AZPM IS YOUR HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
posted by Jack Gibson
In 1959, KUAT Channel 6 signed on the air as the first public station in the state of Arizona. What started out 50 years ago as an instructional television “experiment” today provides six public television services, three public radio services and a robust and growing online experience.
Fast-forward to 1973, KUAT broadcast 51 days of unprecedented live, gavel-to-gavel public television coverage of the Watergate hearings in the U.S. Senate, anchored by journalists Jim Lehrer and Robin MacNeil. Thereafter, public television played an increasingly crucial role as a trusted source of news reporting and analysis on behalf of the American public. The success of those broadcasts led to the development of The MacNeil/Lehrer Report and then, in the mid-1980s, expanded into the nation’s first one-hour nightly evening newscast which you know most recently as The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
This month you will note some changes to the broadcast. Jim Lehrer remains executive editor and principal anchor and rest assured The NewsHour’s commitment to top-quality journalism remains unchanged. Starting December 7, the program will feature a new look and a new name - PBS NewsHour - reflecting an enhanced, expanded mission as the nucleus of news programming on PBS-HD Channel 6.
As the year draws to a close I invite you to join the Arizona Public Media family of stations for some great holiday programming, all made possible through the support of viewers and listeners like you.
On behalf of all of us at Arizona Public Media, please accept our very best wishes for the holiday season and in 2010. We have an exciting schedule of programs and original productions in store for 2010: all designed to serve you, our audiences. Thank you for your continued support!
Jack Gibson
P.S. Arizona Public Media’s offices will be closed Dec. 24 & 25 and again on Friday Jan. 1. If you would like to make your year-end contribution to AZPM, please call 520-621-5828 and we will assist you with your donation, or you may also give online here.
