Michael Rice; Headed Boston PBS Station
Michael Rice, vice president and general manager of WGBH in Boston at a time when that public television station produced one-third of the PBS programs in prime time, died Wednesday morning of the complications of AIDS at his home in Truro, Mass. He was 47.
Both a Merits and Rhodes scholar, Rice joined WGBH in 1965 and left in 1978. During the intervening years the stations produced such series as “Nova,” “The Advocates,” “The Nader Report,” “Evening at Symphony With the Boston Symphony Orchestra” and “Evening at Pops With the Boston Pops.”
After leaving the station, he joined the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies headquartered in Maryland where he was responsible for projects addressing the uses of the media in developing policy options on major issues.
Most recently he had also been president of Michael Rice Media Inc., a private firm seeking new TV ventures.
Survivors include his parents, his longtime friend Robert Donovan, three brothers, and nieces and nephews. Donations in his name are asked to the Provincetown AIDS Support Groups, Box 1522, Provincetown, Mass. 02657.
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