WEDU

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WEDU
city =
station_
station_slogan = West Central Florida's PBS Station
station_branding = WEDU
analog = 3 (VHF)
digital = 54 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = PBS
network =
founded =
airdate = October 27, 1958
location = Tampa
callsign_meaning = EDUcation
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting, Inc.
licensee =
sister_stations =
former_affiliations = NET (1958-1970)
effective_radiated_power = 100 kW (analog)
387 kW (digital)
HAAT = 473 m (analog)
453.1 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 21808
coordinates = coord|27|49|47.5|N|82|15|58.2|W|type:landmark_scale:2000 (analog)
coord|27|50|51.5|N|82|15|49.4|W|type:landmark_scale:2000 (digital)
homepage = [http://www.wedu.org/ www.wedu.org]

[http://www.edu.org/ WEDU] is a community-owned PBS television station licensee that serves 16 counties of west central Florida including the cities of Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota.

WEDU first signed on the air on October 27, 1958 and is currently viewed in 768,000 homes with 1.5 million viewers in an average week. Its [http://www.wedu.org/Content/About/Coverage_Map.pdf signal] reaches more than 1.7 million homes, or almost 4 million potential viewers, on Florida’s West Coast – serving the largest viewing area in the state of Florida and the 13th largest TV market in the United States.

WEDU has received Charity Navigator's highest rating (4-stars) for sound fiscal management for a third consecutive years; 2005, 2006, and 2007. Only 9% of non-profit organizations nationwide have received this rating.

Funding

Where does WEDU gets its funding?
Member Contributions-42% (includes individual donors, major gifts, annual fund and endowment earnings)
Program Production—21%
Underwriting—14%
In-Kind Contributions—11%
Government/Grants—12% (7% Federal, 5% State of Florida)

How $1 is spent at WEDU
Programming and Production $.52
Management and General $.07
Fundraising and Membership $.08
Broadcasting and Engineering $.33

Production Awards

WEDU received two EMMY awards in 2007 for "Central Avenue Remembered" (cultural documentary) and "Dolphin Rescue" (topical documentary).

Outreach

WEDU’s Ready to Learn service, a national educational outreach initiative funded by private donations, reaches over 650 parents and over 3,900 area children. The program distributed over 4,000 books to children in underserved areas in 2007.

Production Services

WEDU [http://www.wedu.org/Content/About/Prod_Services.aspx Media3] is committed to offering the best production facilities and customer service at competitive rates. WEDU offers quality in-studio production with two High-Definition studios and 1 Standard Definition studio, as well as the ability to uplink local television broadcasts to network stations. The Media3 technical, production & support professionals can guide clients to success through comprehensive execution both in-studio and with their HD mobile production vehicle.

Local Productions

 [http://www.wedu.org/agcj/ A Gulf Coast Journal with Jack Perkins] - Monthly highlights of the people and places that make Sarasota and west central Florida such a rich and varied community.

 [http://www.wedu.org/ftw/ Florida This Week] - Moderator Rob Lorei creates a diverse roundtable of journalists, academics, officials, and other political insiders for lively talk.

 [http://www.wedu.org/Smart_Health/ Smart Health] – Hosted by Angie Moresci looks at remarkable medical news and advances that are right here in our own 'neighborhood'.

 [http://www.wedu.org/sbf/ Suncoast Business Forum] – Hosted by Geoff Simon brings the area’s best businessmen and women and interviews them about the triumphs and inspirations that shaped them into the successes they are today.

 [http://www.wedu.org/upclose/ Up Close] – Hosted by Cathy Unruh highlights people, who have made a contribution to the west central Florida community while also looking at issues and interests of broader appeal.

Events

WEDU hosts a number of special events that help educate, inspire and entertain viewers throughout the 16 county viewing areas including:

BE More Awards™

[http://www.wedu.org/bemore/ The WEDU Be More Awards™] is a nationally-recognized, award-winning program created by the WEDU Communications Department in 2005. The WEDU Be More Awards™ is a community outreach event that generates awareness for non-profit organizations and celebrates the spirit of goodwill throughout the community.

Following three successful years, PBS national headquarters, based in Washington, D.C., took notice of the success and awareness the program generated for WEDU as well as the benefits it afforded so many non-profit organizations in the community. Shortly thereafter, the creator of the WEDU Be More Awards™, Laura Turner, was asked to present the “Be More Awards” concept at the 2006 national PBS conference and at two national conferences in 2007.

The leadership of PBS was so impressed with the program that WEDU staff has now developed a “how-to” guide for distributed to PBS affiliate stations nationally. PBS member stations throughout the United States will be producing the Be More Awards for their communities, recognizing their local non-profit organizations and unsung heroes; the event is also currently being produced in Phoenix, AZ and Denver, CO.

The WEDU Be More Awards™ program has garnered the following awards:

 2008 Florida Public Relations Image Award Winner: Best Community Relations Event 2008

 2008 Florida Public Relations Award of Distinction: Audio Visual Tools of Public Relations – "Be More Inspired" primetime television special

 2006 Florida Public Relations Grand-All Image Award Winner: Best Public Relations Campaign of the Year

 2006 Florida Public Relations Image Award Winner: Best Community Relations Program of the Year

SOJOURN™

[http://www.wedu.org/sojourn/ Sojourn™] is a black-tie, internationally-themed, award-winning wine-paired dinner gala that celebrates the wine, cuisine and culture of a different wine-producing region of the world each year. The evening begins with a reception featuring the art, dance and music of another world, complemented with a wine tasting and sumptuous gourmet morsels. A sit-down dinner follows and features indigenous foods prepared by renowned chefs, paired with some of the best wines the regions produces. After dinner, guests bid on lavish vacation getaways and collectables during an exciting live auction, followed by fine desserts and dancing to the rhythms of live main stage entertainment. Each year, Sojourn™ guests are immersed in international culture in what has been deemed by the media as the “party of the year”... and "A Trip Worth Taking."

Sojourn™ has garnered the following honors:

 2008 Florida Public Relations Image Award Winner: Best Special Event 2008

 2008 Florida Public Relations Association Grand All Image Award: Outstanding achievement above any other effort (all award categories)

 2007 PBS National Award of Excellence: Best Special Fundraising Event of the Year

 2006 Florida Public Relations Image Award Winner: Best Special Event of the Year

Digital TV

The digital channel of WEDU is multiplexed:

External links

*TVQ|WEDU
*BIA|WEDU|TV|TV
* [http://www.mcsittel.com/html/photos3.html mcsittel.com -- includes screengrabs of WEDU from the mid-1980s, picked up in Kingsport, Tennessee]