2000-today

2000- WVIA applies to the FCC for Northeast Pennsylvania’s first HDTV broadcast license.

2001 - January 1, 2001 WVIA DT (digital television) Channel-41 is on the air; Northeast
Pennsylvania’s 1st and only HDTV station.

WVYA-FM, Williamsport opens new broadcast studios in Williamsport’s Community Arts Center.

2002 - Television documentaries and local programming increase as WVIA recognizes the whittling away of PBS’ historic niche programming through proliferation of cable and satellite channels. Strategic differentiation will be best achieved by regionalism, not just for WVIA, but all television stations.

2003 – “Multi-casting begins. Through digital technology, WVIA digital channel 41 becomes four separate, simultaneous television stations. We are now Channels 41-1, 41-2, 41-3 and 41-40

Emphasis on developing very strong regional documentary capability grows with hires of Tom Curra and Greg Matkosky, former owners United Studios of America. Curra is now WVIA Senior Vice-President-Television and Matkosky Creative Director of local documentaries.

2004 - First “Great Pennsylvanian” Documentary, six months in the making, is premiered at Scranton Cultural Center. Governor Bill Scranton’s life is celebrated as a model of citizenship and service.

Our Great Pennsylvanians series now seen across the Commonwealth on all eight PBS stations.

2005 – “Great Pennsylvanian” Federal Judge Max Rosenn of Kingston, 95 years young, is honored with documentary premiere at Wilkes University for a lifetime of service and integrity.

Mainesburg (Mansfield) WVIA FM translator increases audience.

2006 – Monsignor Andrew McGowan is honored posthumously at Marywood College with the third annual WVIA “Great Pennsylvanian” documentary project.

Our first HDTV documentary, “Expedition Susquehanna” premieres in Lewisburg, Pa. WVIA now the only regional television station making local programs in HDTV.

2007 - “Great Pennsylvanian” and founder of the Pennsylvania Ballet, Barbara Weisberger of Kingston honored with a premiere at Wyoming Seminary.

Wellsboro WVIA-FM translator increases audience.

The WVIA Public Media Studios are completely converted to HDTV, a massive technology project costing millions of dollars, all raised through grants and gifts. By September, 2007 all of our studio-based local programs originate in national-quality HDTV.

WVIA builds a 100-seat theater with full High Definition-TV production theater. It is built in former warehouse space and dedicated in September by PBS President Paula Kerger and NPR President Kevin Klose. The theater literally transforms our television and radio programs for the future in which everyone at WVIA has great confidence. In its first year, the studio hosted more than 80 events and nearly 1,000 guests - including the 10th Congressional Republican Debate - WVIA's first television event ever to be streamed and offered through Video On Demand "podcast."

2009 - On September 30, the WVIA High-Definition Theater Studio was rededicated as The Sordoni Theater in honor of WVIA Trustee Emeritus Andrew J. Sordoni III. The dedication was held in the theater followed by the world premiere of the WVIA Original Documentary Film, Frank E. Schoonover The Authentic Artist and a reception in the PNC Studio at WVIA.

 

1990s

 

1990 Dr. John E. Walsh steps down after ten years as president and general manager of WVIA. Another era in WVIA’s history comes to a close.

Upon his retirement as president, Dr. Walsh stated, “As with any well planned community, there is a community center. WVIA, encompassing 24 counties of Pennsylvania, is that planned community center. Over 25 years, WVIA has been the theatre, the arts, the education, the entertainment, reflecting a very proud and accomplished community called ‘The Great Northeast’”.

October, 1990 A. William Kelly is named as President and CEO of WVIA.

Mr. Kelly, leading WVIA into the future, states, “Certainly the challenge facing WVIA in its second quarter century will be vastly different from the first. Technology that multiplies viewer’s choices will subtract from WVIA’s, but TV 44 and 89.9FM will grow more focused on community service. In planning for the future, all of WVIA is aware of the privilege we enjoy to make television and radio programs that enrich life here.”

1991 WVIA is engaged in several new productions. “Dating Rites: Gang Rape on Campus,” dealing with a once often ignored problem in our society, and “The Heirs of Columbus in Pennsylvania,” a documentary that looks at the only tangible tie to Christopher Columbus in the United States. The future productions of WVIA will, with its capable and dedicated staff, achieve and surpass the same high standards of productions and general involvement in the community it has served for the past 25 years.

Bill Kelly elected President and CEO of WVIA TV and FM. Promises revitalization of public broadcasting in the region.

1992 – WVIA TV transitions to a full-time PBS station and drops heavy schedule of old movies and syndicated off-network 1950’s TV series.

1993 – Multi-year emphasis on development of local TV and FM programming begins. “State of Pennsylvania” series premieres with former Pa. Governor Bill Scranton.

1994 – WVIA Documentary on New York Times’ James “Scotty” Reston carried nationally on PBS.

WVIA’s production of Bucknell Candlelight Service carried across USA.
Charles Osgood of CBS visits WVIA to kickoff new local series, “The News Directors.”

1995 – Major threat to public broadcasting is averted in Congress through public outcry. WVIA nationally acknowledged for our role in rallying support at home and in Washington.

1996 - WVIA TV acquires remote television vehicles and begins “on-site” regional TV programs. Average fifteen telecasts annually from outside our studios.

1997 - WVIA nationally recognized for Distance Learning Project, bridging our staff directly to students as far away as California to discuss careers in media.

New Sunbury, Bethlehem and Pottsville WVIA-FM translators increase audience.

Concern mounts about FCC mandate for all USA television stations to become digital, high-definition; experts say it could take 15-20 years and cost each station 5-10 million.

1998 – WVIA hosts demonstration of HDTV for the public.

PBS President Ervin Duggan visits WVIA.

WVIA FM 25th anniversary.

WVIA cooking show, “You’re the Chef” premieres from Penn College, Williamsport.

WVIA leads in regional political programs; six candidates interviewed for an hour each.
Our first annual “Great Teachers” competition begins.

1999 - National Public Radio journalist Robert Siegel visits WVIA.

WVIA produces 100th anniversary documentary on Pennsylvania Society.

Pa. Governor Tom Ridge rallies around funding digital technology for state’s PBS stations.

WVIA and seven others receive 1.5 million each to enable first stage HDTV conversion.

 

1980's

 

1980 George H. Strimel, the man who laid the foundation of WVIA, and led it for fourteen years, resigns to enter cable television.

Mr. George Strimel, reflecting on WVIA’s past, states “The people of northeastern Pennsylvania made it happen. The efforts made by the staff and the community can be seen on the screen today. The station and the community achieved more than it set out to do; it achieved so much due to the dedication and desire for culture, knowledge, and education and its perseverance to fulfill that desire.”

Dr. John E. Walsh, chairman of the Board of Directors, is named to fill the position of president and general manager of the station.

1981 The Reagan administration cuts back federal funding, the station and most public stations are met by fiscal crisis. Dr. Walsh steers WVIA through this most difficult time. The staff is cut back to a minimum, and its operations are streamlined. Lack of funding greatly affects WVIA’s instructional television service to schools.

1984 Grants from the Pennsylvania Public Television Network allow WVIA to produce its own television specials. From 1984 until 1990, WVIA produces 32 specials, many of them recognized and awarded nationally … “Aids in Rural America,” receiving both an Emmy and an IRIS award; “Minors: Heading for Home,” nominated for an IRIS; “Mark Russell at Bucknell,” IRIS Award nomination; “Little League Baseball: Fifty Years of Dreams,” nominated for an Emmy July 1991. Presently, WVIA will air “Heirs of Columbus in Pennsylvania.”

1985 WVIA reaches its highest viewing audience in its history and is ranked Pennsylvania’s most watched public station. It is rated among the top ten most-watched public stations in the nation. The next several years would experience similar leadership in audience.

1987 WVIA purchases three new state of the art television cameras.

1970s

1970 WVIA is awarded the “Maximum Impact on the Community” award by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for its exceptional involvement in the community. The station receives a grant from the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare to construct a network of nine translators to improve and increase reception in outlying areas. Four are completed in Wayne and Susquehanna counties by the end of 1970.

Auction 44 is inaugurated. It becomes a permanent part of fund raising for WVIA. The first auction was held in the Marywood College field house, raising a little over $20,000.

Crisis strikes WVIA and all public television stations in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Public Television Network shuts down, due to lack of funding, taking along with it much of the station’s programming, and that of the other public stations in Pennsylvania. WVIA is the only public station in Pennsylvania that manages to stay on the air during the shut down.

1971 WVIA’s search for its own home nears completion and is narrowed down to two sites, one near Dupont and the other in Jenkins Township. The location in Jenkins Township was chosen for its central location to Scranton and Wilkes-Barre area. The site was located off route 315, 300 feet south of Old Boston Road, and was purchased for $27,000. Building plans were drawn and the building would contain one TV studio, a radio control room and studio, a news room general offices, facilities for production, engineering, art and set design, printing, property and storage. A meeting room for volunteers and community groups was also included. The building would also accommodate tours of the station so groups could view all aspects of its operation without disturbing these operations.

Auction 44 is moved to a larger location in Scranton; the Erie Lackawanna Station became home to Auction 44.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting awards WVIA the “Maximum Impact on the Community” Award for the second year in a row.

1972 Tragedy strikes the WVIA viewing area. Hurricane Agnes devastates the Wyoming Valley. WVIA preempts its programming to update weather reports. WBRE-TV is forced from their studios in Wilkes-Barre due to rising flood waters, and WVIA makes its equipment available they can stay on the air and provide information to the public. After the flood, WVIA programming concentrates on recovery efforts, airing information on benefits and rehabilitation services available to area residents. The governor, congressmen, health officials appear on WVIA dispensing information on recovery.

November 20 WVIA’s new permanent home is completed and ready to be occupied. For the first time in WVIA’s history, all of its operations are located under one roof with the exception of the transmitter.

For the third year in a row, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting awards WVIA with the “Maximum Impact on the Community” award.

1973 March 24th, WVIA’s new home is dedicated with a formal ceremony. Several local and national celebrities turn out for the dedication which was followed by an open house. The new broadcasting center is named The Public Broadcasting Center.

WVIA begins a work release program with Chase Correctional Facility to provide experience and training for inmates in the communications field. The program was an overwhelming success for both the station and the inmates. Its story is featured in TV GUIDE.

1974 WVIA begins a unique cable television project to increase its viewership and provide its services and quality programming to viewers well beyond the station’s coverage area.

1975 The first Festival Fundraiser is held by WVIA, and it is an overwhelming success, raising over $135,000. The amount of money raised was up 300% from the total amount of money raised the entire year before. WVIA’s ideas and concepts become a model for other public stations across the nation. WVIA receives the single national award for “Outstanding Fundraising” from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting.

1976 WVIA’s cable expansion is a great success. Its potential viewership increases by 250,000 people. WVIA is awarded the “Audience Building” award by the Public Broadcasting System. WVIA was the only station in America to receive that award in that year.

WVIA celebrated its Tenth Anniversary with an Open House at the station. Over 5,000 people attend.

1977 Plans are finalized for the construction of a new television transmitter tower for WVIA. The new tower will be the tallest in NE Pennsylvania, and was funded by a $400,000 grant from the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

1978 March, construction of WVIA’s new transmitter tower is started. The existing tower is only 232 feet tall; the new tower, at its completion was 845 feet tall and had l.2 million watts of power, increasing WVIA’s coverage area by 20%. At the completion of the project funded by the federal government, WVIA had a network of 11 translators in operation and could be viewed in 26 counties in northeastern and northcentral Pennsylvania.

June of 1978, WVIA becomes northeastern Pennsylvania’s first satellite interconnect television station. PBS is also the first network in America to distribute programs via satellite.

1979 November 26, WVIA’s new satellite dish allows WVIA to simulcast television programs in stereo on 90FM.

 

1960s

In 1966, and many years before that, the community of northeastern Pennsylvania wanted television with impact. A new era was born on September 26, 1966, when the newly licensed Northeast Pennsylvania Educational Television Association first went on the air.

1963 Dr. Charles Boehm, Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Commonwealth, called Walter C. Wood and asked him to put together a meeting of education and commercial broadcasting leaders of the community to discuss the idea of starting an instructional television station to be used in schools and colleges in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Walter Wood, then the superintendent of Wilkes-Barre schools, put together a meeting in the auditorium of Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre. Thirty members from commercial television, commercial radio, and educational institutions from the area attended. Ten years before, a meeting very similar in purpose to the one in 1963, was held to discuss the possibilities of television being used in schools for instruction. Some of those same men were present once again in 1963. The idea seemed possible to these men and the foundation of WVIA was laid.

Twelve of the men who met in Coughlin High got together and formed and incorporated the Northeastern Pennsylvania Educational Television Association, and later received license to broadcast that same year. Walter Wood became the first chairman of the newly formed association. This association still holds WVIA’s license today.

1964 The association met regularly in Wood’s office in Wilkes-Barre for the first two years. Wood and his colleagues, during these two years, gathered support and funds from business and individual members of the community to get the station in operation.

1965 The station’s first employee, George H. Strimel, Jr., is hired part-time. He came from the Bucknell University faculty. He is given two years to get the station in operation; he accomplished the task in a little over nine months.

1966 February, Strimel is hired full time, and two more staff members are added, Joe Perish and Paul Evanowski. The station now has three full time employees. Strimel and his wife Christen, who was also instrumental in the foundation of the station, designed and developed the call letters and logo for the station, WVIA: The World Via Television.

With aid, loaned equipment, and borrowed cable from three local commercial television stations; a donation from Taft broadcasters (then owner of WNEP-TV) of a transmitter building, tower and related equipment totaling $330,000, allowed WVIA to get its feet firmly planted on the ground and on the air. The donation was used to get $50,000 in seed grant from the federal government. In addition, WBRE and WDAU (now WYOU) made their studios available for tape productions of local programming.

September 26 On Monday, September 26th, just four days after the completion of the transmitter site, at 6:39 PM, WVIA hit local airwaves. The first sound heard is the national anthem, and the first sight is a fluttering American flag. Before the first program could hit television sets all over the area, this message appeared on the TV screen: “DO NOT ADJUST YOUR RECEIVER. . . . WE ARE HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.” The premiere show on WVIA was also a WVIA production entitled “All About Us.” It was narrated by the station’s first general manager, and described what the station was ‘all about.’ It was followed by “Humanities,” a NET program (NET stood for the National Educational Television Network, the predecessor of PBS).

Four days later ITV began to broadcast to area schools and colleges. Four months later it reached out to 97,000 students. ITV was the original idea behind WVIA, designed by teachers to be used as resource in the classroom.

The station was administered from two Sunday School rooms in the basement of the First Presbyterian Church in Wilkes-Barre. The station’s budget for the first year was $110,000. All program tapes were received by mail and had to be driven to the transmitter site in Mountaintop in order to be aired. All production and technical work originated from the transmitter site.

1967 The station is growing and needs more office space. It now has 11 full time employees. The station moved its location to office space provided by King’s College; still all technical operations were run from the transmitter site.

1968 Ground is broken for the new communication wing at Marywood College. It would become the home of WVIA when completed, and is built to WVIA’s specifications.

1969 September was WVIA’s Third Anniversary. A celebration was held at the lacrosse field on the Marywood College campus; over 6,000 people attend the celebration

December 1st The new communications wing at Marywood is completed, and WVIA takes occupancy. Offices are moved from the basement of the Robert Morris Grade School in Scranton to Marywood. WVIA has its own studio for the first time in its history.