Eric in the Evening
Spotlighting Jazz
When Kendrick Oliver left his native Houston, Texas in 1993, tuba in hand, to attend Boston's Berklee College of Music, he'd already heard of 89.7's Eric Jackson (left). "Eric is a jazz legend," Oliver says. "If you're a young musician, getting onto Jazz with Eric in the Evening is a coup. Eric keeps the music and history alive with his knowledge and passion, which is a real service to the jazz community." WGBH Radio has been providing a stage for established and emerging talent for more than 50 years, and Jackson has been part of that effort for 25. "Jazz is important socially, musically, artistically, and culturally," Jackson says. "Giving younger players like Kendrick an opportunity to perform live and talk to listeners all over New England helps expand the audience for this great American art form."
Involving Parents
One Dorchester parent, who regularly visits wgbh.org/eyeoneducation on behalf of her 13-year-old daughter to access student- and parent-friendly information about the high school choice process in the Boston Public Schools, says, "WGBH's Eye on Education makes it easy for working parents to stay involved."
Streaming History
Stranded in an airport, laptop at the ready, Connecticut businessman Jim Prestileo went behind the scenes at American Experience's John & Abigail Adams Web site for "a deeper look at the power couple." In 2005, more than 12 million online visitors connected with TV's only ongoing history series—with an average of 51,000 visits to the site the day after each American Experience broadcast.
Ortiz On Demand
When Ming Tsai helped Red Sox great David Ortiz prepare "Big Papi's Marinated Chicken" for millions of viewers across the US, he was carrying on a WGBH lifestyle programming tradition that began with Julia Child: sharing expert skills to simplify over-scheduled lives. Viewers now can catch up with Simply Ming's magic even after the kids are asleep via WGBH On Demand, one of six WGBH digital cable services.
Beyond Pop Culture
Art of the States, WGBH Radio's American music distribution service and companion Web site (3 million hits in 2005), delivers new, unusual, and lesser-known repertoire by US composers and performers to a global audience, enabling broadcasters like Polish radio producer Pawel Romanczuk to "at last give people from a small European town contact with high American art."
