WGBH Educational Foundation
WGBH Educational Foundation is a public television station classified as a non-profit organization, located in Boston Massachusetts. This organization uses the entertainment media as a primary means by which it reaches out to millions of people across the world.
The WGBH Educational Foundation reaches out to its audiences through several forms of communication media like television, radio, internet websites, online interactive magazines, audio-video and even mobile applications. Whatever be the form of communication, WGBH Educational Foundation will use it to reach its audience.
WGBH-TV is one of the main members with the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), a national non-profit broadcasting television station. WGBH programs accounts to almost two thirds of the programs in PBS and therefore is the single largest producer of TV content for the PBS (web content too). Its sister concern are WGBX-TV ( Boston) and WGBY-TV (Springfield) both owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation. Most of the programs that are aired by WGBH focus on education for children.
WGBH (FM) is the primary radio service of the WGBH Educational Foundation. It serves as a primary source of radio for the people of Boston. It is a member of the National Public Radio and the Public Radio International Firms with the help of which its presence spread all over the world. It has been nicknamed as "Boston's NPR Station for News and Culture". Its sister concern stations are WCAI (with satellites WNAN and WZAI) located in Cape Cod and WCRB located in Boston.
Almost any educational topic is covered by the WGBH Educational Foundation. What makes WGBH Educational Foundation fascinating is that it keeps up with the fast developing technology of communication and provides its viewers with firsthand information on any topic of viewer's choice through various forms of media such as radio television, online or even the ordinary post.
WGBH Educational Foundation has received many accolades. It has been honored several awards from both Radio and Television like the Emmy's, BAFTA Craft, Peabody and even the Academy Awards.
Purpose
WGBH Educational Foundation has one exclusive mission, service to mankind to impart knowledge anytime, anywhere and in any form. The people at WGBH Educational Foundation are committed to changing the lives of people though programs and services that not only educate and entertain but serve as an inspiration.
This is the newly refined purpose with which the WGBH Educational Foundation functions. The original objective was from John Lowell Junior, who used the radio as the means of broadcasting free lectures on various cultural topics to the people of Boston as early as 1830s.
The purpose of WGBH Educational Foundation is realized in the form of services that they provide. Each of these services has the main mission imbibed. Their first and foremost objective is to make use of the knowledge and information available to one and all at any time, anywhere. The organization is ready to deliver the information in any format through various communication mediums suitable and convenient to the reader.
Another objective is to take the opinion of the audience as they are the ones who use the product and their feedback is a valuable source for continuous improvement. This action of inclusion of the viewer brings in a sense of belongingness and participation, which pushes them to contribute more to the betterment of services along with new and innovative ideas of working.
WGBH Educational Foundation aims to make the public media very easy to access. They work in various ways to come out with innovative ideas and methods by which information is made available to the audience.
Since most of the programs that WGBH Educational Foundation deals with are for children, it works towards the absoluteness of the information so that the child can use information to grow mentally. The people at WGBH Educational Foundation put their best efforts in researching, since information is very vital for educating children. This genuine act of serving children has won the trust of parents, educators as well as public.
History
The actual history of WGBH Educational Foundation dates back to early days of 1800s. There was a businessman and philanthropist called John Lowell Junior who owned textile industries in Boston. During that time, his travels for business and love for mankind took him many places around the world. He was well known for his free lectures to people about his travels and business.
In 1836, when he died while on a voyage, he left behind a large amount in his will to be used as fund for free lectures to the people of Boston on subjects of natural history arts, science and philosophy. His fund was used to form the Lowell Institute.
In the middle of the twentieth century, the WGBH Educational Foundation decided to get into the radio and television broadcasting business. The Cooperate Broadcasting council of the Lowell institute in 1951 received the first broadcasting license under the name of WGBH Educational Foundation (GBH stands for the Great Blue Hill on which the first transmitter was located).
The WGBH Radio aired its first broadcast of the Boston Symphony on October 6, 1951 on the 89.7 MHz FM. From then on several broadcasts on various topics have been made and still continue to be aired on the WGBH radio.
WGBH- TV Channel 2 came into effect and went on air on May 2, 1955 in its studio in Cambridge. It became New England's first noncommercial television service. However, in the year 1961, this studio was destroyed in a fire. However, it did not stop the airing of programs. The WGBH Educational Foundation used the help of other broadcaster to relay their programs.
In 1863, their new studio in Allston began functioning. In the year 2007, the WGBH studios moved to a new location, Brighton. Other than the television and the radio, the WGBH Educational Foundation is active on the internet through several portals and websites reaching out with their services to millions of people across the world.
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