History
Louisiana was one of the first states in the Deep South with an educational television station within its borders when KLSE signed on from Monroe on March 1, 1957. LSU professor Lucille Woodward had urged Governor Robert Kennon 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. However, KLSE went off the air in 1964. For the next 11 years, the only area of the state with a clear signal from a National Educational Television or PBS station was New Orleans, served by WYES-TV. That station had signed on a month after KLSE, but was separately owned and operated.
Woodward continued to urge the state not to drop the idea of educational television during the 1960s. Finally, in 1971, the recently-created Educational Television Authority approved the money to launch the stations. On September 6, 1975, WLPB-TV in Baton Rouge began as the state's first PBS station outside New Orleans. From 1976 to 1983, five more stations appeared throughout the state, extending LPB's signal to portions of Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas.
LPB's flagship news program is Louisiana: The State We're In, which has aired since 1976. LPB started broadcasting in stereo in 1990.
For nineteen years, the political consultant, raconteur, and author Gus Weill hosted the acclaimed "Louisiana Legends" program on LPB.
Among the original programs it has produced is Evangeline, which was broadcast by PBS stations throughout the United States and Canada in 2000. One of Justin Wilson's cooking series was also produced by LPB.
Since 1985, Beth Courtney, a native of Shreveport and long-time resident of Baton Rouge, has been president and CEO of LPB.
In 2001, LPB premiered a new 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 and adult and creative programs during daytime. When PBS U and PBS Kids went out of business in 2005, the channel became "LPB Plus" and later aired on Lafayette cable, as well. In 2008, the changed its name to the current LPB 2.
On June 12, 2009 LPB's stations turned off their analog signals at 7:00am after an episode of "Martha Speaks."
Read more about this topic: Louisiana Public Broadcasting
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