WYBE

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WYBE is also the callsign of low-power station WYBE-CA of Pinehurst, North Carolina.
WYBE
Image:Wybe logo.jpg
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Branding WYBE
Slogan Real diversity, real public television.
Channels 35 (UHF) analog,
34 (UHF) digital
Affiliations Ind/Public
Owner Independence Public Media of Philadelphia, Inc.
Founded June 10, 1990
Call letters meaning World You Believe and Embrace
Website www.wybe.org

WYBE is a public television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It first sign on was June 10, 1990. WYBE's transmitter and offices are located in the Andorra section of Philadelphia, in the Schuylkill River valley. The channel was previously occupied by WHYY-TV starting in 1957. Their analog Channel 35 had been dormant nearly full-time since WHYY-TV moved its city of license and frequency to Channel 12 in nearby Wilmington, Delaware in 1963. The station is owned and operated by Independence Public Media of Philadelphia (also known as Independence Media).

Contents

[edit] Station history

One of a group of independent public television stations in the United States not affiliated with the Public Broadcasting Service, WYBE serves a broadcast area with more than one PBS member already in place. WYBE's mission is to represent the underserved with programs cultivated to as many nationalities as possible. Evidence of this mission includes five different local talk shows that air weekly, each on a different weeknight. Among these programs are Gente (for the Hispanic community), Shades of Opinion (African-American), Asian Outlook, and Global Lens. The station also runs brokered ethnic programs, and features an array of syndicated programming produced for public television, including foreign-language programming from Deutsche Welle and other sources, and an array of community-based talk shows.

For seven years (1998-2004), WYBE was led by general manager Sherri Hope Culver, a former employee at NJN. During her tenure the station drafted its first multiyear Strategic Plan, transitioned from analog to digital television, and increased its production of original programming more than 120%. Many productions explored issues relating to cultural diversity such as Global Lens, Culture Trek and The Tolerance Project. WYBE also began producing one of the only weekly series highlighting independent films with Philadelphia Stories and a nightly, live, call-in show, Philly Live. During Culver's tenure, the station was recognized with several national Telly Awards, Emmy nominations and a special screening at the Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. The WYBE World Heritage Council Initiative was a ground-breaking community outreach effort developed by Culver and funded by the William Penn Foundation to enhance WYBE’s civic partnerships and service, specifically among the city’s diverse ethnic communities. Her efforts were featured in a cover story for The Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday magazine in November 1998. Early in her tenure there was some controversy among longtime staffers regarding her management,[1] but in subsequent years, this subsided. Frequent turnover of staff has been a problem throughout the station's history, especially surrounding the firing or hiring of a new general manager, which happened quite frequently during the station's early years.

American Public Television and NETA are among the prime sources for shows. Sometimes WYBE made its mark with minor milestones; it was the last station ever to air Wish*a*roo Park on June 5, 2001. On the flip side, WYBE was the first American station to air the Australian series The Shapies, with the initial airing on March 3, 2004. In the moments leading up to The Shapies U.S. debut, WYBE ran a clip of The Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

[edit] Address

8200 Ridge Avenue
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19128

[edit] Logo Gallery

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Change of Focus", Philadelphia City Paper, May 20-27, 1999

[edit] External links