During our nearly 18 months in production, we’ve sought to inform viewers about life around the world — as we said in our very first broadcast, to give you a better idea how the other 6.5 billion live.

Anchor Daljit Dhaliwal explains our decision to go off the air and thanks our many partners, experts and viewers.

(View full post to see video)

Here is a statement issued by Neal Shapiro, President and CEO of WNET.org.

I regret to announce that our nightly international news broadcast Worldfocus will end its run on April 2, 2010.

We are unhappy that the program will be ending but we are also proud that Worldfocus has been an important laboratory for us during these past two years. In a very short time, we have created an entirely new digital production process that is more economical and more efficient; we have brought a wide range of diverse voices to our viewers by cultivating reporters and analysts from around the world and we brought a new generation of adult viewers to public television.

We demonstrated that there is a demand for international news but we had the misfortune of launching a brand new program into the teeth of the recession. Success in the news business is often attributed to being in the right place at the right time; we were in the right place at the wrong time.

Nonetheless, we managed to raise a substantial portion of the required funding but found ourselves a few million dollars short of what we need to sustain the program on air for the long term. Given the economic environment we now face, it is not prudent to continue the broadcast at this time. It is not an easy decision but it is the right decision.

Worldfocus has been a fertile testing ground that has pointed the way forward in a rapidly changing media environment.

I’m proud of the contribution it has made to television journalism during its short time on the air. I thank the stations that supported it and I commend my colleagues, staff and the fantastic team of reporters and producers who worked so hard to meet the highest journalistic standards of public television.

Since announcing our that our last show will be broadcast on April 2, 2010, Worldfocus has received about a thousand emails and comments about the cancellation.

We appreciate all the feedback. Mark Cataldo of the Viewer Relations Department offers this additional statement on Thursday, March 11:

Worldfocus has been an important part of our ongoing commitment to presenting in-depth international news and analysis. Unfortunately, despite the high quality of the newscast, it was unable to attract the sustained financial support necessary for it to continue.

We have tried tirelessly to secure major long-term support from individuals, corporations and foundations, but support has not been as forthcoming as we had hoped. Even though we produce Worldfocus in the most economical way possible, using innovative digital production methods, the series still costs many millions of dollars a year. The challenging economy has forced us to make this difficult decision in the name of maintaining the financial stability of our public television stations. We simply do not have the funds to subsidize the newscast without major sponsors at the seven-figure level.

We join you in lamenting the loss of this award-winning series. If there were some way to keep it alive, we would. Please know how much we appreciate your taking the time to express your opinion and for letting us know that international news is important to you. We thank you for your viewership and your support, and we promise to do everything in our power to continue to bring you programming that is meaningful and informative to you and to everyone in our community.

THANK YOU.

As always, we welcome your comments, including your thoughts on the news about Worldfocus.

Home for the holidays

Alright so maybe it’s a little after the holidays… but it feels like home as I will be spending all week with you on Worldfocus.

It’s always nice to know you are missed and I get lots of mail whenever I return to the program. Thank you for that. Even when I’m not here, I’m watching like many fans of the show since we all know there is nothing like Worldfocus to be found anywhere on American television today.

I hope all of you had a safe and wonderful season of giving and being with loved ones.  And here’s wishing all of you an enriching New Year full of good news.

As I walked in the newsroom today I have to say it brought a smile to my face. It was like the feeling you get after having been gone for a while and you finally turn into the old familiar driveway of home.

See you tonight.

- Martin Savidge

“You often hear this complaint — or at least I have for the last 15 years that I have been working in international news — that, well, most Americans don’t care about international news,” she said. “But everybody who I’ve ever spoken to in my line of work has been very grateful that these kinds of news programs like ‘Worldfocus’ exist.”

Listen to the full program now:

Daljit Dhaliwal

Worldfocus anchor Daljit Dhaliwal offers her take on the importance of international news to Americans.

What’s happening to international news? American viewers need quality information and analysis so that they can get a better handle on how the world is changing — and at the same time, changing their lives. But instead, mainstream international coverage is hemorrhaging and the shutters are coming down on overseas bureaus.

Over and over again, I read or hear that most Americans have no interest in what’s happening overseas, as if this is supposed to be some kind of justification for not telling them. Not that long along, I was invited to speak to a group of several hundred PBS viewers in Portland, Oregon. While nobody there doubted the importance of global news, several people talked about how the world is often presented to Americans — full of insurmountable problems and at times even frightening. With better information, it doesn’t have to seem that way.

I believe that if most Americans don’t care, its partly because they’ve been short-changed into thinking that what happens in the far-flung corners of the globe has no bearing on their lives. Well, we are in the middle of a global economic meltdown that sent shockwaves throughout the world, as well as fighting wars in two foreign lands, trying to broker peace in the Middle East and looking to ”reset” the button with a former superpower.

The U.S. has a leadership role, whether we like it or not. Americans need to be more engaged with the world than ever, but to do that there has to be some a level of public understanding about global events.

That’s what we try to do every weeknight on Worldfocus. As a journalist and a consumer of international news, it’s gratifying to be a part of program that is shining a light on global events — not just the day’s big stories, but those that are under-reported or ignored because they are deemed too complex or not ‘’sexy” enough. In my view these stories are the real gems because they surprise and enlighten.

Enjoy the program, tell your friends and colleagues and please join the discussion on the “How You See It” section on our home page.

- Daljit Dhaliwal

Daljit Dhaliwal

Daljit Dhaliwal takes over the anchor desk at Worldfocus, bringing a new perspective to international news each weeknight.

Worldfocus: How does it feel to be back at PBS and in the anchor chair of a national, nightly international news program?

Daljit Dhaliwal: It is very satisfying to return to the fold of the PBS family. Most journalists would relish the idea of working in a news environment where international events are front and center and not an afterthought of news coverage. PBS viewers are a discerning bunch who are hungry for news and context about the rest of the world, and it’s a privilege to be a part of a team that does that each weeknight.

Worldfocus: Why should international news coverage matter to the American public right now?

Daljit Dhaliwal: The global economic crisis; the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But specific stories aside, I think it’s important for Americans to be engaged because of America’s global influence and power.

Worldfocus: Why did you decide to pursue a career in journalism?

Daljit Dhaliwal: I grew up in the U.K., where public service broadcasting has a strong tradition, and so I think being exposed early on to solid news and current affairs programs made me curious about what was happening out there. After university, I was lucky enough to be accepted onto a BBC training course that then gave me solid building blocks for my career.

Worldfocus: You’ve interviewed dozens of international newsmakers, but if you could pick a few, who would they be?

Daljit Dhaliwal: Osama Bin Laden, President Obama, Nelson Mandela, Bono, Vladimir Putin.

Worldfocus: Where was the most interesting location you traveled recently for a story?

Daljit Dhaliwal: I was in the Baltics not long ago reporting for Worldfocus, and while it’s not a global hotspot area, it was certainly refreshing to bring stories from these places and put them on our newscast. I can’t remember the last time I saw pieces from Estonia and Lithuania on a nightly newscast.

Watch: Daljit Dhaliwal reports from Estonia on the country’s role in the war in Afghanistan.

Worldfocus: What would you do in life if you were not doing journalism?

Daljit Dhaliwal: One of the great thing about journalism is that it allows me to indulge my love of travel when I’m on assignment. So I would certainly travel more.