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WSRE
CityPensacola, Florida
Channels
BrandingWSRE PBS
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
Founded1967
First air date
September 11, 1967 (57 years ago) (1967-09-11)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 23 (UHF, 1967–2009)
  • Digital: 31 (UHF, 2001–2019)
NET (1967–1970)
Call sign meaning
Santa Rosa and Escambia counties
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID17611
ERP859 kW
HAAT551.6 m (1,810 ft)
Transmitter coordinates30°36′41″N 87°36′26.4″W / 30.61139°N 87.607333°W / 30.61139; -87.607333
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.wsre.org

WSRE (channel 23) is a PBS member television station in Pensacola, Florida, United States. It is owned by Pensacola State College (PSC), with studios located at the Kugelman Center for Telecommunications on the Pensacola State main campus, and its transmitter near Robertsdale, Alabama.

WSRE went on the air in 1967 under the ownership of the Escambia County board of education. Its transmitter and studios were located at what was then known as Pensacola Junior College, and it provided instructional television and production services for local K-12 schools and the junior college as well as evening programming from National Educational Television, later supplanted by PBS. The college became the licensee in 1971, after Florida state law moved junior colleges under the control of the State Board of Education. In 1991, the WSRE-TV Foundation was established to provide financial support and administration.[2] In addition to a range of local programming, WSRE has provided public telecommunications and other services, including a radio reading service.

History

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The Board of Public Instruction of Escambia County, Florida, applied on May 24, 1965, for a construction permit to build a new non-commercial television station in Pensacola. The station was initially allocated channel 21, but this was changed to channel 23 before the permit was granted on May 10, 1966.[3] Though Pensacola was among the last population centers in the state to receive educational television, it already had suitable studio facilities at Pensacola Junior College (PJC), which would administer the new station.[4] The Pensacola educational television system had begun as a closed-circuit setup at Ferry Pass Junior High School in 1963 before moving to PJC; it was already broadcasting closed-circuit programming on the college campus and one educational series for elementary school students on Pensacola commercial station WEAR-TV.[5]

WSRE began broadcasting on September 11, 1967. The station offered courses for K-12 students, junior college courses, and programming from National Educational Television (NET).[6] These programs served as the core of channel 23's offerings; for instance, a fourth-grade science class that was offered in 1968 featured a chimpanzee from the Pensacola Zoo and was accompanied by a 60-page booklet for teachers.[7] The station operated only on weekdays until April 1969, when it was able to add programming on Saturdays and Sundays.[8] NET was supplanted by PBS in October 1970.[9]

In 1971, WSRE obtained equipment to begin broadcasting in color.[10] That August, the Escambia County school board transferred the license to Pensacola Junior College; the change was described as a "paper transfer" and followed a reorganization that moved junior colleges from the jurisdiction of county school systems to the State Board of Education. The school board ceased providing an appropriation for channel 23 after the 1972–73 school year.[11]

WSRE debuted a new local series, Gourmet Cooking with chef Earl Peyroux, in 1977. The program, originally ordered for 13 episodes, began national syndication to other public television stations in 1982 and was in production with new episodes as late as 1996, even though Peyroux had to take a two-year break to battle throat cancer.[12][13]

In 1988, the station became one of the first ten PBS stations to be equipped to broadcast multiple audio channels and thus to participate in a trial of Descriptive Video Service (DVS) audio description. The ten trial stations and PBS itself shared an Emmy Award in 1990 for their efforts; by 1991, there were 55 DVS-capable PBS stations.[14] Using the technology, WSRE also launched a radio reading service, Sightline, which operated from 1992 to 2011.[15] WSRE discontinued operation of Sightline when Florida cut all public broadcasting funding and had to lay off five people; production responsibilities were then assumed by public radio station WUWF.[16] Another service offered by the station was local cable channel "WLNE" (Where Learning Never Ends), which offered telecourses from 1997 to 2008.[2]

The Kugelman Center for Telecommunications, which houses WSRE's studios, was completed in 1994. It is named for Jack and Jane Kugelman, whose gift helped finance the construction of the $10 million complex.[17] The Kugelmans made a second major gift that financed the construction of a digital transmitter for the station;[18] WSRE built its digital transmitter in Baldwin County, Alabama, in 2001, increasing its coverage area to include Mobile.[2][19] In 2005, the station opened the Jean and Paul Amos Performance Studio; the donor was the founder of insurer Aflac and his wife.[20] The studio boasted seating for 650 people as well as digital equipment.[21] Another studio at the station was used for the production of MSNBC's Scarborough Country when its host, former representative Joe Scarborough, was in Pensacola.[22]

In 2010, Pensacola Junior College was renamed Pensacola State College in anticipation of adding four-year degrees to its offerings.[23]

Funding

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In 2021–2022, WSRE had a total revenue of $4.625 million. A total of 4,503 contributors and members donated $461,000, or 10 percent, of the total. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting provided $1.11 million, most of that in the form of a Community Service Grant. Pensacola State College provided another $1.18 million, while $1.36 million of income came from a one-time insurance reimbursement.[24]

Local programming

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Local programs produced by WSRE as of 2022 included community affairs show Connecting the Community, discussion program Conversations with Jeff Weeks, and Nightmare Theatre, presentations of horror movies aired by several PBS stations in other Southeastern cities.[25]

Technical information

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Subchannels

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The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WSRE[26]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
23.1 1080i 16:9 WSRE-HD PBS
23.2 480i WSRE-2 World
23.3 WSRE-3 The Florida Channel / Create
23.4 WSRE-4 PBS Kids

Analog-to-digital conversion

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WSRE discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 23, on February 17, 2009, in compliance with the transition from analog to digital broadcasts.[27] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition channel 31, using virtual channel 23.[28] WSRE relocated its signal from channel 31 to channel 24 on January 17, 2020, as a result of the 2016 United States wireless spectrum auction.[29]

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WSRE". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ a b c "History". WSRE. Archived from the original on September 4, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  3. ^ "FCC History Cards for WSRE". Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  4. ^ Ellis, George (July 16, 1966). "Education TV Nearing Here". The Pensacola Journal. pp. 1A, 2A. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Channel 23: There's No Summer Hiatus for Pensacola's Educational TV As The Staff Gets Ready for School". The Pensacola News-Journal. July 17, 1966. pp. All Florida Magazine 7, 8, 11. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Educational Station WSRE-TV Goes on Air at 3 P.M. Today: New Station Gives Varied Program". The Pensacola Journal. September 11, 1967. pp. 1A, 2A. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Kennedy, Harold (September 8, 1968). "She Has Two Things Over Shirley Temple: Little Dee to Make TV Debut". The Pensacola News-Journal. p. 1A. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "WSRE-TV Extends Telecasting Schedule". The Pensacola News-Journal. April 20, 1969. p. E12. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Does ETV hold key to fairness?" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 5, 1970. p. 50. ProQuest 1016855219. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2022 – via World Radio History.
  10. ^ "Video Tape: WSRE TV Gets Color". The Pensacola News-Journal. August 29, 1971. p. 1D. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Jackson, Betty (November 9, 1972). "School Board Withdraws WSRE-TV Budget Funds". The Pensacola Journal. p. 1B. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Bradley, Mark (May 23, 1996). "What's cooking on TV? Chef Earl Peyroux enjoys sharing gourmet techniques with viewers". Pensacola News Journal. pp. 1B, 3B. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Lovett, Valerie (October 24, 2003). "'Down-to-earth' TV chef Peyroux dies after long illness". Pensacola News Journal. p. 1C. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Suchcicki, Mike (October 1, 1991). "WSRE one stop on Emmy's trail". Pensacola News Journal. p. 1D. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Freckmann, Donna (November 14, 1994). "Sightline members 'party on'". Pensacola News Journal. p. 1B. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "SightLine for blind returning: TV, radio stations to provide service". Pensacola News Journal. August 11, 2011. pp. 1B, 2B. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Bradley, Mark (November 5, 1994). "Center brings more broadcast technology to PJC, station". Pensacola News Journal. p. 1C. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "More Panhandle philanthropists". Pensacola News Journal. November 14, 2000. p. 3B. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Brantley, Mike (July 21, 2005). "Do you do digital? FCC mandates are aimed at speeding transition to new television standard". Press-Register. p. D1.
  20. ^ Crane, Charlotte (October 1, 2002). "Public TV station gets $500,000 family gift". Pensacola News Journal. p. 8C. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Lozare, Nicole (March 5, 2005). "WSRE opens high tech studio: Several already have called station to use new facility". Pensacola News Journal. pp. 1C, 4C. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Haller, Doug (September 14, 2003). "Joe-TV". Pensacola News Journal. pp. 1A, 4A. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Griggs, Travis (April 27, 2010). "PJC will become PSC: Pensacola State College will offer four-year degrees". Pensacola News Journal. pp. 1B, 3B. Retrieved October 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Annual Financial Report 2022" (PDF). WSRE. February 17, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  25. ^ "Local Content and Service Report 2021–22" (PDF). WSRE. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  26. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for WSRE". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  27. ^ "List of TV stations ending analog broadcasts". NBC News. Associated Press. February 17, 2009. Archived from the original on January 6, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  28. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. May 23, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  29. ^ "FCC TV Spectrum Phase Assignment Table" (CSV). Federal Communications Commission. April 13, 2017. Archived from the original on April 17, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
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