Georgia Public Broadcasting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) is the public radio and television network in the U.S. state of Georgia. It operates all of the PBS and NPR stations in Georgia, except WPBA-TV, WABE-FM and WCLK-FM in Atlanta, WFSL-FM in Thomasville (which relays WFSQ-FM from Tallahassee, Florida), and WTJB-FM in Columbus (which relays WTSU from Troy, Alabama).
GPB began in 1960 when the University of Georgia began WGTV, Georgia's second public television station (after WETV, now WPBA). From 1960 to 1964, in a separate initiative, the state Board of Education started up eight noncommercial educational stations across the state, aimed at in-school instruction. In 1965, the university and the board merged their efforts as Georgia Educational Television (GETV). It became Georgia Public Television (GPTV) in 1982, a year after the state legislature transferred authority for the stations to the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission, the oversight board for GPB.
In 1984, the Commission entered public radio for the first time, starting stations in Macon and Columbus. These formed the nuclei of Peach State Public Radio, renamed Georgia Public Radio in 2001, in an effort to shed its self from its southern roots and membership in the south has declined ever since.
During the 1980s and 1990s, stations that had been operated by other educational institutions and community groups became affiliated with the network.
On January 1, 2004, the two networks officially became known as Georgia Public Broadcasting, which had been the official corporate name since 1995. The name now serves as an umbrella title for all GPB operations. Its headquarters and primary production facility is on Fourteenth Street in Midtown Atlanta, just west of the Downtown Connector.
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[edit] GPB Radio
GPB Radio broadcasts 24 hours per day on several FM stations across the state, except in Atlanta. The network had a translator station in Atlanta (callsign W264AE) on 100.7 FM with a tower located downtown. However, it was forced to go silent when a full-power station (WWWQ-FM) moved in from Anniston, Ala. on an adjacent channel. Little notice of this was taken, however, because metropolitan Atlanta listeners overwhelmingly preferred WABE, with a clearer and stronger signal and more concentrated focus on the city in news and arts coverage.
Still, GPB Radio can still be heard on the second audio program (SAP) of GPB TV at most times. It reaches nearly all of Georgia plus parts of Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Some stations have some locally-produced programming.
GPB Radio stations in southern and southeastern Georgia also relay hurricane information for listeners approaching or leaving Georgia's Atlantic Coast or Florida's Gulf Coast. Signs along interstate and major highways in the region direct the evacuee to the nearest GPB Radio station carrying the emergency information.
[edit] Radio stations
- WJSP-FM 88.1 Warm Springs/Columbus (flagship station)--signal reaches all of west central Georgia, the southwestern part of metropolitan Atlanta, and portions of east central Alabama, traveling in a 55-mile radius.
- WMUM-FM 89.7 Cochran/Macon--signal reaches all of the geographical center of the state, traveling in a 60-mile radius.
- WSVH FM 91.1 Savannah--signal reaches the upper part of the Georgia Atlantic Coast, traveling in a 60-mile radius.
- WWIO-FM 88.9 Brunswick--signal reaches the lower part of the Georgia Atlantic Coast, traveling in a 40-mile radius. Relays WSVH.
- WWIO AM 1190 St. Marys--daytime signal reaches the lower part of the Georgia Atlantic Coast, south towards Jacksonville. Relays WSVH.
- WUGA FM 91.7/97.9 Athens--signal travels in a 35-mile radius around Athens in northeastern Georgia.
- WACG-FM 90.7 Augusta--signal reaches a good portion of east central Georgia and west central South Carolina.
- WUNV FM 91.7 Albany--signal travels in a 40-mile radius around Albany in southwestern Georgia.
- WWET FM 91.7 Valdosta--signal travels in a 20-mile radius, serving Brooks, Lanier and Echols counties in extreme southern Georgia.
- WUWG FM 90.7 Carrollton--signal travels in a 20-mile radius, serving Carroll and Haralson counties in western Georgia.
- WPPR FM 88.3 Demorest--signal travels in a 30-mile radius, serving several counties in northeastern Georgia.
- WNGU FM 89.5 Dahlonega--signal travels in a 30-mile radius, serving several counties in north central Georgia.
- WJWV FM 90.9 Fort Gaines--signal travels in a 40-mile radius, serving the Chattahoochee Valley region of southwestern Georgia and southeastern Alabama.
- WGPB-FM 97.7 Rome--signal travels in about a 35-mile radius, serving the area immediately northwestward of the Atlanta metropolitan area. This is a Georgia Public Broadcasting radio station in the commercial portion of the FM band.
- WNGH-FM 98.9 Chatsworth--signal travels in about a 40-mile radius, serving Dalton and the area immediately northwestward of the Atlanta metropolitan area. This is a Georgia Public Broadcasting radio station in the commercial portion of the FM band. It is also the newest GPB radio station, which switched to the GPB network on January 2, 2008.
- WABR FM 91.1 Tifton--signal travels in a 40-mile radius around Tifton in south central Georgia.
- WXVS-FM 90.1 Waycross--signal travels in a 50-mile radius around Waycross in southeastern Georgia.
In addition to the immediate territory around the city of Atlanta, the southwestern part of the state, particularly in the areas of Thomasville, Bainbridge and Pelham, do not receive GPB Radio service. This region instead receive public radio service from WFSU-FM in Tallahassee, Florida; and WFSL-FM in Thomasville, which repeats WFSU's sister station, WFSQ.
[edit] GPB Television
GPB Television broadcasts PBS and GPB programming 24 hours per day on nine GPTC-owned stations across the state, plus numerous low-power LPTV broadcast translator stations (especially in the state's mountainous northeastern counties). The Descriptive Video Service can be heard on the SAP channel when the current program offers it, and GPB Radio can be heard when it does not. It reaches nearly all of Georgia, plus parts of Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee. All stations are rebroadcasters, simulcasting at all times. Georgia-based programming includes Gardening in Georgia, Georgia Backroads,Georgia's Business,Georgia Outdoors,Georgia Traveler, and many more.
[edit] Television stations
Each of GPB's television stations identifies itself with two locations -- usually, the smaller community where the station is licensed by the FCC (almost always the transmitter location) and the larger city it serves. The exceptions are WVAN and WJSP, which are actually licensed in major Georgia cities: WVAN is licensed to Savannah, while WJSP is licensed to Columbus. However, in order to conform to the pattern, GPB lists the locations for the stations' transmitters as the second city.
This rule only applies to the television stations, not to those on radio, which, except for two, bear only the location of the transmitter.
As of 2008, the GPB television stations are:
| Station | City of license (Transmitter location) |
Channel (Analog / Digital) |
Founded | ERP (Analog / Digital) |
HAAT (Analog / Digital) |
Transmitter coordinates | FCC Facility ID |
| WGTV | Athens (Atlanta) | 8 (VHF) 12 (VHF) |
May 23, 1960 | 316 kW 15 kW |
326 m 316.7 m |
23948 | |
| WXGA-TV | Waycross (Valdosta) | 8 (VHF) 9 (VHF) |
December 4, 1961 | 316 kW 20 kW |
314 m 286 m |
23929 | |
| WVAN-TV | Savannah (Pembroke) | 9 (VHF) 13 (VHF) |
September 16, 1963 | 316 kW 20 kW |
320 m 293 m |
23947 | |
| WABW-TV | Pelham (Albany) | 14 (UHF) 5 (VHF) |
January 2, 1967 | 5000 kW 3.8 kW |
378 m 474 m |
23917 | |
| WNGH-TV3 | Chatsworth (Dalton) | 18 (UHF) 28 (UHF) |
January 30, 1967 | 5000 kW 426 kW |
564 m 537 m |
23942 | |
| WCES-TV | Wrens (Augusta) | 20 (UHF) 2 (VHF) |
September 12, 1966 | 4790 kW 30 kW |
452 m 436 m |
23937 | |
| WACS-TV 1 | Dawson (Americus) | 25 (UHF) 8 (VHF) |
March 6, 1967 | 501 kW 6 kW |
329 m 313 m |
23930 | |
| WJSP-TV | Columbus (Warm Springs) |
28 (UHF) 23 (UHF) |
August 10, 1964 | 5000 kW 250 kW |
461 m 462 m |
23918 | |
| WMUM-TV 2 | Cochran (Macon) | 29 (UHF) 7 (VHF) |
January 1, 1968 | 5000 kW 22 kW |
350 m 369 m |
23935 |
- Footnotes
1 WACS-TV has been off the air since March 1, 2007, due to a tower collapse caused by a tornado.
2 At the time of its sign-on in 1968, WMUM-TV was known as WDCO-TV and broadcasted on channel 15. WDCO-TV moved to channel 29 in 1990, and changed to its current call letters in 2006.
3 At the time of its sign-on in 1967, WNGH-TV was known as WCLP-TV, which changed to its current call letters in 2008.
[edit] Digital television
WGTV, WXGA-TV, and WVAN-TV are the only GPB stations which have commenced digital television operations. According to AntennaWeb.org ([1]), the other six stations will begin digital broadcasting in July 2008. The ERP/HAAT figures listed within the table for those stations are based on those listed in the stations' individual Wikipedia articles.
Currently, GPB broadcasts only one digital feed:
| Sub-channel | Programming |
|---|---|
| xx.1 | main GPB/PBS programming |
[edit] Post-analog shutdown
After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009: [1]
- WGTV, WXGA-TV, and WVAN-TV will move their digital broadcasts back to their respective analog channel numbers (8, 8, and 9); [2] [3] [4]
- WABW-TV and WCES-TV will each use channel 6 for their digital broadcasts; [5] [6]
- WACS-TV, WNGH-TV, WJSP-TV, and WMUM-TV will remain on their respective, pre-transition channel numbers (8, 33, 23, and 7). [7] [8] [9] [10]
Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display virtual channels for each GPB station corresponding to their present analog channel numbers.
[edit] Translators
Several low-power translator stations are found in the hilly and mountainous terrain of northern Georgia. These include:
- Carnesville, channel 52--signal reaches parts of Franklin County in northeastern Georgia.
- Carrollton, channel 49--signal reaches parts of Carroll County in northwestern Georgia.
- Cedartown, channel 65--signal reaches parts of Polk and Floyd counties in northwestern Georgia.
- Draketown, channel 27--signal reaches parts of Haralson and Paulding counties in northwestern Georgia.
- Elberton, channel 60--signal reaches parts of Elbert County in northeastern Georgia.
- Flintstone, Channel 51--Signal reaches parts of Walker, Dade, and Catoosa Counties in Northwestern Georgia, as well as parts of Hamilton County and Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- Hartwell, channel 22--signal reaches parts of Hart County in northeastern Georgia.
- Hiawassee, channel 50--signal reaches parts of Towns and Rabun counties in northeastern Georgia.
- LaFayette, channel 35--signal reaches parts of Walker and Dade counties in northwestern Georgia.
- Toccoa, channel 68--signal reaches parts of Stephens and Habersham counties in northeastern Georgia.
- Young Harris, channel 4--signal reaches parts of Towns and Union counties in northeastern Georgia.
[edit] GPB Education
GPB Education (formerly known as Peachstar) serves state agencies and the Georgia learning community through the use of telecommunications technology. GPB delivers high-quality educational programming that reflects state standards to Georgia classrooms using the GPB satellite network, open-air television, and the GPB video streaming portal. GPB provides professional development to Georgia educators through face-to-face trainings, satellite-delivered programs, and interactive webcasts. GPB also meets the training needs of state agencies through its video production, satellite broadcast, and interactive webcasting services, as well as through its extensive digital library.
[edit] References
- ^ http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf
- ^ http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101231184&formid=387&fac_num=23948
- ^ http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101231191&formid=387&fac_num=23929
- ^ http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101231189&formid=387&fac_num=23947
- ^ http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101231176&formid=387&fac_num=23917
- ^ http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101231181&formid=387&fac_num=23937
- ^ http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101231178&formid=387&fac_num=23930
- ^ http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101231182&formid=387&fac_num=23942
- ^ http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101231187&formid=387&fac_num=23918
- ^ http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101231188&formid=387&fac_num=23935
[edit] External links
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WJSP-FM
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WACG-FM
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WUNV-FM
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WWET-FM
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WPPR-FM
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WNGU-FM
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WJWV-FM
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WABR-FM
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WXVS-FM
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