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Posted April 1, 2003 OETA-The
Oklahoma Network is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
The station that began in the basement of a University of Oklahoma building has
grown into a statewide network with headquarters in Oklahoma City, a Tulsa news bureau
facility, and transmitters in Cheyenne and Eufaula.
More than 1.8 million Oklahomans throughout the state have acquired the habit of looking
to OETA for entertaining and enlightening programming.
They depend upon Oklahoma News Report,
the only statewide newscast, to bring them up-to-date every weeknight. On Saturday afternoons, some tune in to Tulsa Times for information about their city’s
interesting places, people, and special events. Others
stay “in-the-know” about activities in Oklahoma City by watching OKC Metro.
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Stateline,
OETA’s regularly scheduled public affairs series, addresses a broad range of
“state-of-the-state” issues and topics, from cultural and religious diversity in
the region to the story of the capitol building’s dome (finally in place after 100
years). The network’s arts and cultural
series, Gallery, is a showcase for the best
Oklahoma has to offer in many art forms, including dance, music, and sculpture.
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OETA
produces the The Lawrence Welk Show for
national distribution, and the weekly series attracts more than 2.5 million viewers each
week. |
It
is the number one syndicated weekly series on public television and is celebrating its
51st continuous season on television. OETA
has produced 11 national Welk specials for PBS, including the reunion program, Lawrence
Welk: Milestones & Memories. The
national promotion for this special
and
the pledge premium, Lawrence Welk Milestones &
Memories book, won
2001 NETA Awards in the Promotion category. OETA
also produced Lawrence Welk: God Bless America,
a musical tribute to America’s freedoms, which aired nationally in March.
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Many OETA productions and staff members have won numerous awards. Stateline
and Gallery received multiple Aurora awards
and Society of Professional Journalists awards. The
historical documentary, Oklahoma, I Remember,
is a regional Emmy winner. OETA’s
promotion work for Antiques Roadshow has won
two PBS Communications awards, and three segments of the series will be taped at
Oklahoma City's Cox Business Services Convention Center in August. The
Public Television Programmers Association selected OETA Deputy Director of Programming
Bill Thrash Programmer of the Year in 2002. |
“We are very proud of the recognition that our productions and staff have received
and of the many accomplishments that we have to celebrate during our 50th
anniversary,” said OETA Executive Director Mac Wall.
One of those accomplishments is a major technological milestone; in May, OETA will
“turn on” digital television in Oklahoma City.
Funding for Phase One of the statewide digital transition project includes $5.6 million
from the state legislature and a matching amount in private funds from the OETA
Foundation. “The dedication and
enthusiasm of our many supporters have made it possible for us to accomplish this goal,
and we are excited about how it will enable us to better serve our viewers in the
future,” said Wall. |
 Visit the Oklahoma ETV Web site: oeta.onenet.net |
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Executive Director
Mac Wall
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