Keast Appointed To PBS Board of Directors


Bob Keast, Camden was recently appointed to serve on the Board of Directors for the West Tennessee Public Television station, WLJT Channel 11. The four-year term is a non-paid working position serving alongside the remaining twelve seats overseeing the marketing, programming, budgeting, engineering, production, education, and administration of the PBS (Public Broadcasting Station) affiliate.

Keast and several Birdsong Resort staff member have served for a number of years on the annual WLJT Telethon fund-raising event, as well as keeping a close support relationship with the station.

WLJT-TV originally signed on the air in March of 1968 as a repeater site in Lexington, Tennessee for the PBS station in Memphis. All public television entities in Tennessee were owned and operated by the state of Tennessee under the Department of Education. In 1981, studios were activated, staffing was initiated, and administrative offices were established on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Martin.

In 1984, the State divested itself of ownership of all public television stations in the state. Consequently, the West Tennessee Public Television Council was established to take over ownership of WLJT.

Local programs are produced from the studio on the campus of UTM, as well as with our mobile production truck facilities. With limited resources and student crews, WLJT provides many hours of programming for the local West Tennessee viewers. Local issues, public affairs, community events, sports and area parade broadcasts have all become a mainstay in WLJT's local production efforts.

On-air operations were still being handled from the Lexington transmitter site until 1993. A grant was obtained by the federal government to construct a master control room in the Communications Building which housed the studio on the UTM campus. A new remote-controlled microwave link was constructed between the UTM campus and the Lexington transmitter.

WLJT's mission is to educate, enrich and enlighten by providing programs and services of quality and value to West Tennessee and the surrounding area. WLJT strives to achieve a new generation of television that will offer a higher level of programming excellence, educational opportunity and viewer involvement.

WLJT's goals include many facets of broadcast services for the future. Excellence is continually a primary goal for both national and local programming. In addition, expansion of educational services and technology are foremost in the plans of WLJT, both now and in the future. It is essential that WLJT continue to progress in the areas of community service and outreach, enabling viewers, and all people of West Tennessee, more opportunities for events and services that might not otherwise be available.

"I am honored to serve the public and help to promote public broadcasting," said Keast. According to a new Roper Starch Poll, rank public television and radio as the third and fourth most-valued expenditures of tax dollars, behind defense and medical/technological research. Over 87 million Americans watch public television each week, and over 500,000 working adults participate in after-college credit courses. Public TV's Ready-To-Learn service supports programs that encourages and teaches millions of children to read - with proven success.