East Tennessee PBS is excited to announce a recent expansion to its offering of news, documentaries, educational and fact-based informational programming with the re-launch of the WORLD channel.
WETP World is set to launch in October 2020 and can be found as channel 15.4 for most viewers. The station is finalizing additional funding needs for the new channel, which will provide a dedicated platform for k-12 educational programming, which is especially crucial given the events of 2020.
“As we have seen this year, emergencies and disasters can strike without warning, causing schools to close and educators to need a way to fill the learning gaps among their student populations,” said etpbs President & CEO Vickie Lawson. “With our new WORLD Education channel, etpbs will be able to support learning efforts with curriculum-based programs that are relevant and important to students’ overall learning needs.”
Popular programs on WORLD include America Re:Framed, Reel South, Stories from the Stage, and docWorld. The new WORLD channel will also be home to East Tennessee PBS’ five years of curriculum-based mathematics content in our original show Mathline, with local educator Ernie Roberts.
“Virtual learning can present many challenges for students and parents,” said Lawson. “We have the infrastructure and partnerships in place to supplement these efforts, whether students are not responding well to virtual instruction, or need additional assistance but don’t have access to tutoring.”
“Often, there is a need for parents to have training and support as well, including helping them understand how to best be their child’s tutor,” Lawson went on to say.
Plans are in the works, as East Tennessee PBS expands its Education Department, to have an educator on staff who serves as a liaison with area school systems. This person in this position would help the station to better understand the needs of educators and ensure curriculum is corresponding with what is being taught in the classroom.
“PBS has a wealth of free educational resources, including the curriculum-based materials from PBS LearningMedia and PBS Teachers, but we have to make sure the right materials are reaching the right individuals when they need them,” said Lawson.
In addition to offering educational content for school-aged students, etpbs is bringing back the WORLD channel also supports lifetime learning in all populations, particularly in the quality documentaries, as well as world news, which offer an outside perspective.
WORLD shares the best of public media in news, documentaries and fact-based informational
programming that helps viewers understand conflicts, movements and cultures that may be distinct from their own. Its original content examines issues too often ignored by mainstream media by sharing stories from a diversity of voices.
“As with everything else, we expect our programming and offerings to evolve over time, as we keep reassessing the needs of the area. We’re proud to be able to serve our community in this way and privileged to have the support of community that enable us to do this work.” said Lawson.
“East Tennessee PBS is committed to serving the citizens of our region and we look forward to working with new partners during this challenging time to provide instructional educational programs to the students of our state,” said Vickie Lawson, who is also Chairman of Tennessee Public Television Council. “This expansion of our channel offerings is another example of Public Television’s willingness to serve when needed.”
Donations and sponsorships to etpbs’ The World Educational Channel are being accepted. Contact Barbara Shipley, Chief Development Officer at bshipley@EastTennsseePBS.org or 865-595-0244.
About WORLD Channel:
WORLD shares the best of public media in news, documentaries and fact-based informational
programming that helps us understand conflicts, movements and cultures that may be distinct from our own. Its original content examines issues too often ignored by mainstream media by sharing stories from a diversity of voices. WORLD has won a Peabody Award, an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award, a National News and Documentary Emmy Award and other national honors — including 1st and 2nd place Native Media Awards, an RTNDA Kaleidoscope Award, a Media for a Just Society Award, two Lesbian & Gay Journalist Awards, two Gracies and an Asian American Journalists Award. A growing platform carried by 174 partner stations in markets representing more than 72% of US TV households, it is also available on WORLDchannel.org and social media networks. Funding for WORLD Channel is provided by
the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the MacArthur Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts and Artworks. WORLD Channel is curated by WGBH in partnership with WNET and is distributed by American Public Television (APT).
