WTCI Selected as Outstanding Nonprofit of the Year

WTCI-TV was recognized as the outstanding nonprofit agency of the year by The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce at the Small Business Awards Luncheon, an annual event celebrating small business and entrepreneurial excellence in Chattanooga. WTCI has offered quality, award-winning programming to the community for 40 years, reaching 850,000 people in a four-state, 35-county viewing area. With a mission to educate, engage and inspire a lifetime of learning and exploration, WTCI airs 60 hours of children's programming each week along with popular local and national programs that offer balanced public affairs information, documentaries and science programming. WTCI also demonstrates its commitment to the arts through programs dedicated to music festivals, opera and dramatic performances and supports local education by providing free literacy workshops, distributing over 10,000 books to children, offering an annual writing contest and working with area schools on book drives and PBS character visits.

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posted by peterdelynn on February 17, 2010  |  Comments(0)

Afghanistan: In-depth Coverage on WTCI

President Obama's strategy for the way forward in Afghanistan will be revealed tonight in an address to the nation at 8pm.  WTCI will carry the President's speech live and the NewsHour will provide the kind of analysis you've come to depend on from PBS. 

Friday at 8pm, Afghanistan and the President's plan will be among the topics discussed by Gwen Ifill and her guests on Washington Week.  And stay tuned at 8:30 Friday night for Tennessee Insider, our local political affairs program hosted by Greg Glover.  We'll bring you local perspectives on the war and we'd love to hear what you think of the President's plans.

PBS's coverage of the war in Afghanistan also extends to the web.  Frontline's Obama's War is now available to view online.  It looks at counterinsurgency strategy, the war in relation to Pakistan, and President Obama's options for dealing with the 8-year-old war.

Now on PBS not only reports from the front lines with US Marines, but examines the health care our wounded veterans receive when they arrive home.

And Bill Moyers recently explored parallels between Afghanistan and Vietnam, with the personal perspective he gained working with President Lyndon Johnson over forty years ago.

Depend on WTCI to bring you coverage from all angles, like no one else can.

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posted by shauntownley on December 1, 2009  |  Comments(5)

Chattanooga History Makers 2009

                       The Dismembered Tennesseans

At their annual luncheon on Wednesday, The Chattanooga History Center honored Fletcher Bright and the Dismembered Tennesseans with the 4th Annual Chattanooga History Makers Award. Once again, WTCI was honored to help sponsor the event and to produce a short film about the group's contributions to our area and to our nation's musical heritage. Of course, not everyone can attend an event like this, so we're pleased to be able to broadcast the film this weekend, exclusively on WTCI. Tune in Saturday, Nov. 21st at 8:48pm or Sunday, Nov. 22nd with back-to-back broadcasts at 1:00pm and 1:15PM. The film received a great reception at Wednesday's luncheon, so be sure to tune in and tell a friend.

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posted by shauntownley on November 19, 2009  |  Comments(0)

Frontline: A Death in Tehran

Tuesday at 10pm, Frontline investigates the death of Neda Agha Soltan, a young woman killed on the streets of Tehran who became a symbol of the opposition to the controversial re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Who was she? What happened? What lies ahead for the people of Iran?

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posted by shauntownley on November 16, 2009  |  Comments(0)

Sesame Street Turns 40!

Sesame Street, whose opening theme song and cast of characters are familiar to generations of children, is turning 40. The show premiered on November 10, 1969. A fitting tribute to the show's mission is a recent study that found teens who watched Sesame Street in pre-school had higher grades than those who did not. And the show is still going strong as it enters it's 40th year. Last season, Sesame Street averaged more than 5 million viewers each week. WTCI is proud to be the home of Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster and the whole fuzzy gang here in the Tennessee Valley. Congratulations Sesame Street and Happy 40th!

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posted by peterdelynn on November 11, 2009  |  Comments(0)

A Reminder

I ate dinner with family earlier this week at a restaurant in downtown Chattanooga.  I'd been working that day and I had on a WTCI shirt that we in the production crew often wear on shoots.  A server at the restaurant saw the logo and asked me if I worked for WTCI.  I told him that I did and his face lit up. 

"I love PBS," he said.  "When we were kids we had cable, but we always ended up watching PBS."  He went on, clearly passionate about what public television means to him.  And then he said something I wasn't expecting..."It just wouldn't be America without PBS". 

Every once in a while, I'm reminded that what we do for a living affects people's lives deeply, and it's gratifying to know that.  It's easy to get lost in the details of production, but your support, whether it's a kind word at a restaurant, or a pledge of financial support, helps remind us why we're here.  There's a reason why PBS has been voted the most trusted organization in the country for six years straight (Roper Public Opinion Poll).  We work to earn your trust, and we appreciate it.

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posted by shauntownley on October 9, 2009  |  Comments(0)

"Little Dorrit", Emmy's Big Winner!

It's an underdog story Charles Dickens himself would love.  Amid all the nominations for cable powerhouse HBO and other networks, PBS's Little Dorrit, took home more Emmy statues than any other program on television.  The Masterpiece Classic series took home statues for directing, writing, cinematography, art direction, casting, costumes, and finally best miniseries. 

We're proud to bring you quality programming like Little Dorrit and we hope you'll continue to support WTCI so that we're able to provide even more award-winning television in the future.

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posted by shauntownley on September 21, 2009  |  Comments(0)

PBS Special on Health Care Reform

Health care reform is on everyone's minds these days as congress debates the pros and cons of changes to our current system.  We hope you'll join us Thursday night at 9pm for a 90-minute special on the subject. This collaboration of NOW, Tavis Smiley, and the Nightly Business Report will include the latest news and insight about the political, cultural, and economic issues at stake.

PBS Special on Health Care Reform airs Thursday, Sept. 24th at 9pm on WTCI.
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/health-care-reform/index.html

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posted by shauntownley on September 21, 2009  |  Comments(0)

Jim Brickman, Live on WTCI

Tune in to WTCI this Thursday, Sept. 10th at 8pm to see Jim Brickman live in the WTCI studio.  He'll be presenting his new special, Beautiful World, featuring guest stars Jon Secada, Orla Fallon, American Idol's Melinda Doolittle, and Mark Masri.  Brickman returns to Chattanooga on November 29th and we've got tickets, so be sure to watch and pledge your support to WTCI. 

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posted by shauntownley on September 9, 2009  |  Comments(0)

Dinosaur Train - A New Series

Nearly twenty years after the death of Muppet creator Jim Henson, The Jim Henson Company continues his legacy of great educational television for children.  You may already watch Sid the Science Kid on WTCI with your kids, and we're happy to let you know about a new series called Dinosaur Train.

Young children will love the colorful characters & original songs that encourage them to explore natural history and basic science concepts.  There's great additional information about the program here on the PBS Parents site.

WTCI airs Dinosaur Train weekdays at 9:30am.  Join us!

 

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posted by shauntownley on September 6, 2009  |  Comments(0)

Sesame Street wins Lifetime Achievement Emmy

In case you missed it, Sesame Street earned the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award for 40 years of great children's programming. You'll also get a rare chance to see the performers that bring some of your favorite characters to life.

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posted by shauntownley on August 31, 2009  |  Comments(0)

Ken Burns on The A List

It's not every day that you get to sit down with someone like Ken Burns - and just chat. It's not often that someone asks what you did for the afternoon and you get to respond, "Oh, I hung out with Ken Burns." So imagine how incredibly excited I was to find out that the season finale interview for The A List would be none other than - yes, you guessed it - Ken Burns. To say that he is an affable and passionate soul would be a huge understatement. He is as friendly as he is focused on his work, and he was as accessible to me and our crew as he makes his subject matter to his viewers. In the half hour that we spent together, Ken Burns and I discussed everything from his family and first experiences behind a camera, to the materpieces he's produced over time and the ones he has yet to create. I dare say it may be one of the best interviews yet! But don't take my word for it - tune in to the season finale of The A List on Thursday, May 21, at 8:30 p.m. and see for yourself.

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posted by AlisonLebovitz on May 14, 2009  |  Comments(10)

A Great Night of Television

We're looking forward to a great night of television. Southern Accents starts the night at 8pm with visits to Belle Meade plantation, the Knoxville Zoo, Maple Grove Inn, and the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta.

Another local favorite, The A List, features a conversation about the Children's Holocaust Memorial and the Paper Clip Project with Linda Hooper, principal of Whitwell Middle School in Whitwell, TN.

Be sure to stay tuned for Antiques Roadshow - Chattanooga. The second of three shows taped here last summer features a military over-the-shoulder saxophone from the 19th century, a Confederate soldier's sword, and movie-marketing memorabilia.

And finally, at 10pm, a fascinating look at Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People.

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posted by shauntownley on April 9, 2009  |  Comments(0)

Comcast and Your Digital TV

Last night, Comcast made a change in the digital channel line-up for WTCI to take care of some viewer problems. Unfortunately, they didn't inform us (or the public not using their converter boxes) and our 45.1 and 45.2 signals disappeared. If you have Comcast and are using a new TV with a digital cable tuner, you will need to re-scan the channels to find WTCI's 45.1 and 45.2 signal again.

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posted by bfuqua on March 27, 2009  |  Comments(2)

Extreme Ice on Nova

Incredible images from the new NOVA: Extreme Ice, Tuesday at 8pm

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posted by shauntownley on March 21, 2009  |  Comments(0)

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