Contact:
Tania Panczyk-Collins
202 654-4222
tpanczyk@apts.org
APTS Praises Public TV Leaders’ Efforts in Digital Technology and Education
WASHINGTON— February 12, 2008 —A Public Television station that created a lifelong learning service and another that is connecting Georgians to the world are this year’s recipients of the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) EDGE Award.
WNED, in Buffalo, N.Y. and Public Broadcasting Atlanta (PBA) will each be presented with the 2008 EDGE Award on February 12 as part of APTS Capitol Hill Day. The EDGE Award highlights excellence in the digital transition, groundbreaking partnerships and educational technologies.
“Public Television continues to lead the television industry in rolling out a new generation of digital content and services for the American public,” said APTS President and CEO John Lawson. “These stations are at the cutting edge within Public Television. They are really delivering on the promise of the digital transition.”
WNED ThinkBright Initiative
In order to cultivate community investment from the economically depressed rust belt area surrounding Buffalo, WNED knew that it had to harness digital technology as a community asset. WNED saw that the most pressing need of its community was to increase access to educational resources for all of their viewers.
As a result, WNED made an organizational commitment to create a three-pronged lifelong learning service that included a digital television channel, a vibrant website targeting teachers, students, parents and adult learners and outreach addressing community needs. They developed ThinkBright, with ThinkBright TV as the centerpiece.
WNED cultivated education partnerships with the Buffalo Public Schools, the University of Buffalo’s Center for Applied Technologies in Education, and Erie 1 BOCES, a local vocational educational system. With a $2.5 million grant from The John R. Oishei Foundation, WNED began ThinkBright in 2002. Since then, ThinkBright has not only been enthusiastically embraced by the Buffalo community, but it has also generated new partnerships for WNED with six Public Television stations in upstate New York.
“WNED is a wonderful partner organization in our community,” said Oishei Foundation Senior Program Officer Blythe Merrill. “They are very innovative in the educational tools that they use and bring that into the community in order to enhance lifelong learning.”
Public Broadcasting Atlanta 4.0
Public Broadcasting Atlanta believes that the health of our democracy will be determined by the actions of the people at the base of society. Their purpose as a trusted source of communications is to educate that base by being a lens to the world, to inform by being a platform to discuss the issues of the day, and to inspire citizens.
To meet this objective, PBA launched “PBA 4.0,” a “Multi-Smart Media” provider with a purpose. PBA 4.0 will utilize the station’s digital broadcast and media resources to focus on civil engagement, education and culture. Their long-term strategy as a vital community resource in a digital world is the creation of the Local Education Network System (LENS).
LENS reaches out to positively impact the Atlanta community and help empower others to do the same. LENS gives PBA the opportunity to connect their four media resources—TV, radio, cable and new media, in a manner that will support and cross promote each other more effectively and efficiently. This new platform will interactively engage and give a voice to PBA’s current and future users.
“This is a process where the community is going to be our guiding force,” said PBA General Manager Milton Clipper. “This is a cultural change at the station and a whole new mind set in how we interact with the community.”
As a multi-smart-media resource, PBA 4.0 will enable all of Georgia’s citizenry to better understand the world around them and participate in its well being.
