West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) is now live streaming on Hulu + Live TV, one of the nation’s largest streaming services for live television with more than 4.5 million subscribers. Hulu + Live TV’s subscribers will now have access to inspiring and educational content created by the WVPB production team, along with PBS favorites.
Hulu + Live TV Subscribers Will Now Have Access to High-Quality, Educational and Inspiring Content from West Virginia Public Broadcasting
CHARLESTON, WV – West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) is now live streaming on Hulu + Live TV, one of the nation’s largest streaming services for live television with more than 4.5 million subscribers. Hulu + Live TV’s subscribers will now have access to inspiring and educational content created by the WVPB production team, along with PBS favorites, including PBS NewsHour, FRONTLINE, MASTERPIECE, Antiques Roadshow and WVPB PBS KIDS channel.
Participating PBS stations like WVPB will make Hulu + Live TV available in more than 300 markets over the next year. This agreement represents PBS’s continued commitment to make its quality and award-winning content accessible to all Americans on as many digital platforms as possible.
“We are extremely excited that West Virginia Public Broadcasting has been added to the local channels for subscribers of Hulu + Live TV,” said WVPB Interim Executive Director Eddie Isom. “This will allow more cord cutters to continue watching the local documentaries WVPB produces. As program distribution continues to evolve, WVPB will continue to grow our live streaming. We were added to DIRECTV and the PBS App earlier this year. We hope to add more streaming services in the near future.”
WVPB is telling West Virginia’s story. Watch WVPB over the air, on your local cable system, stream our content, or download the free app. Just search WVPB in the App Store or via Google Play. Visit our website at wvpublic.org for all the latest content, news, education resources, schedules and more.
PBS, PBS KIDS and local station content is also available on PBS.org and pbskids.org, as well as the PBS Video App and PBS KIDS Video app available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and smart TVs from Samsung and Vizio. Local PBS station members are also able to view an extended library of quality public television programming via Passport.
Radio and television shows that interview actors and have millions of listeners each month typically originate from New York or Los Angeles. But what about St. Albans, West Virginia?
A fun effort that started out as a Facebook page to discuss comic books and science fiction has blossomed into a podcast with millions of listeners.
Eric Douglas spoke with Michael Wall about how the podcast “Too Opinionated” began and an upcoming audio drama based on the pandemic.
Douglas: Tell me who you are first.
Michael Wall, author of the Meisterkhan web page and host of the “Too Opinionated” podcast.
Wall: My name is Michael Wall. I’m West Virginia raised. I grew up in Winfield, I live in St. Albans and have been here my entire life. I graduated from Marshall University. I’ve got 30 years of management experience. But none of that is the fun stuff, right.
Douglas: Which begs the next question, how does a typical West Virginia life lead you to now be the host of a podcast with, according to your website, 5 million listeners a month? How does one make that transition?
Wall: I’ll give you the quick version. The thing to know is that it’s always been about wanting to connect as a family. In 2013, I’m looking for a way to connect with my son to share all this nonsense that’s banging around in my head. So we came up with a Facebook page. And we just started sharing stories and memes and things that made us laugh as a way to connect, you know, father and son. Five years later, the page is doing really well. Brett, my son, comes to me and says, “I’d like to start a podcast.” I’m like, “Yeah, let’s do that.” We didn’t know anything about it, had no idea how to go about it, or what kind of technology we needed. It was terrible. But we never hid the fact that we didn’t know what we were doing. I think that just being authentic helped us grow an audience.
Douglas: So let’s unpack a couple of things here. First off, the website and Facebook page are called MeisterKhan. Explain what that means.
Wall: Growing up, my favorite Christmas show was “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”. MeisterBurger Burgermeister. So when I was growing up, every competition we had, a group of guys, we would compete to be called the Meister. That meant you were the best. So that’s the Meister. My favorite Star Trek movie is “Star Trek: Wrath of Khan”. When I started that Facebook page with Brett, I said nobody else is gonna have this name. Nobody.
Douglas: That definitely sets it apart.
Wall: And then we called the podcast “Too Opinionated” because, we thought, we’re generational, and we would have differing opinions on things and we will kind of battle that out. It’s changed some over time, but we’ve kept the name.
Douglas: For about five years, you were sharing memes on Facebook and entertaining yourselves and just having fun. Three years ago, you decided to do a podcast. When did it take off?
Wall: It’s been a slow roll, if you consider three years a slow roll, and it’s taken a lot of hard work. It’s been a lot of researching who’s representing someone and then reaching out, developing a pitch, reaching out to try to get that person on the show, and developing that relationship over time.
We’ve gotten to the point now where we’ve got a couple of dozen publicists/agents/managers that are actually sending us guests, so we’re not having to do as much legwork. We’re still trying to get what we would call bigger names, although we have had absolutely unbelievable guests.
When we started, it was mostly shows from the 80s and 90s, big names back then. Now, we’re getting people that are on shows that are on TV right now. I think that started to really open things up. We were kind of strategic about it, we tried to target people that already had a big audience on their own. So that when they were on the show, and then they shared the podcast, it would already have an audience waiting. And it just kind of snowballed.
Douglas: So, how many shows have you done?
Wall: About 350 episodes. We try to release at least four episodes a week. I’m still working during the day, but each episode between getting the guest, putting the editing in, plus actually recording the episode, we’re probably talking four to five hours of work per episode.
It’s not like most podcasts. They’re putting out an episode a week, or bi-weekly or monthly. We’re not like that. You’re going to get 15 to 20 episodes a month out of us. I’m biased, but I don’t think there’s anybody else there that’s getting the quality of guests that we’re getting, and putting out the content that we’re doing, which is part of the reason I think it’s starting to catch on.
Douglas: Tell me a little bit more about the audio drama that you’re doing?
Wall: So we got a good friendship with Jennifer Nash. She played Patrick Stewart’s daughter on an episode called “Inner Light” of “The Next Generation of Star Trek.” She was Bob Saget’s girlfriend in an episode of “Full House,” she was on “Home Improvement.” She had this idea to write an audio drama, based around stories around the pandemic, but in a positive light. So she solicited our little group of friends, and asked if we had any good stories, and I submitted one. Other people submitted them, and she wrote this just incredible script. And then we went out looking for actors. It’s so good that it wasn’t that hard to get really big name actors to agree to do it.
It took a while to get all of it done, especially during the pandemic. In LA, you couldn’t do anything together. So you had to do it by Zoom or remotely. It’s 10 episodes, they’re short. So the whole thing’s probably a couple hours long. We’re deciding if we’re gonna release it weekly or all at once. But I mean, it’s amazing. I got to act with Ed Asner, which is probably one of the last things that he got to do. Sherilyn Fenn is our main star. Wait till you hear Eric Roberts on this thing. It’s so good. It’s called “The Last Saturday Night”.
It gave us a chance to really work with some big names Ed Asner, Sherilyn Fenn from “Twin Peaks,” Eric Roberts, Charlene Tilton, she played Lucy on “Dallas,” Tim Russ from “Star Trek: Voyager,” it’s just some big names.
West Virginia’s film tax credit was eliminated by the West Virginia Legislature in 2018 after a legislative audit report deemed the credit as providing only “minimal economic impact.” But people who work in the film industry don’t agree. An attempt to resurrect the credit failed this past session, but supporters are hopeful it will make it through the next legislative session.
Robert Tinnell is a West Virginia filmmaker who was born and raised in Marion County. He’s been making movies professionally since 1980, and since 2005, he and his brother Jeffrey have been running a production company called Allegheny Image Factory out of the Morgantown area.
They’ve produced award-winning films, documentaries, music videos and commercials. One of their recent feature films was, Feast of the Seven Fishes based on Robert Tinnell’s graphic novel of the same name. The film featured actors Skyler Gisondo and Madison Iseman and was filmed entirely in West Virginia.
Feast of the Seven Fishes will be available later this year but possibly under a new name. Tinnell said the film will likely be released under the title, 7 Fishes & Christmas ’83.
Tinnell said production of the film benefited greatly from West Virginia’s now-defunct film tax credit. He said the movie was able to be filmed and produced in-state, attracting actors and crew from the larger-film industry outside West Virginia thanks to incentive from the tax credit.
Now, since the credit was eliminated, Tinnell said it’s been harder to attract big productions to film in West Virginia.
“Stripping us of the tax credit, effectively disabled our ability to bring feature films or TV projects to West Virginia,” Tinnell said. “I mean, it’s that simple. Whether you agree with the tax incentive business model or not, the reality is, the industry and states, and even national governments, embrace the policy. And it simply is the cost of doing business.”
After losing the credit, Tinnell said it cost his production company two films and the potential of bringing about $4 million into the state.
“We say we want to diversify the state’s economy. We don’t want to just lean on extractive industries, it’s just too, up and down, and it’s putting all your eggs in one basket,” he said. “Here’s a really smart way to do it – and in a way that boosts not only the entertainment industry, but it’s just a great way to promote tourism.”
Credit Perry Bennett / WV Legislative Photography
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WV Legislative Photography
Del. Dianna Graves, R-Kanawha, discusses HB 2941 (reinstating the film investment tax credit) on the House floor on Feb. 27, 2019.
During the 2019 state Legislative session, Del. Dianna Graves, R-Kanawha, introduced a bill that would have reinstated the film tax credit – but with tweaks and adjustments based on the legislative audit report that made 12 recommendations if the credit were to be kept.
Graves has worked in the state’s film industry as both an accountant and producer, and she argues the tax credit was working but admits it did have problems, but problems she sought to fix with her bill.
“Even the audit admitted that it brought economic benefit to the state, it just didn’t think there was enough benefit to justify keeping it, well, then fine, let’s not get rid of it completely. It’s working. Let’s make it better. That was my goal,” she said.
Graves’ bill increased the cap of the film tax credit from $5 million to $10 million, and it would have required a film production company to spend at least $50,000 in-state before they would be eligible for the credit. After that, for every $100 spent, that production company could take home $27, but the remaining $73 would stay in-state.
Her bill managed to pass out of the House of Delegates but not without pushback. House Finance Chairman Del. Eric Householder, R-Berkeley, was one of 26 who voted against the bill.
Householder admits he’s not a fan of tax credits. He said they allow the government to pick economic winners and losers. He also argues the original film tax credit just wasn’t justifiable.
“In 10 years, only $8.6 million in tax credits were used,” Householder explained. “And if it’s such an attractive, competitive force, we would see more companies coming here, wanting to come here and take advantage of the tax credits, and it just wasn’t happening.”
He also felt Del. Graves’ bill didn’t make enough of the changes that were recommended by the audit.
“If she tightens all those up or takes those recommendations, I think it will pass the scrutiny,” he said. “Right now, I don’t foresee it happening since, remember, it was repealed in 2018. So, maybe in a year or so, maybe next legislative session, [it] might stand a better chance.”
Graves’ bill may have made it out of the House chamber last year, but it was never taken up by the Senate Finance Committee. In an emailed statement to West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Senate Finance Chairman Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, said he also felt Graves didn’t make enough changes recommended in the audit report.
Like Blair and Householder, Graves identifies as a fiscal conservative, and she said she doesn’t often vote for tax credits but says the film tax credit is different.
“The West Virginia film tax credit; it functions much more like advertising expense than a traditional tax credit,” she explained. “We are trying to entice film companies and movie studios to come here and film. But instead of giving this money up front, like you do with advertising expense, we only give it if you come here. So, that means that our advertising expense has a 100 percent success rate.”
Graves said the film tax credit helps to diversify the state’s economy. She plans to reintroduce her bill during the 2020 state Legislative session.
She said she hopes she can communicate to the Senate in particular of the credit’s benefits, increase the cap, and get it signed by the governor.
**Editor’s Note: This article was edited on Jun. 28, 2019 to add the correct spelling of Robert Tinnell’s last name.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s film “Vietnam: West Virginians Remember” has won a top award from the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) for outstanding achievement in the documentary category.
The one-hour documentary, written and produced by award-winning executive producer, Suzanne Higgins, features the experiences of five West Virginia combat servicemen. It explores the reasons more than 36,000 West Virginians served during the Vietnam War and speculates on why the death rate was so high for West Virginians who served. The documentary is a companion film to Ken Burns’ PBS series, “The Vietnam War.”
Chuck Roberts, executive director and CEO of WVPB said it’s an honor to be among NETA award winners because there were only five documentaries nominated from PBS stations across the country.
“NETA Awards recognize public broadcasting’s finest work,” Roberts said. “We couldn’t agree more that ‘Vietnam: West Virginians Remember’ was an incredible production that told a complex and sensitive story that truly needed to be shared.
“Per capita, our state residents served the most and lost the most in Vietnam, a war that lives on as our country’s most controversial and, for the thousands of surviving West Virginia veterans, haunting memories remain. We were humbled to hear those stories and honored to share them.”
The award was presented during the 2019 NETA Conference and CPB Public Media Thought Leaders Forum at the Marriott Downtown at City Creek hotel in Salt Lake City.
The film also examines the conservatism and political environment of the time, both nationally and in the Mountain State. It traces public opinion of the war, from support of actions by the Kennedy administration through the U.S.’s ultimate pullout of Southeast Asia in 1973. Higgins said the films shows a variety of perspectives on the war.
“The process of making this film showed me there are as many perspectives on the Vietnam War as there are those who served, each one unique,” said Higgins, who met and talked with dozens of Vietnam veterans. “But I heard shared experiences as well: fear, horror, loss, rejection, disillusionment, detachment, anger – and perseverance.”
With an original musical score, “Vietnam: West Virginians Remember” threads intimate conversations with Vietnam veterans with background and analysis, using personal photos and home movies. Additional video and film was provided by the West Virginia State Archives, the James E. Morrow Library of Marshall University, and the West Virginia and Regional History Center at West Virginia University Libraries. Visual material was also obtained from the National Archives, the Library of Congress, veterans’ groups, the U.S. Defense Department, and various private and public domain collections.
“Vietnam: West Virginians Remember” received financial assistance from the West Virginia Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional support was provided by AARP, the West Virginia Lottery, and Bowles Rice, Attorneys at Law.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Public Broadcasting production team has earned an Ohio Valley Regional Emmy Award for the episode “Joey’s Time Machine” of the children’s program, “Abracadabra.”
Chuck Roberts, interim executive director, said he is proud of WVPB’s entire video production team, not just for winning a prestigious award, but for its continual commitment to excellence in all projects.
“Our video production staff consistently delivers quality programming for West Virginians.” Roberts said. “They have an incredible work ethic and they are clearly committed to excellence. They truly deserve this recognition and I congratulate them on their Emmy and I cannot wait to see what they do next.”
This was the third Regional Emmy nomination for “Abracadabra,” a children’s television series geared toward kids ages 4-10 and aired by WVPB. The show is the creation of Dr. Michael Adelman, president of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg, and Mike and Joey Productions.
“We are incredibly thrilled to win an Emmy Award for Abracadabra!” Adelman said. “WVSOM in partnership with WVPB, and supported by our sponsors – Highmark, Charleston Area Medical Center and BrickStreet, strived to create a high-quality educational series aimed to improve the lives of West Virginia children and their parents.
“Winning an Emmy helps to validate the amazing work our fantastic cast and production teams are doing to make Abracadabra a great show,” Adelman said.
With the help of a cast of colorful characters and producer Marilea Butcher, Adelman presents health, nutrition, and science topics using magic, ventriloquism and original songs. WVPB Director Larry Dowling, Associate Producer/Editor Aaron Shackelford and Graphic Designer John Hale round out the WVPB video production team involved in the winning episode, “Joey’s Time Machine.”
The 54th Annual Ohio Valley Regional Emmy Awards were presented by the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences during a gala August 18 at the Lawrenceburg Event Center in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
“Abracadabra” airs weekdays at 1 p.m. on WVPB. Seasons 1-5 are availabe on the WVPB Youtube channel.
The Charleston Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in America.
In a new documentary directed by company member and three time Emmy Award winner, Deborah Novak, dancers, both seasoned and new, share the story of the ballet and its founder, Andre Van Damme.
Gillian Brooks sat down with Kim Pauley, Artistic Director and CEO of the Charleston Ballet to talk about the history of the company and remember its founder.
Highlights from the Q&A:
Andre Van Damme’s past, struggles and ambitions
How the documentary has affected the studio
The future of the company
“Andre Van Damme and The Story of the Charleston Ballet” will premiere on West Virginia Public Broadcasting on Sunday, June 3 at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., and again on Saturday June 16 at 9 p.m.
