West Virginia Public Broadcasting receives grant to upgrade its Charleston television operation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Charleston, W.Va. – January 30, 2014 –  West Virginia Public Broadcasting has been awarded a $750,000 competitive grant to replace all the television equipment in its main Charleston studio. The upgrades will allow the organization to record and transmit locally produced programs in high definition.

“This grant will transform what we can do from our Charleston studio,” said Scott Finn, executive director of West Virginia Public Broadcasting. “Not only will we be able to replace our failing, 25-year-old equipment, we will be able to record and broadcast locally-produced shows such as The Legislature Today in HD.”

The grant application received bi-partisan support from Sen. Jay Rockefeller and Rep. Shelley Moore Capito.

“Public broadcasting provides excellent programming and information to West Virginians,” Senator Rockefeller said.  “This grant will help West Virginia Public Broadcasting continue to bring the news and the arts to all corners of the state, which is a mission I am deeply proud to support.”

Capito said that as a regular PBS viewer, she was delighted to support West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s mission to provide high-quality educational and community programming to West Virginians and viewers in surrounding states.

“Grants such as this invest in the people of West Virginia, improve our local communities and help our economy grow,” she wrote.

USDA Rural Development awarded the grant through the Public Television Digital Transition Grant program.

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