Giving classic drama a contemporary edge and making it accessible to all Americans are Masterpiece Theatre signatures. "We want to make important works of literature come alive, with dramatic nuance that resonates with today's audiences," says executive producer Rebecca Eaton. This season's innovative production of Henry VIII, starring Ray Winstone and Helena Bonham Carter, did just that, drawing raves for its powerful characters and filmic sensibility.

And thanks to WGBH's pioneering media access services, 36 million Americans with hearing or vision loss have access not only to Masterpiece Theatre, but thousands of programs on public and commercial television, movies on home video and in theaters, and a growing number of Web sites. Through WGBH-produced closed captions for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing, and video descriptions for people who are blind or vision impaired, Henry VIII revealed why he was "a king to die for" to a truly inclusive audience.

Keeping his 89.7 audience in touch with the vibrant local jazz scene is an Eric Jackson trademark.

The veteran host of Jazz with Eric in the Evening regularly showcases emerging New England talent, in performance and in conversation, as "a reminder to listeners that jazz has a bright future," Jackson says. Of note this year, a studio visit from The Curtis Brothers (pianist Zaccai and acoustic bassist Luques), New England natives whose original compositions "skillfully blend sounds from the Caribbean, the Americas, and Africa," Jackson notes. WGBH Radio airs some 130 live, in-studio performances every year, and records another 80 for later broadcast, giving exposure to both up-and-coming and established artists and delivering live jazz, blues, classical, and folk to music fans everywhere.

The wisdom, scholarship, and guest roster Brian O'Donovan brings to hosting A Celtic Sojourn have made the program an 89.7 mainstay, both on air and online, where Celtic traffic is up 42 percent. "Among the luminaries in Celtic music who visited this year were Natalie McMaster, Paul Brady, Dervish, and Altan," the Irish-born O'Donovan says.

Like his knowledgeable colleague, Blues on WGBH host Brendan Hogan thinks the intimacy of radio encourages spontaneity from studio performers. Hogan recalls that when local country blues musician Lloyd Thayer dropped by for an interview, "it turned into a laid-back, impromptu session, complete with a resonator guitar rendition of 'You Got To Move.' It's exciting to be able to share a little-known gem with thousands of listeners."

In the tradition of bringing important art and culture to a broad public, WGBH took New Englanders who may never venture across the Triboro Bridge in body to 42nd Street in spirit. Broadway: The American Musical, a comprehensive PBS six-parter about a uniquely American art form, gave historical context to a century of show-stopping numbers, and shared insider wisdom from backstage greats like Stephen Sondheim, Julie Taymor, and Mel Brooks, who comically, and cosmically, reminded us "the musical blows the dust off your soul!"