OPB to Switch to Digital-Only Broadcasting on February 17

Oregon Public Broadcasting plans to make the switch to digital-only broadcasting on its main transmitters (Portland, Eugene, Corvallis, Bend, La Grande) at midnight on February 17, 2009 and has filed the required applications with the FCC. OPB's analog translators serving most rural parts of the state are not affected at this time.

Also planning to make the switch on the original date established by Congress are a number of commercial television stations in Eugene, Medford and Klamath Falls as well as several Portland stations.

Steve Bass, OPB president and CEO, said, "OPB has worked diligently to help consumers prepare for the end of analog broadcasting for more than a year. Delaying that transition will confuse viewers and add nearly $100,000 in unanticipated electricity costs to keep OPB's analog transmitters running until the newly proposed June 12 deadline."

Over the past 14 months, OPB has conducted an extensive multimedia outreach effort to inform Oregonians and encourage them to prepare for this unprecedented event. OPB has personally assisted more than 22,000 viewers with the switch to digital television and is working closely with other organizations across the region such as Elders in Action and the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) who are focusing on at-risk populations.

For information on how to make the switch, visit OPB's OPB's DTV NOW Web site or call 1.800.241.8123.

New Episode of OREGON EXPERIENCE, "The Logger's Daughter," Airs February 9 on OPB TV

Documentary recounts the story of an African-American woman, born in eastern Oregon, who sets out to explore her family's past

Gwen Trice, like many girls growing up in La Grande, Oregon during the '70s, liked skiing, hiking, the Mary Tyler Moore Show and boys. But as the only African-American kid in her class, she always felt a little different. Years later, living in Seattle, she was still an outsider -- only this time it was her rural background that branded her as different. The next episode in OPB's Oregon Experience, "The Logger's Daughter," tells the story of Trice's exploration of her family's past and how she found a community that embraced her. It's a "family" she never knew she had. Tune in to the stations of Oregon Public Broadcasting on Monday, February 9 at 9pm and Sunday, February 12 at 10:30pm to see how a town that's now gone can still provide a sense of kinship.

Large timber harvests require many workers, and logging camps were once common in the Oregon woods. But few of those camps housed whole families -- the fact that Maxille did made the town distinctive.

Maxville was built in 1923, almost overnight, by the Bowman-Hicks Lumber Company near Wallowa in eastern Oregon. The Maxville workers came mostly from out of state, transported by the company directly from the deep South. But what made Maxville unique was that 50 to 60 of its citizens were African-American. It was home to the only segregated school in Oregon. Its black residents lived in a group of houses across the tracks from the white residents. Yet conflicts across racial lines were few and friendships many.

Maxville was officially closed in the early 1930s, though a few loggers and their families stayed on for another dozen years. And most of what happened there during its short existence is not widely known.

Enter Gwendolyn Trice.

A black woman from La Grande, Gwen never knew much about her father's early years in Oregon. She only recently learned that he had left Arkansas in the 1920s with his father to live and work in this place called Maxville.

A couple of years ago, Gwen set out with a tape recorder and a video camera to learn more about Maxville. Her gathering of oral histories took some unexpected turns as she became immersed in a much wider community. The story of that community, its history and its people is revealed in "The Logger's Daughter."

Watch the complete program online anytime after February 9 at the Oregon Experience Web site.

About Oregon Experience
Oregon Experience is an exciting history series on OPB that brings to life fascinating stories that help us understand who we are and that reinforce our shared identity as Oregonians. The series, co-produced by the Oregon Historical Society and Oregon Public Broadcasting, takes advantage of the extensive film, video and stills from the archives of OHS and OPB, and draws upon the expertise of OHS researchers and historians. Each show features captivating characters -- both familiar and forgotten -- who have played key roles in building our state into the unique place we call home. Funding for Oregon Experience is provided in part by Ann & Bill Swindells Charitable Trust, James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation and Oregon Cultural Trust. The Oregon Experience Web site is opb.org/oregonexperience.

Oregon Public Broadcasting Receives Prestigious duPont-Columbia Journalism Award

Award-Winning Coverage Will Be Featured in the Annual Documentary, TELLING THE TRUTH: THE BEST IN BROADCAST JOURNALISM, Premiering on Jan. 15 on OPB

Today Columbia University announced that Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) was selected as one of 13 winners of the 2009 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards for broadcast journalism. Chosen from a pool of hundreds of radio and television news entries that aired in the United States between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008, the award-winning journalists will be presented with the duPont silver baton on January 22 in a ceremony at Columbia University. The duPont Awards are considered the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prizes.

OPB's award-winning entry, The Silent Invasion: An Oregon Field Guide Special, premiered on OPB last April. Produced by Ed Jahn, the documentary illustrates how invasive species are changing the environment in Oregon, and focuses on ways people can work together to make a difference to native fish and wildlife resources, Oregon's economy and quality of life. The broadcast marked the kickoff of the ongoing "Stop the Invasion" campaign that encourages community partners and citizens to collaborate in their efforts to take action against invasive species. More information about The Silent Invasion and "Stop the Invasion" is available at the program Web site.

Cinny Kennard, member of the duPont-Columbia University Award jury for excellence in broadcast journalism, noted: "The Silent Invasion provides great clarity about a critical environmental issue – invasive species … The jury was struck by the boldness and courage of OPB to attack such issues and then to put resources against it. The work is educational, informative and the production exemplary. Oregon Public Broadcasting has a long history of producing exceptional work, and we are thrilled to present this award to them for The Silent Invasion."

"Being recognized by the duPont-Columbia Awards is one of the highest honors in broadcast journalism and a proud moment for OPB," said Steve Bass, OPB president and CEO. "The production of The Silent Invasion represented a tremendous commitment of time and resources for us, but we knew it was the right thing to do. It is indeed gratifying that the importance of this effort is recognized and affirmed by duPont with this award."

ABC's Bob Woodruff will interview Jahn and several of the duPont winners in the special program Telling the Truth: The Best in Broadcast Journalism premiering on January 15 at 10pm on OPB. This program, an annual feature on public television stations, will include excerpts of the winning programs and explore how journalists outsmart the blizzard of spin, the limitations of newsroom budgets, and the logistics of travel to dangerous locations in order to produce exemplary stories.
View a complete list of award recipients

About the duPont-Columbia University Award
The Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards honoring overall excellence in broadcast journalism were established in 1942 by Jessie Ball duPont in memory of her husband, Alfred I. duPont. With his cousins, Mr. duPont transformed their gunpowder company into the chemical company E.I. duPont de Nemours. He later created a successful financial institution in Florida and was owner of a chain of small-town newspapers in Delaware. The duPont Awards have been administered since 1968 by Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. The school also administers the awarding of Pulitzer Prizes.

Award winners receive batons designed by the late American architect Louis I. Kahn. The batons are inscribed with the famous observation about the power of television by the late Edward R. Murrow: "This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box." (Excerpted from Murrow's address to the Radio and Television News Directors Association, Chicago, October 15, 1958.)

THINK OUT LOUD Invites Audience Participation in Special Martin Luther King Jr. Day Broadcast

Martin Luther King Jr. said, "If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving. And so today I still have a dream." For many Oregonians, the inauguration of Barack Obama-- the first black president of the United States-- represents a new era of hopes, dreams and fears.

President-elect Obama will be sworn into office on January 20, just one day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day. To mark the moment-- and to capture the feelings of Oregonians-- Oregon Public Broadcasting and Think Out Loud will take questions and reflections from the audience as part of a special Martin Luther King Jr. broadcast.

The event is free and open to the public and will take place from 9 to 10am on Monday, January 19, at the OPB studios on 7140 SW Macadam Avenue in Portland, OR.

"This historic moment offers Oregonians the opportunity to reflect back on the life of Dr. King and look ahead to our future under the leadership of Barack Obama," said Eve Epstein, executive producer of Think Out Loud. "How far have we come since Dr. King shared his dream?"

Join host Emily Harris and online host David Miller as they explore the legacy of Dr. King and ask Oregonians to reflect on their hopes and dreams for the next president, and their concerns for the next four years.

Doors will open at 8am and space is on a first-come, first-seated basis. For more information about the event or about Think Out Loud, please visit OPB's Events Page or call OPB at 800.241.8123.

About THINK OUT LOUD
Think Out Loud is a call-in and online radio program that airs weekdays (for channel listings, please visit OPB's Radio Page) at 9am and again at 9pm. On air since January 2007, Think Out Loud strives to create a space in Oregon and southern Washington for engaging civic dialogue about politics, music and sports, books and the environment, and any other issues that people in our region are talking about.