Each issue, Good Company highlights the history and recent activities of a notable Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green client. This month, we are delighted to profile New Hampshire Public Television, a client of the firm served by the Not-for-Profit Law Practice Group. Sheehan Phinney was delighted to be chosen as counsel to New Hampshire Public Broadcasting (the formal name of New Hampshire Public Television) when that entity was formed as a New Hampshire voluntary corporation last year.
New Hampshire Public Television was founded on July 6, 1959 with the premier of Channel 11 (NHPTV). The first program aired at 6 p.m., was a half hour dedicated to the founding of the station, followed by "Louis Lyons and the News." Other shows initially broadcast were "The Friendly Giant," "Highway Holiday," "Sew Easy," "Japanese Brush Painting," and "The Boston Symphony." The station signed off at 10 p.m., replaced by the familiar test pattern that those old enough to remember the earlier days of television will recall with a smile.
New Hampshire Public Television was first known as the "New Hampshire Network" and then "Channel 11." The network of stations has come a long way since 1959 when the single station began broadcasting via a fifty-one kilowatt transmitter in black and white. Today, transmission is via digital broadcast signal over the air and through cable and satellite television to color television screens.
In 1968, New Hampshire Public Television became part of the Public Broadcasting System ("PBS"). On February 17, 2009, NHPTV successfully made the transition from analog to digital transmission. Today, five transmitters situated around New Hampshire carry televisions signals to more than six hundred fifty thousand viewers per week. The signal reaches New Hampshire and into parts of Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts.
NHPTV is New Hampshire's only locally owned and operated television station and its only public television station. NHPTV's broadcast programs, educational services and community engagement initiatives support its mission of engaging minds, connecting communities and celebrating New Hampshire. It continues its mission as "educational television," the term by which many knew public television in its earliest days, in New Hampshire and elsewhere.
Throughout its history, New Hampshire Public Television has presented many popular award-winning PBS programs as well as its own original programming focusing on New Hampshire and the region. NH Outlook, Windows to the Wild, Granite State Challenge and a variety of public affairs specials (debates, forums, speeches) have been highlighted, and most of these are available on the website as "streaming video." Current distribution channels extend beyond on-air and NHPTV's website to YouTube, iTunes and Facebook, as NHPTV seeks to connect with younger viewers and supporters through online social networking media.
NHPTV currently features several special initiatives, including: "Making $ense New England," (an effort to examine how northern New England's economy is faring, undertaken jointly by NHPTV, Maine Public Broadcasting Network and Vermont Public Television); "Planet Granite" (a new community engagement initiative with statewide partners that focuses on raising awareness, presenting possible solutions and highlighting activities that advance sustainable practices to help the environment); and "LiveFIT NH" (a successful community and educational initiative and partnership that focuses on the childhood obesity epidemic).
NHPTV's Educational Services also are recognized for providing media-rich curriculum content and professional development services to New Hampshire schools. NHPTV offers workshops and online resources to educators, childcare providers, parents and students, reaching more than four hundred seventy public schools statewide. NHPTV also offers the PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest, a young writers and illustrators contest for students in grades K-5, and a mock election program.
"MESY" (Math, Engineering, Science and You) is a new initiative to engage and excite children, parents, educators and community leaders about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, using broadcast, web and workshop components. This initiative stresses how much fun science can be fun.
Last year, New Hampshire Public Television celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. "New Hampshire Public Television Day" was proclaimed by Governor John Lynch. Celebration of the anniversary included a banquet at Wentworth by the Sea featuring Jim Lehrer of the PBS NewsHour.
Many of those who grew up watching "Sesame Street" (which just turned forty!) became devotees of New Hampshire Public Television or the regional public broadcasting stations where they were raised. Public television, however, is much more than this - and New Hampshire Public Broadcasting, entering its second fifty years, will face all of the challenges that broadcast media face as technology changes and the means by which we receive news and information continue to evolve rapidly. NHPTV's efforts to differentiate itself from other stations, economic challenges, and increasing competition from cable channels, the Internet and alternative media illustrate why NHPTV is a worthy recipient of charitable dollars, since the in-depth analysis of issues and lack of commercial pressure make it a source of information that can be trusted. When New Hampshire Public Television asks for your viewership and for your dollars, please consider watching and giving. Contributions to New Hampshire Public Television can be sent to NHPTV, Box 37, Manchester, NH 03105 or online, and are fully tax-deductible.
President Peter Frid and his fine staff and board of directors have opportunities and challenges ahead, and if past achievements are any guide, they are more than up to them! Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green is proud of its association with New Hampshire Public Television!
For more information about New Hampshire Public Television, please refer to one of the links below:
NHPTV website: www.nhptv.org
Donate online: www.nhptv.org/donate
Subscribe to weekly e-news: www.nhptv.org/members/enews.asp
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/New-Hampshire-Public-Television/30508941818
Twitter: www.twitter.com/NHPublicTV
This article is intended to serve as a summary of the issues outlined herein. While it may include some general guidance, it is not intended as, nor is it a substitute for, legal advice. Your receipt of Good Company or any of its individual articles does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green or the Sheehan Phinney Capitol Group. The opinions expressed in Good Company are those of the authors of the specific articles.
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