Image by Thinkstock
The Community Idea Stations, a network of three radio and three television stations in Central Virginia, has launched a new 24/7 PBS Kids Channel on television and online, as part of its efforts to expand its services to children and families. The new channel, which first appeared in late July, is available on channel 57.2, on the Comcast PBS K channel or online at ideastations.org/pbskids.
In addition, public radio station WCVE 88.9 FM is in the initial stages of expanding local news production, with the hiring of a multimedia journalist to report on local government and education “so we can better cover issues important to our local community,” says Lisa Tait, vice president for development and marketing at the Community Idea Stations.
Both initiatives received funding after the $181.9 million sale of two Northern Virginia television stations in a Federal Communications Commission spectrum auction by Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corp., the parent of Community Idea Stations. Most of that huge payout is now in the hands of a new foundation, being invested for long-term stability, but Tait says Commonwealth Public Broadcasting retained $10 million and has invested that, with the understanding that 5 percent of those assets will be used annually to fund the stations’ mission.
