Arlington, VA–Oct. 10, 2006–PBS today announced the launch of PBS content on the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com), making it possible for users to now purchase and download documentary specials and episodes from popular PBS prime-time and children’s programming. Episodes are priced from $1.99 each and immediately available for the following shows: Primetime Programming: ANTIQUES ROADSHOW; NOVA; NOW; and SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS and PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! shows such as: ARTHUR; CYBERCHASE; and FETCH!.
PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger said, “Working with our member stations and producers, PBS is excited to deliver a variety of PBS' award-winning primetime and kids' television programs through iTunes. The remarkable success of PBS podcasts on iTunes over the past year indicates that PBS members and viewers of all ages are enjoying the new, expanded access to the content they want, when and where they choose.”
“The success of TV on iTunes continues and we now offer over 220 hit TV shows from more than 40 networks,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We are thrilled to partner with PBS to bring such educational and entertaining programming to iTunes Store customers.”
Additional content attached to episodes will underscore the unique role consumers can play to ensure the continued creation and multi-platform delivery of PBS content by becoming a member of their local PBS station.
The iTunes Store has quickly become the world’s most popular video download store, selling over one million videos per week. The iTunes Store began selling TV shows with five shows from ABC/Disney less than a year ago, in October 2005, and rapidly expanded its library to over 220 television shows from over 40 networks today. The iTunes Store now features over 3.5 million songs, 65,000 podcasts, 20,000 audiobooks, over 5,000 music videos, more than 75 feature films and 220 television shows.
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PBS WINS 7 PRIMETIME EMMYS By Kim Tavares - PBS Media Relations
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the winners of the 58th Annual Creative Arts Primetime Emmys at a ceremony last night in Los Angeles.
PBS tied with CBS and FOX with 7 Primetime Emmys, including 2 Emmys for Masterpiece Theatre “Bleak House,” a program win for Great Performances “Dance in America: Swan Lake with American Ballet Theatre,” and the award for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking to American Experience “Two Days in October.” The full list of PBS Emmy winners is below. PBS had a total of 34 Emmy nominations in 2006.
The Creative Arts Emmy Awards are dedicated primarily to the many crafts and technical disciplines involved in television production—including picture editing, sound editing, sound mixing, special visual effects, cinematography, art direction, music, stunts and more. Awards are also handed out for animation, variety series, reality series and four acting categories. HBO won the most awards with 17, followed by ABC with 10 wins and NBC with 8. An edited telecast of the awards ceremony will air on E! on August 26, 8:00 p.m. ET.
The remainder of the Emmy awards -- including the awards for Outstanding Miniseries (Bleak House) and the Miniseries actor/actress categories (three nominations for Bleak House), writing and directing -- will be presented on a live telecast Sunday, August 27, 8:00 p.m. ET on NBC.
Below is the list of PBS winners as listed by the Academy. The full list of winners is attached and available online at www.emmys.org
Kim Tavares PBS
OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA) - PBS
American Masters - PBS Bob Dylan: No Direction Home TOM FLEISCHMAN, Re-Recording Mixer
STANDING MUSIC DIRECTION
South Pacific In Concert From Carnegie Hall (Great Performances) - PBS PAUL GEMIGNANI, Musical Director and Conductor
STANDING COSTUMES FOR A VARIETY OR MUSIC PROGRAM
Juried award: Possibility of one, more than one or no award). This is a juried award determined by a panel of judges from the Costumes peer group. Recommendation(s) from the jury are brought to the Board of Governors for ratification. This award was previously announced.
Benise: Nights of Fire! - PBS ERIN LAREAU, Costume Designer
OUTSTANDING MAKEUP FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A SPECIAL (NON-PROSTHETIC)
Bleak House (Masterpiece Theatre) - PBS DANIEL PHILLIPS, Makeup Department Head
OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Bleak House Episode 1(Masterpiece Theatre) - PBS KIERAN McGUIGAN, Director of Photography
EXCEPTIONAL MERIT IN NONFICTION FILMMAKING (Juried award: Possibility of one, more than one or no award.)
TWO DAYS IN OCTOBER (AMERICAN EXPERIENCE) - PBS Robert Kenner, Producer Mark Samels, Executive Producer Nick Fraser, Executive Producer Sharon Grimberg, Series Producer
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM
(Area Award: Possibility of one, more than one or, if none has a majority approval, no award.)
DANCE IN AMERICA: SWAN LAKE WITH - PBS AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE (GREAT PERFORMANCES) - PBS Judy Kinberg, Producer
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PBS Programs Lead In Nominations By Kim Tavares - PBS Media Relations
The 27th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Award nominations were recently announced by the National Television Academy in New York. The awards recognize outstanding achievement by individuals and programs broadcast during the 2005 calendar year.
PBS programs led the pack for the third year in a row with 33 nominations, more nominations than any other broadcast or cable network. In the 2005 competition, PBS had 27 nominations and six wins.
The News and Documentary Emmy Awards will be presented at a black-tie dinner and ceremony on Monday evening, September 25, 2006, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
Congratulations to all of our producers, member stations and craftspeople for another outstanding year! The list of PBS nominees (as listed by the Academy) is below.
OUTSTANDING FEATURE STORY IN A NEWS MAGAZINE
NOVA scienceNOW Fuel cells
NOVA scienceNOW Mirror Neurons
FRONTLINE/World Sudan: The Quick and the Terrible
OUTSTANDING INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM IN A NEWS MAGAZINE
Now on PBS Crude Behavior
OUTSTANDING CONTINUING COVERAGE OF A NEWS STORY--LONG FORM
Wide Angle H5N1 - Killer Flu
P.O.V. Street Fight
FRONTLINE (a co-production with RAINmedia) The Storm
NOVA The Wave that Shook the World
OUTSTANDING INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM--LONG FORM
FRONTLINE (a co-production with Kirk Documentary Group, Ltd.) The Torture Question
OUTSTANDING INFORMATIONAL PROGRAMMING - LONG FORM
Rx for Survival: A Global Health Challenge
FRONTLINE (a co-production with Mead Street Films) The New Asylums
P.O.V. The Self-Made Man
OUTSTANDING HISTORICAL PROGRAMMING - LONG FORM
American Experience Victory in the Pacific
Slavery and the Making of America Seeds of Destruction
OUTSTANDING CULTURAL & ARTISTIC PROGRAMMING
The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo
Independent Lens A Lion's Trail
P.O.V. Hardwood
OUTSTANDING SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND NATURE PROGRAMMING
NATURE Deep Jungle: New Frontiers
NATURE Silent Roar: Searching for the Snow Leopard
BEST REPORT IN A NEWS MAGAZINE
NOW on PBS Global Health: America's Response
NOVA scienceNOW RNAi
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Independent Lens A Touch of Greatness
P.O.V. Omar & Pete
OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN A CRAFT: WRITING
P.O.V. Bright Leaves
P.O.V. The Self-Made Man
American Experience Victory in the Pacific
Slavery and the Making of America The Downward Spiral
OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN A CRAFT: RESEARCH
American Experience Fidel Castro
American Experience Victory in the Pacific
Slavery and the Making of America The Downward Spiral
OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN A CRAFT: CINEMATOGRAPHY
The New Heroes
OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN A CRAFT: GRAPHIC AND ARTISTIC DESIGN
Strange Days on Planet Earth Invaders, The One Degree Factor, Predators, Troubled Waters
OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN A CRAFT: MUSIC AND SOUND
NATURE Violent Hawaii
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Local Documentary Receives Numerous Awards By Tracy Duflo: WPBS-TV Director of Production
WPBS-TV is pleased to announce that our locally-produced documentary “Josiah Allen’s Wife: The Story of Marietta Holley” is the winner of seven distinguished awards as follows:
Winner of the Silver Telly Award: The Telly Awards
Award of Exellence: The Videographer Awards
Gold Award: The Aurora Awards
Award of Excellence: The Accolade Competition
Gold Award: MarComm Creative Awards
Insight Award of Recognition: The National Association of Film and Digital Media Arts
Silver Award: The International Davey Awards
Purchase this program on DVD. Add this remarkable piece of local history to your personal collection at home or for use in the classroom. Only $19.95 - includes shipping & handling. For program info and to order, please Click Here.
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Programmming ...Looking Ahead By Lynn Brown: WPBS-TV Director of Programming
EXCLUSIVE NEW "MONTY PYTHON" SPECIALS SLATED TO PREMIERE IN 2006 oN PBS.
"MONTY PYTHON'S PERSONAL BEST" Reflects Favorite Moments from Original Series and Movies with Additional New Footage
"Monty Python's Flying Circus" Originally Aired in U.S. on Public Television, Series Returns to PBS in Spring 2006
Beverly Hills, CA - July 13, 2005 - PBS announced today that six new Monty Python specials are in production for broadcast on PBS in 2006. Each of the exclusive to PBS six one-hour programs will focus on one member of the original Monty Python troupe - Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin and Terry Jones - and showcase favorite clips from the group's television series and movies, mixed with new footage. The five living Pythons - Cleese, Idle, Gilliam, Palin and Jones - will each produce and write their own episode, with the five collaborating on a sixth special to honor deceased member Chapman.
"PBS jumped at the chance to be the exclusive home to six, new Monty Python specials," said John F. Wilson, PBS Sr. Vice President and Co-Chief Programming Executive. "American audiences first discovered the Pythons' 'upper class twits, the Lumberjack Song and Dead Parrot' on public television and we're looking forward to introducing more 'persistently silly' antics from these beloved characters."
The "Pythons" burst onto the scene in October 1969 when "Monty Python's Flying Circus" debuted in Britain on the BBC. The series' 45 episodes ran until December 1974. American audiences were first introduced to such phrases as "Nudge, nudge, wink, wink," "naughty bits" and "nobody expects the Spanish inquisition!" when local PBS stations obtained broadcast rights to the series. Beginning in Spring 2006, PBS stations will be able to introduce a whole new generation to the series when all 47 episodes will be available for broadcast.
In addition to the television series, the group released several feature-length films including Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975), The Life of Brian (1979) and Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982). In 2005 Monty Python's Spamalot premiered on Broadway to critical and audience acclaim and won the Tony Award® for Best Musical (2005).
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"JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAU'S OCEAN ADVENTURES" COMES TO PBS
A New Chapter in the Cousteau Legacy Sets Sail in Spring 2006
"We can't protect what we don't understand."
-Jean-Michel Cousteau
A generation ago, Jacques-Yves Cousteau revealed the oceans' mysteries to millions of landlocked PBS television viewers and inspired a groundswell of public awareness of the unique problems faced by the world's marine environments. Now, 30 years later, KQED Public Broadcasting and Ocean Futures Society, headed by Jacques' son Jean-Michel, will bring the Cousteau legacy back to PBS with JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAU'S OCEAN ADVENTURES, a six-part HDTV series airing this spring.
Using state-of-the-art technology, Peabody and Emmy Award-winning Jean-Michel Cousteau and his acclaimed diving teams, accompanied by marine scientists and ecologists, will explore a thrilling array of natural phenomena, investigate little-known territories and eco-systems hundreds of feet beneath the ocean's surface, and come face-to-face with the friendly and ferocious inhabitants of the deep.
"We know more about the 'dead seas' of Mars than our own ocean," said Cousteau. "In this series, we are charting a course of human adventure and discovery of our real-life support system - our planet's ocean."
"PBS' commitment to quality marine science and ecology programming was inspired by the prescient explorations of Jacques Cousteau," said John Wilson, Sr. Vice President, PBS Programming. "Now our viewers will be able to take the next great journey into this realm with his son, Jean-Michael, and this unprecedented series."
Consistent with the Cousteau hallmarks of exploration and conservation, OCEAN ADVENTURES will share with television viewers the largely inaccessible, dangerous and spectacular locales across the globe. Through Jean-Michel's observations, the series will illuminate the great need for better understanding and sustainable management of the oceans' rich natural treasures.
The six one-hour programs included in the OCEAN ADVENTURES series are:
• "Voyage to Kure" (Part I and Part II)--The Cousteau team sets sail on the Northwest Hawaiian Archipelago. There, they discover diverse wildlife populations above and below the sea, and investigate these species' fight against extinction and the devastating effects of pollution, mining, fishing and development on the most remote island group in the world.
• "The Gray Whale Obstacle Course"-- The Cousteau team follows gray whales, unchanged for 600,000 years and under constant threat of extinction, from the nursery lagoons of Baja California north to frigid feeding grounds in the Bering Sea - through the longest and most polluted migration routes of any whale species.
• "Sharks: At Risk"--Long feared as objects of terror, sharks are gaining a new reputation due to unprecedented observation - yet their numbers are quickly dwindling. To better understand shark behavior and the impact their reputation has had on their survival, the Cousteau team observes gray sharks in French Polynesia and great white sharks in South Africa - unprotected by a shark cage.
• "America's Underwater Treasures" (Part I and Part II)--This two-part installment will take viewers to the rarely visited underwater parks that constitute the National Marine Sanctuary System - a diverse and uniquely American group of ecosystems that promise to inspire an ethic of ocean preservation that will translate far beyond any national borders.
Explorer, environmentalist, educator and film producer - for more than four decades Jean-Michel Cousteau has searched the world to document the pristine and perilous places of the oceans. Son of renowned ocean pioneer Jacques Cousteau, Jean-Michel grew up aboard the Calypso and Alcyone. As the founder and president of Ocean Futures Society, he travels the globe, meeting with world leaders, businesses, educators and children as a "voice for the ocean" and our planet's most significant ambassador of the water environment.
JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAU'S OCEAN ADVENTURES is produced by KQED Public Broadcasting and Ocean Futures Society. The exclusive corporate sponsor is Dow.
About Ocean Futures Society Ocean Futures Society is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. With the motto "Protect the ocean and you protect yourself," the mission of Ocean Futures Society is to explore our global ocean, inspiring and educating people throughout the world to act responsibly for its protection, documenting the critical connection between humanity and nature, and celebrating the ocean's vital importance to the survival of all life on our planet. OFS is based in Santa Barbara, California, USA, with offices in Paris and Lucca, Italy. For more information, visit [ http://www.oceanfutures.org/ ]www.oceanfutures.org.
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Digital TV Press Release
Contact: Calvin Schantz Chief Engineer WPBS-TV 1056 Arsenal Street (315) 782-3142, Ext. 240 cal_schantz@wpbs.pbs.org
March 30, 2005
For Immediate Release
WPBS-TV is pleased to announce that effective Friday, April 1, 2005, broadcast engineers will sign on the northern transmitter, WNPI-DT at South Colton, New York, digital Channel 23. This is an exciting and challenging time for public television.
To date, WPBS-TV has garnered a total of approximately $5.2-Million in grants to meet the FCC mandate to convert to digital television. WPBS-TV has estimated the total cost for the digital equipment conversion will be approximately $9-Million. WPBS-TV plans to meet the FCC digital mandate in three phases: Transmission, master control and production control. We are still in phase one of this three-step plan to convert, and WPBS has had the full support of its members along the way.
This is one small victory in a multi-phase project. This portion will convert the current analog signal to a digital signal at its northern transmitter in South Colton, New York. WPBS-TV expects to broadcast a true digital signal for both transmitters during the fall of 2005. WPBS will continue to transmit the analog signal for the foreseeable future.
“We have had the opportunity to conduct a total of 14 visioning sessions with community leaders in the tri-county area and Canada regarding how WPBS-TV will utilize its new technology” stated Thomas F. Hanley, President & General Manager. “In these well-attended and energized discussions, community leaders from a wide variety of interests and disciplines created an “11-Point Digital Agenda for the North Country,” to be developed and delivered in partnership with WPBS-TV” added Mr. Hanley.
“What started out to be a daunting task for our small, rural public television station has turned out to be a time of rebirth for WPBS-TV” stated Cal Schantz, Chief Engineer.
WPBS-TV serves approximately 600,000 households in Northern New York and Eastern Ontario by offering wholesome, programming that engages the mind and spirit and promotes lifelong learning.
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Classical Stretch Season III Ready-for-Air By Tracy Duflo, WPBS-TV Director of Production
Praised by Olympic athletes, this uniquely creative fitness program can help anyone to quickly unlock their body’s hidden power and vitality, through graceful, fluid movements.
Accessible to everyone, from young athletes to senior citizens, Classical Stretch rebalances, reshapes, stretches and strengthens the body without excessive strain and pain
Watertown, NY, March 21, 2005 Classical Stretch, one of the most original, refined and efficient fitness programs available on television today, will begin its third season on PBS stations this spring. Hundreds of viewers in Canada and the US have discovered this unique technique that literally unlocks the body’s hidden powers – in the comfort of their home.
Classical Stretch’s third season was filmed exclusively on the Riviera Maya, or Mexican Riviera, a strip of land and sandy beaches just south of Cancun. Many shows were taped at three Iberostar Resorts in Playa Paraiso, Mexico.
Iberostar Resorts donated accommodations for the crew and U.S. Airways donated air transportation, which made the third series possible. Other shows were taped at eco-parks and eco-ranches such as Xcaret, Xel-Ha, and Punta Venado. The series is produced by WPBS –TV in Watertown, New York, and distributed free to PBS stations in the United States and Puerto Rico. During the past seven years, over 100 PBS stations have aired the program.
While several top level Olympic athletes credit Classical Stretch for helping them attain winning performance levels and recover quickly from injuries, the technique can help people from any age group and in any physical condition to make rapid progress towards a healthier, happier lifestyle.
“I developed Classical Stretch to make people happier, to make them feel better in their body”, says Miranda Esmonde-White, the former professional ballerina from the National Ballet of Canada who developed the program in 1992. “I combined techniques from classical ballet, scientific stretches, tai-chi, yoga and chiropractic movements, as well as my own techniques, in a creative form of original exercises that make people feel younger and stronger almost instantly.”
about balance
And they do experience it. Testimonials from people in all age groups attest to rapid gains in body tonus, strength, flexibility, energy and, yes of course, outstanding aesthetical improvements that include firmer, elongated muscles, reduced weight and girth where it counts and, mostly that special aura that comes from a deep inner feeling of well-being.
“Classical Stretch’s blend of techniques, inspired from my own experience with a variety of exercise programs, puts the accent on mobility and flexibility, literally melting away the rigidity built over years of stressful lifestyles and bad postural habits,” adds Esmonde-White who has been a professional trainer for 23 years, after an injury forced her to leave the performance world. “The program fosters a refreshed mental attitude, enhancing your sense of freedom. This became particularly important when I designed a special program after having breast cancer surgery. Now women can recover their full mobility and feel better at the same time. The techniques also allow everyone to respect their own capacities and they don’t require strenuous efforts. Many fitness programs measure performance in terms of perspiration; we measure it in terms of feeling good while you workout and looking good after.”
Olympic performance
Besides producing her own television shows and teaching Classical Stretch, Ms Esmonde-White has been personally training numerous Olympic athletes; several of whom have credited the Classical Stretch technique for helping them climb the podium steps. At the 2002 Commonwealth Games alone, five medallists were devout practitioners of the Esmonde Technique. They are Jonathon Power (gold – squash), Alexandre Despatie (two gold and one bronze – diving), Emilie Heymens (gold – diving), Jennifer Carroll (silver – swimming) and Marianne Limpert (bronze – swimming). At the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece during the summer of 2004, Alexandre Despatie won silver and bronze medals in three-meter spring board; Emilie Heymens and Blythe Hartley won bronze medals in synchronized diving. For these outstanding athletes, Classical Stretch has increased flexibility and speed, while helping them overcome pain and recover from injuries more quickly. Among prestigious organizations using the technique are: the French Volleyball Team, the Camo Diving & Swimming Clubs and the National Squash Federation.
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PBS #1 in Public Trust, Respect according to new Roper Poll:
By Anne Cornelson - PBS The resources in this publication are gathered from a variety of sources by PBS. If you have comments or questions, please contact Anne Cornelison at PBS: 703-739-5185 or e-mail: acornelison@pbs.org
Press Release - February 5, 2004
In a survey just completed by the non-partisan, international research company RoperASW, the American public called PBS the most trusted institution on a list of nationally known organizations in the country and the best use of tax dollars, second only to military defense. The recent national opinion study, which included 1,000 randomly selected participants across the country, also found Americans are more satisfied with programming on PBS compared with commercial broadcasting or cable networks and consider PBS news and public affairs series the most trustworthy. The majority of people surveyed believe that public broadcasting receives too little funding from the federal government and that money given to PBS stations from the government, corporations and individuals is money well spent.
We were pleased to work with PBS on this national survey, said Ed Bergstein, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Media, of RoperASW. These results show that the American public places great trust in PBS and that they believe that they are getting their moneys worth in return for the public and private funds that are invested in the service.
These results confirm what we have known for a long time, that Americans trust and value PBS, said PBS President and CEO Pat Mitchell. We deeply respect the high standards to which we are held, which is why we work so hard to provide unparalleled quality in PBS programs, and after programs have aired, to make sure the value of that investment continues. We work every day to serve the American people through the power of media, and the results of this survey tell us that work is paying off.
Highlights of the survey:
--PBS is the most trusted of the seven national institutions asked about: 50 percent of respondents trust PBS a great deal. Courts of law are second with 28 percent.
--PBS is the most valuable service tax payers receive, second only to military defense. 20 percent stated PBS was an excellent use of their tax dollars. Military defense alone outranked PBS, with 36 percent giving it the highest rating.
--Americans are most satisfied with programming on PBS compared to cable and commercial broadcast.~~34 percent of respondents are very satisfied with current PBS programs, compared to 24 percent for cable and 16 percent for commercial broadcast.
--The majority of Americans (59 percent) believe having PBS is very important.~Commercial broadcasting and cable networks were considered very important by only 40 percent and 36 percent of respondents, respectively.
--PBS has the most trusted news and public affairs programs. Forty percent trust PBS programs a great deal. CNN was second at 33 percent.
--Most Americans (79 percent) believe that funding given to PBS from governments, corporations and individuals is money well spent.
--The majority of the public (51 percent) believe the federal funding PBS receives is too little.
The telephone survey of 1,000 adults between the ages of 25 to 75 years old was conducted by RoperASW between December 22, 2003 and January 15, 2004. It was commissioned by PBS and will be administered annually beginning with this study.~ For a full copy of the survey, please contact Jan McNamara at PBS (phone: 703-739-5028 / email: jmcnamara@pbs.org
PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a private, nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nations 349 public television stations. Serving nearly 90 million people each week, PBS enriches the lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services on noncommercial television, the Internet and other media. More information about PBS is available at http://www.pbs.org, the leading dot-org Web site on the Internet.
RoperASW, an NOP World company, is a leading global marketing research and consulting firm with headquarters in New York and offices in London, Manila, and throughout the U.S. NOP World is among the ten largest global market research companies in the U.S. and the world. Bringing together some of the most renowned U.S. and European research firms in a unified global network, NOP World is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UK-based United Business Media plc.
United Business Media (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com) is a leading provider of business-to-business media solutions. Its products and services help companies around the world meet their market information needs. In addition to NOP World, UBMs businesses include PRNewswire, the worlds leading news distribution service, and CMP, the business-to-business media and exhibition group operating in focused market sectors such as hi-tech, healthcare, property, entertainment, jewelry and fashion in the U.S., U.K., Asia and Europe.
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USDA ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR NORTH COUNTRY TV ENHANCEMENTS
USDA / Rural Development
WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2004 – Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced on February 20, 2004 Watertown-based public television station WNPI, Sister station of WPBS, will receive $1,999,659 to assist its conversion to full power digital broadcasting. The station, which serves the St. Lawrence Valley and northern Adirondack communities, brings agricultural, educational, and cultural programming and emergency information to its rural viewers.
“We appreciate the support the Bush Administration and USDA Rural Development provides for rural communities throughout New York State,” New York Governor George E. Pataki said. “This funding will help WNPI bring their broadcasting technology into the 21st century, helping to strengthen their economic position and better serve the residents of New York’s North Country.”
“This funding is great news for WNPI’s efforts to bring public television to residents throughout the North Country,” said Rep. John M. McHugh (R-NY). “USDA Rural Development dollars are supporting an entity that is vitally important to our communities. I am pleased that this upgrade in technology will not only improve the station’s broadcast capabilities, but also further its educational reach in the region.”
“I applaud President Bush’s initiative to bring the latest in broadcast technology to rural public television stations,” said Patrick H. Brennan, State Director for Rural Development in New York. “WNPI provides vital information and a sense of community to residents of northern New York. This assistance will greatly improve service delivery to its audience.”
“The full power digital transmitter funded by this grant will significantly improve the viewing experience in our northern broadcast area,” said Thomas F. Hanley, President of WNPI-TV. “It will also provide a connection to the Development Authority of the North Country fiber optic network, enhancing opportunities for partnerships with schools and universities throughout St. Lawrence County. We thank Congressman John M. McHugh and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for their efforts on our behalf.”
WNPI has already purchased digital equipment for low-power signal, but has not been able to afford to convert to a full-power digital signal. Funding will be used to purchase digital equipment for the tower, transmitter and antenna, a standby generator, and associated costs.
WNPI is one of 16 small rural public television stations in 13 states selected to receive $15 million in competitive grant funds. The recipients have demonstrated that they serve a rural population, have the least resources, and provide the highest level of public service to their communities.
Funds for this project are provided through the Rural Development Telecommunications Program. Rural Development’s mission is to deliver programs in a way that will support increasing economic opportunity and improve the quality of life of rural residents. As a venture capital entity, Rural Development provides equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure. Further information on rural programs is available at a local Rural Development office or by visiting USDA’s web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov .
Classical Stretch Season III Ready-for-Air
USDA ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR NORTH COUNTRY TV ENHANCEMENTS
