TAMPA, Fla. (August 3, 2012) – More than 30 people gathered last Friday afternoon at WUSF Public Media’s studios in Tampa as the public media organization handed over the “My Last Tour” audio and archival material to the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. Congressman Bill Young, Congresswoman Kathy Castor, and WUSF Public Media General Manager JoAnn Urofsky were joined by members of the USF and military communities and station staff, as retired U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Rex Temple presented the material to project director, Bob Patrick.

“The importance of this project was made clear to me when I heard Honor Flight veterans retell their compelling and heroic stories during their visits to our nation’s capital,” said Congressman Young. “These are stories that we must preserve and remember because we need to remember the sacrifices our men and women have made. Americans need to remember what has made America great. That is what the Veterans History Project is all about.”

“Military veterans and their families are such a big part of our community here in Tampa Bay,” said Congresswoman Castor. “Reporting on veterans and military affairs through projects like “My Last Tour” and archiving them with the Library of Congress is not only honoring those families but preserving part of our history.”

“The “My Last Tour” project features WUSF reporter Bobbie O’Brien’s weekly interview with SMSgt. Temple during the airman’s final deployment to Afghanistan between May 2009 and April 2010.

The passing of the material officially launches the Veterans History Project and will use Temple’s series as an example of the projects it hopes to collect from veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The project is also collecting stories from veterans of all generations, including WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

“It was a great experience for WUSF Public Media to participate in a project that impacted so many people in our community,” said Urofsky. “It is an honor for the work of our reporters and staff to be included in the Library of Congress archives.”

If you would like to view the archives of “My Last Tour”, visit the WUSF Public Media website at http://www.wusf.usf.edu/news/specialreport/afghanistan_my_last_tour.

The Library of Congress Veterans History Project is still collecting material. If you have a first-hand remembrance of veterans, please visit the project website at http://www.loc.gov/vets/. 

About The Library of Congress Veterans History Project

The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.

About WUSF Public Media

WUSF Public Media is a comprehensive media organization that provides media services to the community and businesses through public broadcasting and multi-media production services.  Licensed to the University of South Florida, WUSF Public Media serves the public interest through programming, educational outreach and community partnerships. For more information, visit www.wusf.org.

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Scott attributed his anticipated lighter touch with the veto pen to  legislators getting the message last year. The first-year governor was  intent on reducing state spending and curbing the age-old practice of  powerful legislators steering money back home.

It hasn’t completely worked. But legislators and lobbyists have done a better  job convincing him of the merits of some items, he said.

“One of the groups that did well coming back with more information this  year was public television stations,” Scott said. “I said, ‘Go  back and show us that there was a return on the money we are spending.’ And  they did.”

Go to The Palm Beach Post online to read the full story by John Kennedy, Staff Writer: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/budget-vetoes-seen-as-less-likely-in-gov-2290654.html

If you support state funding for public broadcasting, we hope you’ll contact Governor Scott and tell him.  You can join this effort in many ways:

• Send an email to Governor Scott using the form below.
• Send a letter to Governor Scott via email or snail mail.  A sample letter is shown on the bottom of this page.
• Address:  Governor Scott, The Capitol, Plaza Level 05, 400 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
• Email:  rick.scott@eog.myflorida.com
• Call Governor Scott - Phone:  (888) 429-3266, ext. 1
• Share a link to this website with your friends and family.

The proposed, election-year increase looks certain to force sharp cuts in health and social service programs for the poor, elderly and disabled. The House plan would elevate student spending — now at its lowest level in six years — by $141 per-pupil, or just over two percent.

Go to the Palm Beach Post online to read the full story by John Kennedy, Staff Writer. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/pain-eases-to-florida-school-budgets-under-house-2125876.html

FPBS, the association of public media in Florida, announced today the launch of Florida PBS LearningMedia, a free digital public media platform to serve as an education resource for PreK-12 classrooms in Florida.  Utilizing more than 18,000 high-quality resources from PBS stations and public media productions, the digital learning service delivers classroom-ready content tied to Common Core State Standards, as well as professional development courses, a robust content delivery system and a flexible infrastructure designed for seamless integration into existing services.   The announcement was made at the FETC Conference in Orlando.

“We are proud to offer educators in the state of Florida this powerful online resource,” said Janyth Righter, executive director of FPBS. “Florida PBS LearningMedia is another example of how public broadcasting in Florida is invested in the future of our educators and children.”

“Florida PBS LearningMedia is going to provide state educators a myriad of resources for both their classrooms and for professional development,” said Commissioner Gerard Robinson, Florida Department of Education.  “Through all delivery methods available on this site our students will benefit greatly from this opportunity to bring the world into the classroom.”

FPBS is working with other organizations throughout the state to ensure that as many teacher, students and parents as possible know about the initiative. Florida Virtual School (FLVS) will be providing training to its instructors on how to incorporate Florida PBS LearningMedia into their instructional delivery.

Teachers will use Florida PBS LearningMedia to supplement the FLVS curriculum. Potential uses include enhancing live learning sessions, individualizing instructional experiences, and creating real world connections for a variety of student activities. 

“FPBS, like Florida Virtual School, understands the importance of creating innovative ideas that will help students succeed,” stated Julie Young, president and chief executive officer for Florida Virtual School. “Incorporating comprehensive, digital resources, such as Florida PBS LearningMedia, helps Florida Virtual School to ensure our children receive a high quality, technology-based education that provides them with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in this competitive world.”

Florida PBS LearningMedia(florida.pbslearningmedia.org) is the statewide version of PBS LearningMedia, and features a robust content library with tens of thousands of digital assets, videos and interactives perfect for the Interactive Whiteboard, plus audio and photos, and in-depth lesson plans and discussion questions for PreK-12 educators aligned to Common Core State Standards.  PBS’ online media-on-demand service combines links to resources from the U.S. Department of Education’s Learning Registry with original content from public broadcasting producers and programs like NOVA, FRONTLINE, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, and SID THE SCIENCE KID, all in one place and free.  Florida PBS LearningMedia’s growing library of curriculum-based assets is designed to support classroom and student achievement across math, science, reading/language arts, social studies, health/physical education, as well as world languages. 

About FPBS

FPBS is a non-profit association of public radio and public television stations in the state of Florida. As the largest broadcasting network in the state, we reach more than 99% of Florida’s population through traditional broadcast, online tools and community engagement. FPBS stations are a state partner in education, emergency management and public affairs. Through our collaborative efforts, we identify and implement regional and statewide projects that enhance and sustain community initiatives that serve the citizens of Florida. FPBS member stations include WBBC TV (Cocoa), WDSC TV (Daytona), WGCU TV/FM (Ft. Myers),WQCS FM (Ft. Pierce),  WUFT TV/FM (Gainesville), WJCT TV/FM (Jacksonville), WFIT FM (Melbourne), WLRN TV/FM (Miami), WPBT TV (Miami), WUCF TV (Orlando), WMFE FM (Orlando), WKGC (Panama City), WSRE TV (Pensacola), WUWF FM (Pensacola), WFSU TV/FM (Tallahassee), WEDU TV (Tampa), WUSF TV/FM (Tampa), WMNF FM (Tampa), WXEL TV (West Palm), and WPBI FM (West Palm). For more information, visit the FPBS website at www.fpbs.org.

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The association of public broadcasters in Florida announced today the organization has updated its brand. Formerly known as Florida Public Broadcasting Service, Inc. the organization has now changed its name to FPBS. With the new name, the association also has a new logo and website. 

“The new brand is intended to convey all that FPBS has to offer, including initiatives beyond traditional public broadcasting.” said Janyth Righter, Executive Director of FPBS. “These changes are a clear sign of our ongoing commitment to our member stations and the extensive services they provide to the communities in which they serve.”

FPBS member stations are involved with various project in the areas of education, public affairs and emergency management.   They partner with the state to provide valuable, cost-effective communications infrastructure, results-driven literacy & STEM educational initiatives, and quality statewide public affairs programming.

“These changes better exemplify the core mission of FPBS and its member stations: strengthening the community, empowering families and educating the public through public media and community outreach,” said Righter. “

About FPBS

FPBS is a non-profit association of public radio and public television stations in the state of Florida. As the largest broadcasting network in the state, we reach more than 99% of Florida’s population through traditional broadcast, online tools and community engagement. We are a state partner in education, emergency management and public affairs. Through our collaborative efforts, we identify and implement regional and statewide projects that enhance and sustain community initiatives that serve the citizens of Florida.  For more information, visit our website at www.fpbs.org.

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SciGirls WFSU Mag Lab

Launched in 2006, SciGirls WFSU Mag Lab is a two-week hands-on summer camp run by The National High Magnet Field Lab and WFSU that inspires middle and high school girls to pursue careers in science. SciGirls I and SciGirls II camps accept rising sixth graders through tenth graders as well as returning campers. SciGirls WFSU Mag Lab is an outreach partner ofSciGirls®, the national PBS television series and outreach program.

Scigirls, the national PBS television series, is an expansion and transformation of DragonflyTV’s outreach program. SciGirls’ multi-faceted, multi-platform approach is designed to meet girls where they gather:

On TV — TV—Each SciGirls episode follows a different group of enthusiastic, real SciGirls, who collaborate, communicate, engineer and discover. They’re accompanied by two animated characters—a determined SciGirl named Izzie and her best friend Jake, who tie the series together with their ongoing adventures.

Online — Izzie also stars as the webmaster of the SciGirls website, hosted on pbskidsgo.org/ scigirls, one of the premiere educational destinations for young people on the Web. This site is a unique and safe science-centric social network, where girls can connect, create personal profiles and avatars, upload and share their science projects and watch every episode.

On the Ground — The SciGirls outreach program offers parents and educators resources to help support their girls’ efforts. These materials, available on the PBS Parents and PBS Teachers portals at pbs.org/parents/scigirls and pbs.org/teachers/scigirls, can be used to start new SciGirls Clubs or enhance existing educational initiatives.

For more information, visit the WFSU SciGirls Website: http://wfsu.org/scigirls/

At WEDU-Ch. 3, they’ve avoided fully replacing departing staffers and may drop programming from the Florida Channel.

Go to the Tampa Bay Times online to read the full story by Eric Deggans, Times TV/Media Critic: http://www.tampabay.com/features/media/florida-public-broadcasters-search-for-solutions-to-their-funding-crisis/1208476

Florida’s public broadcasting stations serve as the statewide delivery system for the Florida Channel and community public affairs programming. In addition to the gavel to gavel coverage of the Florida legislative session, our stations provide year round coverage of Florida’s state and local government, as well as important issues impacting our state.

Four public broadcasting stations in Florida are working collaboratively on this initiative.

For more information about StateImpact Florida visit http://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/