WETA-TV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WETA-TV
city =
station_
station_slogan = Be more... (which is PBS' current slogan used since 2002)
station_branding = WETA
analog = 26 (UHF)
digital = 27 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = PBS
network =
founded =
airdate = October 2, 1961
location = Washington, D.C.
callsign_meaning = Washington
Educational
Telecommunications
Association
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association
licensee =
sister_stations = WETA-FM
former_affiliations = NET (1961-1970)
effective_radiated_power = 2290 kW (analog)
90 kW (digital)
HAAT = 235 m (analog)
254 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 65670
coordinates = coord|38|57|50.1|N|77|6|17|W|type:landmark_scale:2000 (analog)
coord|38|57|1|N|77|4|46|W|type:landmark_scale:2000 (digital)
homepage = [http://www.weta.org/ www.weta.org]

WETA-TV is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) network television station serving the Washington, D.C. area of the United States. Its studios are located in Arlington, Virginia. WETA produces many nationally syndicated programs for PBS including The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Washington Week, and performance specials such as "The Kennedy Center Presents: The 2006 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor." The station has also been the production partner of filmmaker Ken Burns for more than 20 years.

History

In 1952, the FCC allocated 242 channels for non-commercial use across the U.S.. Channel 26 was allocated for use in Washington, DC.

In 1953, the Greater Washington Educational Television Association was formed to develop programming for channel 26.

In 1957, Elizabeth Campbell, thought by many to be the major force in founding WETA was elected president of the association.

In the early days, before it was granted a license for its own channel, the GWETA produced educational programming for WTTG.

Finally, on 2 October 1961, the GWETA was granted a license by the FCC to activate channel 26. Until WETA moved to Howard University in 1964, WETA operated from Yorktown High School.

In 1967, WETA produced Washington Week in Review, its first nationally syndicated program for non-commercial educational stations.

Around 1970, the Greater Washington Educational Television Association changed their name to the Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association to reflect the oversight of the new WETA-FM.

In the 1990s, WETA established itself as a leader in developing forms of communication.

In 1992, WETA broadcast the first over-the-air HDTV signal in the U.S. In 1995, WETA launched weta.org, becoming one of the first PBS stations in the country to have a website.

WETA has always been a powerful force in the communities that it serves.

In 1995, WETA acquired CapAccess, an interactive computer network. From that acquisition, WETA helped connect public schools, public libraries and local government agencies to the internet. WETA's community efforts continue to this day.

In 1996, WETA launched its first national educational project, [http://www.ldonline.org LD Online] , a web site that seeks to help children and adults reach their full potential by providing accurate and up-to-date information and advice about learning disabilities and ADHD. It was joined in 2001 by Reading Rockets, a multimedia project offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help. In 2003, Reading Rockets spun off [http://www.colorincolorado.org Colorín Colorado] , a free, web-based, service that provides information, activities, and advice for educators, and Spanish-speaking families of English language learners (ELLs).

In 1997, WETA tested its new full-power HDTV transmitter and began to showcase it to the public in 1999.

In 2002, WETA became one of the first stations to offer digital subchannels, which initially included WETA Prime, WETA Plus, and WETA Kids.

In January 2006, WETA relaunched the subchannels lineup with WETA Create, WETA Family, and WETA World, after the closure of national services PBS You and PBS Kids.

Digital television

WETA-DT has 4 digital sub-channels. They arecite web|url=http://www.weta.org/tv/channelguide#channels|title=Channel Guide: TV|accessdate=2008-09-20|publisher=WETA-TV] :

WETA HDPrograms in High Definition Television, typically reruns, not the PBS National Programming Service broadcasts shown on WETA-TV. (digital channel 26.1 / 27.1, Comcast 220, and Cox 726, broadcasting 24 hours)

WETA CreateHow-to, travel and cooking programming. (digital channel 26.2 / 27.2, Comcast 200, and Cox 800, broadcasting 24 hours)

WETA Kids ChannelFamily-friendly programming. (digital channel 26.3 / 27.3, Comcast 201, and Cox 801, broadcasting 24 hours)

The WETA ChannelNews and public affairs programming and documentaries. (digital channel 26.4 / 27.4, Comcast 202, and Cox 802, broadcasting 24 hours)

Digital channel logo gallery

Author, Author!

"Author, Author!" is a videoblog hosted by journalist and critic Bethanne Patrick. This project of WETA.org, the website for WETA-TV, launched in September of 2007. The site showcases authors and books through reviews and video interviews. Visitors are invited to contribute thoughts and ideas to the site through the blog's comments feature.

Past and future blog guests include:
*Geoffrey C. Ward, co-author, with Ken Burns, of "The War: An Intimate History", now a PBS documentary, "The War"
*Mary Gordon, author of "Circling My Mother", a memoir
*Frank Warren
*Naomi Wolf
*Richard Russo

References

External links

* [http://www.weta.org/ Official WETA website]
* [http://www.weta.org/about/history.php Full history of WETA]
*TVQ|WETA
*BIA|WETA|TV|TV
* [http://www.ldonline.org/ Official LD Online website]
* [http://www.readingrockets.org/ Official Reading Rockets website]
* [http://www.colorincolorado.org/ Official Colorín Colorado website]
* [http://www.weta.org/authorauthor Author, Author! site]