Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with Becky Magura, CEO of PBS affiliate WCTE in the Appalachian town of Cookeville in central Tennessee. WCTE serves one of America’s most rural realms where more than 30 percent of the 343,000 residents in the 14 county market region depend on reception via antenna, as cable service is often non-existent in the remote quarters.
In addition to serving as a lifeline to the community through WCTE’s emergency broadcast services, the station’s programming is focused on local sporting events, cultural affairs, music, and the arts.
Equally invaluable is WCTE’s Educational Outreach programming, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which provides essential services for local school districts, teachers, and homebound rural residents with small children.
This show was originally broadcast November 9, 2018 and is reposted as a “best-of-the-best” podcast in celebration of Journeys of Discovery’s 31st anniversary producing on-air and digital media podcasts featured on KCBX and NPR One.
You are invited to subscribe to the Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel show podcast, Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer, featured on the NPR Podcast Directory, Apple Podcast, the NPR One App & Stitcher.com. Twitter: TomCWilmer. Instagram: Thomas.Wilmer. Member of the National Press Club in Washington D.C. Underwriting support supplied by Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative.