

Although the special fare broadcast during public television fund-raising time soon seems awfully familiar, something new has been added to buttress the Maryland Public Television spring drive that begins tonight.Appropriately enough in an election year, when no candidate can run for office without a polling coordinator, a poll of viewers came out this week.Are you surprised that 79 percent of the 700 viewers who took part in the survey said MPT is "very important" when asked, "How important do you believe MPT is to the citizens of Maryland and neighboring states that also receive our signal?"

Maryland Public Television is tentatively considering moving all or part of its operations from Owings Mills to the city's historic Power Plant to increase the network's visibility and create a tourist attraction.David Nevins, chairman of the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission, said yesterday that such a move could shift as many as 250 jobs from MPT's campus into downtown Baltimore. But Mr. Nevins emphasized the MPT staff was still studying the idea and that it could face insurmountable obstacles.

Some viewers of Maryland Public Television may find it difficult to get a clear picture during daylight hours over the next few days. From today through Friday, the state broadcaster will suspend its Annapolis-based signal to allow workers to assemble a new tower near an existing one, the network's officials said. Subscribers to cable television should continue to receive the station on Channel 22, although at times there could be a weakened signal. But those in Central Maryland and the Washington suburbs who watch on regular broadcast television, or those who have satellite television, are likely to have their reception significantly disrupted.

The consummate showman of magic returns to TV for an annual special, and one of the notable miniseries of the 1980s has also come back in a cable screening.* "MPT Information Updates" (6:58 p.m., MPT, channels 22, 67) -- In a new local news vehicle, Jeff Salkin, host of MPT's "State Circle," premieres a series of mini-newscasts. The one-minute spots will be seen just before the hour nightly in prime time and will include a locally oriented business update at 7:28 p.m., at the conclusion of "Nightly Business Report."

Ron Katz is an Annapolis sailor desperately seeking news about the Volvo Ocean Race series. "It is like being out in the desert," he said. But lately, Katz, 38, and a group of his friends have found an oasis. They've been tuning in to Maryland Public Television's Saturday night broadcasts of race highlights. The race will arrive in Annapolis and Baltimore this month. The mainstream television media in the U.S. have thus far taken a pass on covering the round-the-world ocean race, and Katz has found that MPT is the only local station where he can regularly watch footage of sailors tacking, trimming their sails and hanging on as water breaks over the hulls of the 70-foot racing boats.