WFSU-TV

WFSU-TV (channel 11) is a PBS member television station in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is owned by Florida State University alongside NPR members WFSU-FM (88.9) and WFSQ (91.5 FM). The three stations share studios at the Public Broadcast Center on the Florida State campus on Red Barber Plaza in Tallahassee; WFSU-TV's transmitter is located near Bloxham, Florida.

WFSG (channel 56) in Panama City operates as a full-time satellite of WFSU-TV; this station's transmitter is located near Ebro. WFSG covers the Panama City and Marianna areas and the Emerald Coast (Eastern Florida panhandle), although there is significant overlap between the two stations' contours otherwise. WFSG is a straight simulcast of WFSU-TV; on-air references to WFSG are limited to Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-mandated hourly station identifications during programming. Aside from the transmitter, WFSG does not maintain any physical presence locally in Panama City. Although Panama City is in the Central Time Zone, all schedules are listed in Eastern Time.

History

WFSU-TV went on the air for the first time on September 20, 1960, on channel 11. The FCC had allocated only one VHF channel (channels 2-13) to the Tallahassee market.[1]

Today in the Legislature

In 1973, "Florida Public Broadcasting" (FPB), a joint venture between WFSU-TV and WJCT in Jacksonville, and under the aegis of the Florida Public Broadcasting Service, began program coverage of the Florida Legislature, which was transmitted to and broadcast by the eight affiliated PBS television stations in Florida, from a mobile facility located on the grounds of the State Capitol. The program was called Today in the Legislature, and was the first of its kind in the United States, preceding legislative programs in other states, and U.S. Congressional coverage by C-SPAN.[3]

Reaction to the first year of the program was positive.[4][5] The state legislature dedicated funds to expand the program, managed exclusively by WJCT.[6] Production facilities migrated into the (old) Capitol building, with engineering and studio facilities constructed on the third floor. The first broadcast from the new facility was on April 2, 1974. Today in the Legislature expanded into an hour-long weekday program during the legislative session, with a one-hour Spanish language summary, Hoy en la Legislatura produced on Fridays as well as a sign language program. It was hosted by veteran broadcaster Jim Lewis, with additional commentary by Elizabeth "Bib" Willis.[7] Research, engineering, and production crews were composed chiefly of recent graduates from the Florida State University Department of Communications (now the Florida State University College of Motion Picture, Television and Recording Arts), nearly all under the age of 25, including producer Elliott C. Mitchell and director John P. Leu, as well as future Georgia legislator Chesley V. Morton, who worked as a still photographer and camera operator for the program.[8][9][10] Today in the Legislature was described as a "unique blend of television of record and more conventional news coverage."[3][11] A research study concluded that the program generated more positive attitudes about the legislature and increased political knowledge in adolescents who viewed the broadcast, although only 12% found the programming to be "interesting".[12]

name1	WFSU-TV
city1	Tallahassee, Florida
branding	WFSU Public Media PBS
digital1	32 (UHF)
virtual1	11
affiliations	11.1/56.1: PBS for others, see
country	United States
airdate1	September 20, 1960
callsign meaning1	Florida State University
former channel numbers1	Analog: 11 (VHF, 1960–2009)
owner	Florida State University
sister stations	WFSU-FM, WFSQ, WVFS, WFSW
former affiliations1	NET (1960–1970)
erp1	937.8 kW
haat1	237 m
facility id1	21801
coordinates1	30.35881°N, -84.61047°W
licensing authority	FCC
website	https://wfsu.org/
name2	WFSG
city2	Panama City, Florida
digital2	28 (UHF)
virtual2	56
airdate2	July 22, 1988
callsign meaning2	WFSU Gulf Coast
former channel numbers2	Analog: 56 (UHF, 1988–2009) Digital: 38 (UHF, 2003–2019)
erp2	110 kW
haat2	151.7 m
facility id2	6093
coordinates2	30.3675°N, -85.92444°W

History

Today in the Legislature

Technical information

Subchannels

Analog-to-digital conversion

Other services

4FSU

Controversy

External links

References