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Kentucky Life
|
- by Diane Jowers |
(Posted February 28, 2002) In the early 1950s, Kentucky Educational Television
(KET) founding director O. Leonard Press, then a university instructor, traversed the
state to gain support for a communications system to overcome geographic and economic
barriers to education. That quest resulted in KET. For
the next 30 years, Press worked to expand its capabilities – in education, public
affairs, and entertainment. |
Today, KET, Kentucky’s only statewide broadcast medium, has 239 employees and is
entering a new era of technology to confront challenges to educational and informational
access. KET Executive Director and CEO Virginia G. Fox,
an experienced leader who created the National ITV Satellite Schedule
and the Satellite Educational Resources Consortium
(SERC), was founding director of the Organization of State Broadcasting Executives (OSBE),
and chaired the NETA board, now leads KET into the digital era. |
By August, KET will complete the addition of digital transmitters at its 15 analog
transmitter sites. Meanwhile, the network is
partnering with the
National Weather Service, emergency management agencies, police, and health facilities to
test datacasting and its instant communication capabilities. “The
heightened awareness of the role of timely, targeted information in disaster prevention
makes this our priority now,” said Fox. |
Even as the network approaches a major technological milestone, other aspects of its
public service mission continue. KET
productions that focus on Kentuckians include Kentucky Life, profiles of people and places in
the state; Comment on Kentucky, a weekly
gathering of state journalists to discuss the news; and Kentucky
Tonight, a regional Emmy winner in the public affairs category. In addition, Comment
on Kentucky, Kentucky Tonight,
and legislative coverage are available via streaming video on KET’s web site, www.ket.org. |
Arts programming on KET includes diverse series,
such as Jubilee, which covers
bluegrass and blues festivals; In Performance at the Governor's Mansion, a
showcase for Kentucky dancers, poets, and musicians; and Mixed Media, which features area artists in all
genres.
Through the Star Channels satellite network, KET delivers more than 2,000 hours of instructional programs
and professional development seminars to schools each year.
Life-long learning efforts include KET education products that are used in
more than 700 adult learning centers throughout the nation.
GED Connection, a GED 2002 exam preparation
program, is “ideal for anyone who would have difficulty attending an adult learning
center,” according to Bill
Wilson, KET’s deputy director of education and outreach. Another recent project, What If All
Kentucky Reads the Same Book?, attracted nearly 10,000 participants and won
the Kentucky Broadcasters Association’s Golden Tower Award. |
Since KET signed on in 1968, it has won more than 100 awards. Recent honors include an International CINDY
(Cinema in Industry) Award; five NETA awards, including “Best of the Best” for Workplace
Essential Skills; a PBS Eddie Award for the “Kentucky’s Underground Railroad –
Passage to Freedom” web site; and two regional Emmy Awards. Numerous grants, from the Kentucky Department of
Education, the Kentucky Humanities Council, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and
the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, have made possible the production of some KET
award winners. |
There have been many other achievements and changes through the years. One aspect of the network that hasn’t
changed, however, is its leadership’s commitment to overcoming barriers to education
and technology. “With digital
television, technology has finally caught up with KET’s mission,” said Fox. |
|
- NETA Member Spotlight: South
Dakota PTV (2/02)
- NETA Member Spotlight: WLVT
(12/01)
- Chuck's Coast-to-Coast postcard: OPB (2/02)
- Chuck's Coast-to-Coast postcard: KLRN (1/02)
|
|
O. Leonard Press,
founding director
Virginia G. Fox,
current director,
was inducted April 2
into Kentucky Journalism
Hall of Fame.
(read more)
In Performance
at the Governor's
Mansion
|
