 | Don Checots
(CHEE-CAUGHTS) is a native of Pennsylvania. He left there in 1965 to join the United States Air Force. While in the Air Force Mr. Checots became involved with Armed Forces Radio and Television, and helped install AFTN radio and television services in Thailand. From there, he assumed more responsible management positions in public broadcasting stations and eventually moved to Bemidji, Minnesota where he built a full-service public TV station. While there, he received a Bush Foundation Summer Fellows Award and attended the Harvard Business School's Public Broadcasting Executive Management Program. After Bemidji, he moved to South Bend, Indiana as President/General Manager of public television station WNIT. In January 1997, he moved to Wichita as President/General Manager of KPTS and works with the Board and community to reinvent public broadcasting in South-Central Kansas. Don may be contacted by phone at (316) 838-3090, or by e-mail at dchecots@kpts.org. |
Media
2002-03-01 16:32:00
Local programming
Answer: As a community licensed public television station, you the viewer own KPTS. Because of this unique partnership, KPTS Channel 8 is dedicated to being the leader in local television and places a priority on creating local programming that meets the needs of the community.However, local programming is also among the most expensive ventures for a public television station. There always seem to be more great ideas for local shows than available money to put them on the air.Unlike the commercial broadcast stations, KPTS is motivated more by community service than by the potential for advertising dollars. However, a PBS station must also be financially responsible to our members, who are the owners, and exercise prudence when deciding how we use our production resources.Any organization or individual can submit an idea for a local production, providing it meets a few criteria. The most important aspect to be considered when submitting a local production concept is that the program idea addresses a need in the community. Keeping in mind that the very mission of PBS is quality educational programming, which emphasizes the needs of the communities it serves. As the local PBS station, KPTS receives many ideas for programming from our viewing public, and, obviously, we cannot begin to get all of them on the air. However, to help expedite the process, we have created a form that interested parties can fill out, describing their idea, potential funding sources, target audience and provide any other useful information about the production idea. All necessary information and copies of this form are available by contacting the KPTS production department. To give you an idea of how the board of directors at KPTS have governed the station to address the communities needs, we invite you to watch the following programs. Kansas Week, On The Record and Ask Your Legislator, are all part of our public affairs initiative. Kansas Week and On the Record are produced year round by all the Kansas public television stations, as they address the statewide public affairs agenda. Ask Your Legislator is a call in show that airs only during the legislative session and offers viewers the opportunity to communicate directly with their elected representatives in Topeka.We produce zygo, a monthly cultural diversity program that was created three years ago to help unite the community through better understanding of its many cultural and ethnic groups. "Sunflower Gardener" completed its fifth season last year, and will be on hiatus this season.Local segments for the children's show Zoom are also produced by KPTS, and we often create local companion - or "outreach" - shows for national productions such as the Bill Moyers series on death and dying, On Our Own Terms . Special one-time programs such as "Ask A Lawyer" and informational specials for adult seniors are planned for the coming season.
