The WNET Group

Congratulations to the teams who work on "Wordsville" which received a MIPCOM 2024 Diversify TV Award for Kids Programming. The funny literacy mystery series is produced by The WNET Group Kids’ Media & Education team with Sinking Ship Entertainment ("Odd Squad", "Jane"). In seven-minute live-action stories, Word Detectives Gabby and Sly track down a key word missing in Wordsville after the disappearance has had a strange impact on the town entirely populated by kids. While solving mysteries along with the detective duo, viewers ages five to seven build their vocabulary knowledge. MIPCOM Diversify TV Awards are dedicated to championing and promoting diversity and inclusion in all its forms across the international television industry.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) grants awarded to support public media stations and regional news collaborations include grants to NJ PBS and WLIW. The grand for NJ PBS’s newsroom, NJ Spotlight News will support its partnership with the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair University and other newsrooms in the Garden State to build a “central destination” for state government news. It will be supported by reporting and a weekly video program. WLIW will be part of the WNYC-led New York Public News Network, a collaboration of 12 public media stations that will hire a full-time reporter to cover how state government policies affect New Yorkers. Other partner stations include WAMC (Albany), WBFO (Buffalo), WXXI (Rochester), and more.

This week, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) awarded grants to public media stations and NPR in seven states, including New Jersey, to enhance state government reporting. NJ PBS’s newsroom, NJ Spotlight News, will receive a grant to support its partnership with the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair University and other newsrooms in the Garden State to build a “central destination” for state government news. It will be supported by reporting and a weekly video program. https://lnkd.in/geC9GbWM

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Tammy Robinson, former Vice President and Director of Programming at The WNET Group. Tammy was dedicated to public media throughout her decades-long career, holding positions at PBS, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and WETA in Washington, D.C., where she was in charge of program planning, development, and distribution. In 1978, Tammy joined The WNET Group as Manager of Program Planning, a role she held for three years before leaving the organization, later returning in 1995 as Vice President of Programming, responsible for the development and production oversight of all national and local programming, including Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, Cyberchase, and more. Under her direction, The WNET Group produced such ambitious specials and miniseries as the "African American Lives series with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.", "Broadway: The American Musical", "Slavery and the Making of America", "DNA", "The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow", and many more over the course of her 14 years with the organization. Her many honors included an International TV Programs Award, a New York Festival Award for The Power of the Past with Bill Moyers, the Film Council of Greater Columbus Award for In Performance at the White House, a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Series for Smithsonian World: Tales of the Human Dawn, and the Catalyst Award for Broadcasting from the National Association of Minority Media Executives.

"There’s something about PBS KIDS and WNET that called to me. I love being able to do high level, hands-on activities. Really high quality. Science and social emotional work – it really resonates with me." Find out how Naimah and other parent facilitators are engaging with The Brownsville Learning Neighborhood project, a collaboration between The WNET Group and local service providers United for Brownsville, the Jeremiah Program, COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 23, and more. The project engages families and caregivers as co-designers in bringing playful learning to everyday spaces and expanding access to Ready to Learn educational resources – an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Education – for all Brownsville families through workshops and events. https://lnkd.in/eWVuwsYP

This year marked the inaugural Climate Film Festival (CFF), where the ALL ARTS film "Climate Artists: sTo Len" was honored for Best Episodic film. CFF aims to rewrite the narrative on climate change by harnessing the power of motion pictures, showcasing new and established voices, classic climate films, and human, energizing stories. Produced in partnership with The Serica Initiative, "Climate Artists" is a five-part documentary series that explores how the climate crisis informs and inspires artistic expression. Through the lens of diverse artistic mediums, the series illuminates what can happen when art intersects with environmental advocacy, and how artists can use their work to engage awareness and foster compassion for our planet. Congratulations! https://lnkd.in/dweUCWwF

The WNET Group received four awards at the 56th Annual Public Media Awards, presented by the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA). American Graduate: Jobs Explained — A National Workforce Impact Project through Local Activation won in the category Community Engagement — National Project Camp TV won in the category Content – Education Say What?! won in the category Content — Short Form The Plate Show won in the category Podcast The Public Media Awards honor NETA station members’ finest work in community engagement, content, education, marketing/communications, independent productions, and overall excellence. Congrats to the Jobs Explained and Kids’ Media & Education (KME) teams! Pictured L-R: Associate Director, Community Engagement, Kristina Kirtley, KME Executive Producer, Sandra Sheppard, Project Director, American Graduate: Jobs Explained, Aaron Siegel, Senior Director, Community Engagement, Chris Czajka.

This week marks 62 years of THIRTEEN setting the gold standard for television and providing exceptional community and educational services to the New York metropolitan area. On September 16, 1962, legendary newscaster Edward R. Murrow introduced channel13, WNDT – “New Dimensions in Television,” which would later evolve into WNET. In the inaugural broadcast, Murrow said: “Tonight, you join me on a great adventure…This instrument can teach, it can illuminate, yes, and it can even inspire, but it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends.” Thank you for joining us on this great adventure!

Congratulations to the "Nature" team! They took home three Jackson Wild Media Awards, celebrating excellence and innovation in nature, science, and conservation storytelling. https://lnkd.in/evKBpcbT #awards #awardwinner

Award-winning journalist Michael Aron passed away this week at the age of 78. Known for a majority of his career as a trusted reporter of New Jersey politics, Aron was a fixture in the Trenton press corps and respected by those representatives he scrutinized on both sides of the aisle. https://lnkd.in/eY7N9729