WGBH Annual Report 2000-2001 Text Version: Mesaage from the President and Chair

Text Version

Home | Message from the President and Chair | Awards | Fiscal Year 00
Kids and Families | Arts and Culture | Our World | Important Issues | Learning

Satisfying Curious

At a time when all of us are bombarded by countless bits of miscellaneous information, we believe public broadcasting can break through the clutter and engage people on important issues and subjects by delivering our rich content across media platforms. And we can be even more effective if we couple our efforts with institutional and community partners that have similar missions.

With that in mind, WGBH began the year 2000 with an ambitious partnership involving PBS, the BBC, and broadcasters from around the globe. Our 25-hour PBS Millennium 2000 broadcast took one billion viewers to the dawn of the new millennium as it occurred and was celebrated in each of the earth's 24 time zones.

In April, we debuted our groundbreaking multiple-media initiative Between the Lions, designed to help four- to seven-year-old children learn to read. Hailed by television critics, educators, and parents, Between the Lions includes an information-rich Web site and an educational outreach program involving 17 national partners. We also broke new ground-and filled a gap in the television landscape-with the premiere this fall of ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre's American Collection, dramas inspired by some of our country's own classic literature.

This year's election gave us an opportunity to provide voters with the facts they needed-when they needed them-to make informed decisions. For the first time, viewers nationwide could watch Frontline's The Choice, a probing portrait of the two major party presidential candidates, on television or the Web. In November, Frontline teamed up with The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and NPR to offer voters Time to Choose, a three-hour pre-election special. This national coverage was complemented by Greater Boston's Election 2000. Our award-winning local public affairs series spent the fall tracking and analyzing the candidates and issues, nationally and locally, on air and online.

We also marshaled our resources-television, radio, Web, print-to tackle one of the most important issues facing Massachusetts today. Eye on Education, our 10-week, multiple-media initiative in partnership with The Boston Globe and WILD 1090am, looked at the impact of educational reform and high-stakes testing on the people affected the most: students, families, teachers, and educators.

Other Year 2000 highlights included the launch of our Cape and Islands NPR Stations (our new public radio service for Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket broadcasting at 90.1fm and 91.1fm); a redesign from the ground up of WGBH Online, providing our regional audience with daily features; and the completion of our new digital and analog antenna system, enabling us to deliver a 'GBH Select44 signal equal in strength and reach to 'GBH 2. The new antenna paves the way for the imminent debut of DTV-19, our new digital television station that will eventually offer viewers selected high-definition programs, multiple channel choices, and Web-like information.

On December 31, this winning year was crowned by the successful completion of our Expanding the Vision Campaign, the most ambitious capital campaign in our nearly 50-year history. More than 19,000 individuals, corporations, and foundations contributed more than $42 million to ensure that WGBH has the resources to create the highest quality programs for years to come. As a result, we now have some of the financial flexibility and security we need, not only to better weather the inevitable economic cycles, but to pay for the growth of services as we expand our media platforms to meet the interests of curious people everywhere.

WGBH's future is full of possibilities, thanks to you. We hope you share our pride in the year's accomplishments and find satisfaction in knowing that all that we've done, all that we hope to do, is made possible by your generous support.

Sincerely,

Henry Becton
President

Edith L. Dabney
Chair

Home | Message from the President and Chair | Awards | Fiscal Year 00
Kids and Families | Arts and Culture | Our World | Important Issues | Learning