Louisiana Public Broadcasting
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Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service (
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
)
member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...
television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
s serving the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. The stations are operated by the Louisiana Educational Television Authority, an agency created by the executive department of the Louisiana
state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
which holds the
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for six of the seven PBS member stations licensed in the state. Louisiana Public Broadcasting's studio facilities and offices are located on Perkins Road in
Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...
. The network serves most of the state outside
Greater New Orleans The New Orleans metropolitan area, designated the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, or simply Greater New Orleans (french: Grande Nouvelle-Orléans, es, Gran Nueva Orleans), is a me ...
. That market's PBS member station,
WYES-TV WYES-TV, virtual channel 12 (VHF digital channel 11), is a Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) member television station licensed to New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The station is owned by the Greater New Orleans Educational Television Fou ...
(channel 12), is the only PBS station in Louisiana that is not associated with LPB; a
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independent station An independent station is an independent radio or terrestrial television station which is independent in some way from broadcast networks. The definition of "independence" varies from country to country, reflecting governmental regulations, market ...
there, WLAE-TV (channel 32), is part-owned by LPB in order to provide the market with the state network's news and public affairs programming.


History

Louisiana became one of the first states in the
Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...
with an
educational television Educational television or learning television is the use of television programs in the field of distance education. It may be in the form of individual television programs or dedicated specialty channels that is often associated with cable telev ...
station licensed to the state when KLSE signed on from Monroe on March 1, 1957.
Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
professor Lucille Woodward had urged
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Robert Kennon Robert Floyd Kennon Sr. (August 21, 1902 – January 11, 1988), was an American politician and judge who served as the 48th governor of Louisiana, an associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, a judge of the Louisiana Second Circuit Cour ...
to create an Educational Television Commission as part of the State Department of Education, and KLSE was intended as the first station in a statewide educational television network along the lines of Alabama Educational Television (now
Alabama Public Television Alabama Public Television (APT) is a state network of PBS member television stations serving the U.S. state of Alabama. It is operated by the Alabama Educational Television Commission (AETC), an agency of the Alabama state government which ho ...
). However, KLSE signed off the air in 1964. For the next eleven years, the only area of the state with a clear signal from a
National Educational Television National Educational Television (NET) was an American non-commercial educational, educational terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Ford Foundation and later co-owned by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It o ...
or PBS station was New Orleans, which was served by
WYES-TV WYES-TV, virtual channel 12 (VHF digital channel 11), is a Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) member television station licensed to New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The station is owned by the Greater New Orleans Educational Television Fou ...
. That station had signed on one month after KLSE, but was separately owned and operated. Woodward continued to urge the
Louisiana State Legislature The Louisiana State Legislature (french: Législature d'État de Louisiane) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 represen ...
not to drop the idea of educational television service in the state during the 1960s. Finally, in 1971, the recently created Louisiana Educational Television Authority approved the money to build and sign on the stations. On September 6, 1975, WLPB-TV in
Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...
debuted as the state's first PBS member station outside New Orleans. Five more stations launched throughout the state, extending LPB's signal to portions of
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
,
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
and
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
: KLTM-TV in Monroe signed on in September 1976, followed by KLTS-TV in
Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...
in August 1978, KLPB-TV in
Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757 ...
, KLTL-TV in Lake Charles in May 1981 and finally, KLPA-TV in
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in July 1983. In 1985, Shreveport native and longtime Baton Rouge resident Beth Courtney was named president and CEO of Louisiana Public Broadcasting, a capacity she remains in to this day. LPB began broadcasting in
stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
in 1990. In 2001, LPB launched a cable-only channel, LPB Kids & You, on cable channel 11 in Baton Rouge. The channel, a predecessor to LPB 2, aired children's programming during prime time (atypical for PBS stations, which normally air children's programs only during the daytime hours) and adult and creative programs during the daytime hours. When PBS You and PBS Kids ceased operations in 2005, the channel became LPB Plus and expanded its cable coverage to Lafayette. In 2008, the service changed its name to LPB 2. Since 2009, Louisiana Public Broadcasting has added records of digitized audiovisual recordings to the
American Archive of Public Broadcasting The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and WGBH Educational Foundation, founded through the efforts of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The AAPB is a national effort to digitall ...
via external links to the
Louisiana Digital Media Archive The Louisiana Digital Media Archive (LDMA) is an archive containing both the Louisiana State Archives' Multimedia Collection and the Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) Digital Collection. It endeavors to preserve as well as provide public access to ...
.


Programming

Louisiana Public Broadcasting's flagship news program is ''Louisiana: The State We're In'', which debuted in 1976. For nineteen years, political consultant, raconteur, and author
Gus Weill Gus Weill, Sr. (March 12, 1933 – April 13, 2018), was an American author, public relations specialist, and political consultant originally from Lafayette, Louisiana, Lafayette, Louisiana. Background Weill graduated in 1955 from Louisiana Sta ...
hosted the acclaimed ''Louisiana Legends'' program on the state network. Among the original programs that LPB has produced includes ''
Evangeline ''Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie'' is an epic poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in English and published in 1847. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during t ...
'', which was broadcast by PBS stations throughout the United States and educational stations in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in 2000. '' A Taste of Louisiana'' and one of Justin Wilson's cooking series were also produced by LPB. LPB carries, as well as produces, programs distributed by PBS,
American Public Television American Public Television (APT) is an American nonprofit organization and syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States. It distributes public television programs nationwide for PBS member stations and independ ...
and other distributors. In April 2016, LPB announced a content partnership with
TFO TFO is a Canadian French language educational television channel and media organization serving the province of Ontario. It is owned by the Ontario French-language Educational Communications Authority (OTELFO), a Crown corporation owned by the ...
, a
French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
public broadcaster owned by the Canadian province of
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, under which it will supply fourteen hours per-week of French-language children's programming for airing on LPB2. The partnership is designed to appeal to Louisiana's strong French heritage and
French immersion French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which students who do not speak French as a first language will receive instruction in French. In most French-immersion schools, students will learn to speak French and learn most subjects s ...
programs.


Hurricane coverage

During coverage of major hurricanes affecting the state (as has happened with Hurricanes
Katrina Katrina or Katrine may refer to: People * Katrina (given name) * Katrine (given name) Meteorology * List of storms named Katrina, a list of tropical cyclones designated as Katrina ** Hurricane Katrina, an exceptionally powerful Atlantic hurrican ...
in 2005 and
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in 2008), LPB's Baton Rouge facilities are used by New Orleans
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
affiliate
WWL-TV WWL-TV (channel 4) is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Slidell-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WUPL (channel 54). Both stations share studios on Rampart St ...
(channel 4) as a backup studio to provide additional news coverage from the station inland, and act as the station's main set should WWL-TV be unable to broadcast from its Rampart Street facilities in New Orleans. As part of this agreement, WWL's coverage airs across the entire LPB network to provide a statewide conduit for news and information from a well-established news organization.


COVID-19 events

In response to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, LPB started "Learning@Home" in partnership with the Louisiana Department of Education. The goal is to help students in grades Pre-K through 12 stay at home more educated and productive.


Stations

*1. WLPB did not use the -TV suffix from 1980 to 1981. *2. KLTM did not use the -TV suffix until 1981. *3. KLTS did not use the -TV suffix until 1981. *4. KLPB did not use the -TV suffix during its construction permit from 1979 to 1981. *5. KLPA did not use the -TV suffix during its construction permit from 1980 to 1981.


Technical information


Subchannels

The stations' digital channels are
multiplexed In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...
:


Analog-to-digital conversion

Louisiana Public Broadcasting's stations shut down their analog signals at 7:00 a.m. on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The stations' digital channel allocations post-transition are as follows: * WLPB-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 27; the station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 25. Through the use of
PSIP The Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) is the MPEG (a video and audio industry group) and privately defined program-specific information originally defined by General Instrument for the DigiCipher 2 system and later extended for the AT ...
, digital television receivers display the station's
virtual channel In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the ''program number'' as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered via digits on a receiver's ...
as its former UHF analog channel 27. * KLTM-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 13; the station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 19 to VHF channel 13. * KLTS-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 24; the station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 25. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 24. * KLPB-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 23; the station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 24. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 23. * KLTL-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 18; the station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 20. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as 18.x . * KLPA-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 26; the station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 25. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 26. As a result of the FCC spectrum auction, KLPA-TV and KLTS were to change channels in their respective markets again; KLTS will be on channel 17, and KLPA-TV is now on channel 33.


See also

*
Louisiana Digital Media Archive The Louisiana Digital Media Archive (LDMA) is an archive containing both the Louisiana State Archives' Multimedia Collection and the Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) Digital Collection. It endeavors to preserve as well as provide public access to ...
*
American Archive of Public Broadcasting The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and WGBH Educational Foundation, founded through the efforts of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The AAPB is a national effort to digitall ...


References


External links

*
American Archive of Public Broadcasting - LPB Collection
{{Authority control Television stations in Louisiana PBS member networks Television channels and stations established in 1975 1975 establishments in Louisiana