Regional Productions 2007-2009

Collaborations

Educational Services

Higher Education Cooperation Fact Sheet

Western Reserve PBS Viewing Area

Introducing Western Reserve Public Media
On Oct. 1, 2008, WNEO/Youngstown and WEAO/Akron (formerly known as PBS 45 & 49) adopted a new name: Western Reserve Public Media. This new identity better reflects our regional coverage, which unifies the major metropolitan areas of northeast Ohio — Akron, Canton, Cleveland and Youngstown/Warren. Under this new umbrella identity, the channels PBS 45 & 49 are now Western Reserve PBS and continue to operate as our primary broadcast service. WNEO is still channel 45 in the Youngstown market and WEAO is still channel 49 in the Akron/Canton/Cleveland market. Additional standard definition channels will be named to reflect the Western Reserve concept. Western Reserve Public Media also represents the full range of the organization’s broadcast, Internet, new media and print services. The advent of digital television opens an exciting new realm of possibilities for multiple broadcast channels.

History and Mission
Western Reserve Public Media is made up of two separately licensed public television stations (WNEO and WEAO) operating under one 501(c)(3) corporation, Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, Inc. (NETO). WNEO was established in 1971, is licensed to the city of Alliance and serves the Youngstown designated television market. WEAO went on the air in 1975, is licensed to the city of Akron and serves the Cleveland-Akron (Canton) designated television market. All programming is simulcast on the two stations.

The corporation, NETO, is owned and operated by a consortium of The University of Akron, Kent State University and Youngstown State University. The consortium provides no financial support to the organization. The board of directors consists of 15 members, including the presidents of the three universities.

It is the mission and purpose of Western Reserve Public Media to see that the powerful medium of television is used to teach, illuminate and inspire. We do this through the presentation of consistently outstanding programs and lifelong educational services that are responsive to the varied interests and needs of northeast Ohioans. The organization continually strives to bring to our viewers cultural and artistic enlightenment and enjoyment; exposure to local, state and national public affairs of importance; and the opportunity for lifelong learning through formal instruction and general educational programming.

Coverage Area and Viewership
Western Reserve PBS, a service of Western Reserve Public Media, serves 1.8 million households and 4.4 million viewers in northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania. The organization not only embraces regionalism, it is regionalism. Western Reserve PBS is the only broadcast television service in the area that links together the entire northeast Ohio region: north to Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties; south to Holmes, Tuscarawas and Harrison counties; west to Erie, Huron, Ashland and Richland counties; and east to Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties.

The most recent household and head counts from A.C. Nielsen show that the Cleveland-Akron (Canton) designated market area (DMA) is the 17th largest market in the country, and the Youngstown DMA is the 106th largest. In an average week, 500,000 households and 700,000 viewers watch Western Reserve PBS, according to A.C. Nielsen ratings.

Western Reserve Public Media and the Digital Television Transition
Western Reserve Public Media launched its digital multicasting service in 2006 and a high definition (HDTV) channel in June 2007. Combined, our analog and digital services provide a total of 8,760 hours of commercial-free television each year.

Why digital? A federal mandate requires all of the nation’s broadcast (over-the-air) television stations to change from analog to digital television technology. At midnight on Feb. 17, 2009, all full-power TV stations will stop broadcasting their analog signals and move exclusively to digital transmission. Western Reserve Public Media has established a DTV Help Desk to answer viewers’ questions about this change and help them make the DTV transition smoothly. In addition to the Help Desk at WesternReservePublicMedia.org/dtv4pbs, viewers can call us at 1-800-DTV-4PBS or e-mail for help.

Like most broadcasters, Western Reserve PBS is currently transmitting DTV in tandem with our traditional analog signals. However, in November 2008, WNEO/Youngstown will cease analog transmission and become the first local broadcast television station to provide a digital-only service. WEAO will continue to transmit both analog and digital signals until Feb. 17, 2009.

Core Programs and Services
Broadcast Services
Western Reserve PBS offers a wide range of programs on subjects including science and nature; drama, art and music; how-tos, travel and adventure; history and biography; and news and public affairs. Additionally, the station airs over 60 hours of children’s programming each week. We also have a commitment to local productions including NewsNight Akron, Northeast Ohio Times, Youngstown 2010 Moving Ahead, Read It and dozens of one-time-only programs on subjects of local interest (public affairs, the arts and history, for example) to our viewers. We also have an excellent relationship with local independent producers and serve as the premier television outlet for their work.

Educational Services
Western Reserve Educational Services, a service of Western Reserve Public Media, is funded by the State of Ohio through eTech Ohio and serves K-12 students and educators in eight Ohio counties (Carroll, Columbiana, Mahoning, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull and Wayne). This includes 92 public school districts and 134 nonpublic schools, 256,700 students and over 21,000 educators. For over 30 years, Western Reserve Educational Services has been training teachers to use the latest educational technologies in their classrooms. Educators also use the station’s instructional television programming; our locally produced multimedia curriculum projects to help students prepare for and pass Ohio’s proficiency tests; and our in-school technology and instructional television consultation services.

In the 2007-08 school year, Western Reserve Educational Services’ Professional Development Center staff of educational technology consultants delivered 233 technology workshops to 2,108 educators and presented 59 workshops on the integration of our multimedia curriculum kits to 916 teachers. In all, we provided 5,265 contact hours with educators and over 6,250 hours of consultation services.

The Ready To Learn Service
Western Reserve Public Media’s Ready To Learn (RTL) service is a parent and child care provider outreach project that supplements PBS children’s programs. The RTL staff offers free workshops, print materials and Web resources geared toward parents as well as child care providers to help extend the learning from our children’s shows into reading and hands-on activities. Our free workshops are aligned with the state of Ohio’s “Step Up to Quality” standards and present the professional training now required of all family and in-home child care providers. In the 2007-08 fiscal year, our RTL staff presented 76 training sessions to over 900 care providers.

Ohio Ready To Work Service
Western Reserve Public Media continues its work with the Ohio Ready To Work project, aimed at strengthening communities by helping the unemployed and underemployed with additional training and skill development. The project is based on a partnership between the Ohio Educational Television Stations (OETS) and other agencies involved in training today’s workforce. Episodes of GED Connection and Workplace Essentials Skills, two PBS series, are broadcast weekdays by Western Reserve PBS. Over 400 kits of our support print materials have been distributed in the eight-county service area of A.B.L.E. centers and workforce literacy agencies.

Community Outreach
Western Reserve Public Media extends the value of programming beyond the television set through community events and partnerships with local organizations and agencies. In the last year, station community events have touched more than 100,000 northeast Ohioans, and our regularly published outreach newsletters are delivered to over 70,000 readers. This year, Western Reserve Public Media’s outreach focuses on three themes: literacy, aging “smart” and digital transition education. Outreach activities range from workshops and documentary premiere screenings to live performances and public lectures.

Internet Services
Western Reserve Public Media’s Web site at www.WesternReservePublicMedia.org is home to thousands of pages of station-created content. Visitors will find, among other things, video on demand, the daily program schedule, station e-newsletters and our locally developed multimedia curriculum kits for K-12 classrooms, featuring online teacher guides, interactive lesson plans and instructional video. The site features over 100 hours of local programming along with nearly daily updated promos for our general-audience series and specials. The Web site averages over 450,000 total hits per month, with an average of 15,000 hits per day.

Operating Budget and Funding Sources
Western Reserve Public Media’s 2009 fiscal year operating budget is $5.6 million. Revenue is generated from the following sources:

Private Support (66%) Private funding includes revenue from 16,335 members, corporate and foundation underwriting grants, and entrepreneurial activities such as tower rental income.

State Funding (18%) Almost all of this funding supports Western Reserve Educational Services and its outreach to K-12 educators. Additionally, Ohio Educational Telecommunications provides partial support for nighttime and weekend operations.

Federal Funding (16%) Federal funding comes to Western Reserve Public Media through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

Governance
Western Reserve Public Media is owned and operated by Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, Inc. (NETO), a consortium of The University of Akron, Kent State University and Youngstown State University. The board of directors is made up of 15 members, including the presidents of the three universities and other university and community representatives.

Affiliations
Western Reserve Public Media is affiliated with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) and Ohio Educational Television Stations (OETS).

Facilities and Operations
Western Reserve Public Media employs 23 full-time and four part-time staff members. The operations center, administrative offices, main studio and location of public files are housed at 1750 Campus Center Drive, Kent, Ohio, 44240. The organization’s Western Reserve Production Hub is located on the first floor of the United Building in downtown Akron. Additionally, the organization operates five transmitters: WNEO and WNEO-DT transmitters, located in Salem, serve greater Youngstown and western PA; WEAO and WEAO-DT transmitters, located in Copley, serve the greater Cleveland, Akron and Canton areas; and W58AM/PBS 58 is located in and serves low-lying areas of the Mahoning Valley.