Local Content Service Report_FY2013 - WUSF

2013 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE
REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY
“I’ve always been impressed with the services.
It’s very diverse programming. It reaches out
to young people and seniors.” Tampa, FL
“I appreciate what the station does for my life,
and everyone else’s…It enriches us.” Sun City
Center, FL
Vision:
To be recognized as an innovative provider of quality content
and services that will make a difference in people’s lives.
LOCAL
VALUE
WUSF TV is a valued
member of the Tampa
Bay community serving
the citizens on Florida’s
Gulf coast and interior
counties.
WUSF TV delivers
broadcast and web
content as well as
services that make a
difference in the lives
of people in its viewing
area.
This was a year of
tremendous growth for
WUSF TV in community
engagement.
2013 KEY
SERVICES
WUSF supports three
PBS KIDS Raising
Readers Library
Corners. The Library
Corner helps kids 2 – 8
strengthen their
literacy skills using
interactive media,
resources and books
from popular PBS KIDS
shows. We plan to
expand further in 2014.
WUSF sponsored the
screening event for
“Florida Wildlife
Corridor Expedition:
Everglades to
Okefenokee”
LOCAL
IMPACT
WUSF TV local services
had deep impact in the
Tampa Bay area.
WUSF is the only
television station that
provides PBS
programming to the
community with a
commercial-free, 24/7
children’s channel.
2013 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT
IN THE COMMUNITY
During 2013, WUSF TV engaged in several initiatives that brought entertaining and informative content as well as
much needed services to the Tampa Bay region. Our key initiatives follow:
Martha Speaks Reading Buddies
The Martha Speaks Reading Buddies program is an innovative cross-age literacy curriculum that uses explicit oral
vocabulary instruction, media resources, and engaging activities, to improve vocabulary knowledge and foster a love
of reading in elementary age children. It is a companion piece to the popular PBS children’s series, Martha Speaks.
In the spring of 2013, WUSF partnered with two Pinellas County schools in a statewide research project aimed at
evaluating the effectiveness of the Martha Speaks Reading Buddies program. WUSF continues to support the
program for 2013-2014 in three area Title 1 schools.
Florida PBS Learning Media
WUSF and other public TV stations in Florida are deploying PBS Learning Media, the innovative and extensive digital
education library launched by PBS in 2011. In 2013 area educators were introduced to the website and encouraged
to register for free webinars highlighting the service and the newest promotional campaigns.
WUSF is working in collaboration with the other public TV stations in Florida.
PBS KIDS Mobile Learning Program
WUSF Public Media, in collaboration with PBS, distributed free learning apps to preschool-aged children in
underserved communities. Apps related to the children’s series “Dinosaur Train” and “Martha Speaks” were
provided to local pre-K programs, afterschool care, daycare centers, public libraries and church organizations.
2013 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT
IN THE COMMUNITY
During 2013, WUSF TV engaged in the following Production Activities:
Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition: Everglades to Okefenokee
WUSF worked with independent filmmaker Elam Stolzfus to produce the documentary Florida Wildlife Corridor
Expedition: Everglades to Okefenokee and partnered with the Tampa Bay History Center on a wildlife photography
exhibit about the trek. Several hundred people attended a premiere screening inside the Tampa Bay History Center
that was hosted by WUSF Public Media, in partnership with the Tampa Bay History Center. They were treated to
appearances by the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition team - Carlton Ward Jr., a nature photographer from Tampa;
filmmaker Elam Stoltzfus of Blountstown, in Florida's Panhandle; bear biologist Joe Guthrie of the University of
Kentucky; and Tampa's Mallory Lykes Dimmitt, who now works with the Nature Conservancy's Colorado Plateau
Initiative in Telluride, Colorado.
The documentary had its broadcast premiere March 28th on WUSF Public Television. Subsequently, it was distributed
nationally for broadcast.
Vedettes y Rumberas
WUSF held two screening events (one in St. Petersburg and one in Miami) of the short documentary “Vedettes y
Rumberas” sponsored by the Florida Humanities Council. The “Vedettes y Rumberas” is a short documentary film
about the lives of a unique group of Latina artists/dancers, called rumberas in film or vedettes in theater or cabaret,
during the 1930s through the 1950s. During the screening events, a panel discussion and live dance demonstration
followed the film. The Miami screening event was done in Spanish.
To view the documentary, click the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-8dExdlPU8
2013 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT
IN THE COMMUNITY
University Beat is a television program that focuses on the research
and work at the University of South Florida and how it benefits the
region, the state, and the world around us.
Each week, reporter Mark Schreiner looks at the latest USF efforts in
medicine, engineering, education, arts and sciences and explores
other programs that reach out to both students and the community.
During 2013, University Beat covered topics such as the search for
answers about mysterious deaths at the Dozier School for Boys, a
preview of the musical “Hairspray” by the USF School of Theater and
Dance, USF PhD students wearing superhero costumes to teach
elementary school students science, technology, engineering, and
math, and research on the learning pattern of piano students by the
USF School of Music and the Department of Communication Sciences.
In 2013, WUSF produced 25 TV episodes.
USF researches look for answers regarding mysterious deaths at the
Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida.
Superheroes “MegaByte, Sublimation, and Super Conductor” teach
students.
“Hairspray,” performed by USF School of Theatre and Dance.
Piano training used to research how we learn.
2013 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT
STORIES OF IMPACT
Angelina Ballerina Artist Residency
The Angelina Ballerina Artist Residency project, inspired by PBS
Kids’ Angelina Ballerina, The Next Steps, nurtures the creative
drive and passion in young people through the art of dance.
WUSF enjoys the opportunity to enhance education, promote
diversity, and help develop life skills for the children in a
neighborhood identified as one of the neediest in Pinellas
County.
For a second year, WUSF Public Media partnered with the Artz 4
Life Academy’s summer camp program in Clearwater by
supporting an Angelina Ballerina Artist Residency project where
children were introduced to ballet. The artist in residence and
instructor, Sir Brock Warren, was once a student at the Artz 4
Life Academy and remains strongly committed to serving the
community where he was raised. Sir Brock Warren has a BFA in
Dance from the Boston Conservatory of Music. Although he now
lives and performs in New York City, he returns to Clearwater,
Florida each summer to participate in this program.
Jai Hinson, founder and executive director of the Artz 4 Life
Academy shares:
“We love the partnership with WUSF TV. They have been
wonderful in providing resources and encouraging us and
inspiring us, and bringing these resources to the community.
We’re excited and we look forward to many more
opportunities.”
2013 LOCAL
2013 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT
STORIES OF IMPACT
11 LOCAL CONTENT202012 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT
AD S
RICE
PBS KIDS Raising Readers Library Corners
The PBS KIDS Raising Readers Library Corner initiative is a
community outreach project that places high-quality educational
materials directly into the hands of librarians, children, and
families in low-income communities.
WUSF Public Media supports PBS KIDS Raising Readers Library
Corners in two area public libraries and we are pleased to have
recently established our first Library Corner in a Title 1
elementary school in Pinellas County. Woodlawn Elementary is
utilizing the space and materials in a number of ways including
providing student incentives for positive behavior, introducing
kindergarteners to the media center, and featuring materials
during book fairs.
Monica Taylor, media specialist at Woodlawn Elementary,
states:
“We are excited to have the support and activities provided by
WUSF. The reading corner they provided is a bright addition to
our library. The incentives and activities will make this a great
area for our new students, after school, as well as other times
during the school year. Thanks!”
Special Holiday Event
In December, WUSF held special holiday
events at two of our Library Corner locations,
Woodlawn Elementary School and North
Tampa Public Library. Youngsters enjoyed a
screening of The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot
About Christmas, treats, and hands-on
activities, including themed holiday
ornaments and coloring pages.
2013 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT
SUMMARY
WUSF TV has touched the lives of many. Read the fantastic member comments for 2013:

You do a great job with programming (such as this special Elvis Aloha Hawaii) – I’ve been meaning to
give a monthly donation during your campaigns because I’ve been an avid a.m. morning listener
during my commute to work every day (NPR News). I’m happy to say this “presentation” has spurred
me into action. Thanks!, Lutz, FL

Without a doubt – the best programming ever. New Port Richey, FL

I can always count on the station to have something good! New Port Richey, FL

WUSF is an invaluable station. I love it. St. Petersburg, FL

I love Bill Moyers, Tavis Smiley, Charlie Rose, Macneil Lehrer. – Keep up the great work. New Port
Richey, FL

Love the travel programs. Thonotosassa, FL

I love the program – Have been watching since I was a child. Nokomis, FL
WUSF has a very busy year planned for 2014. We have the following outreach activities planned:

Two new Martha Speaks Reading Buddies school programs

Installation of four PBS KIDS Raising Readers Library Corners

Participation in the Servapalooza event in Polk County by bringing a PBS character to the event to
encourage children to read

Local interstitials featuring Latino Americans and Ybor City’s Latino heritage

The Address project encouraging Americans to memorize the Gettysburg Address; we will record
USF students reciting the address and post to the project’s website

A screening event of the local program “JFK in Tampa: The 50th Anniversary” from an
independent producer. The screening will take place at a local historic movie theater (The Tampa
Theater). WUSF again will partner with the Tampa Bay History Center and the producer to create
an exhibit of items collected from Kennedy’s visit to Tampa in November 1963.