Our Town Series on WVIA to Focus on Lewisburg The city of Lewisburg in Union County will be featured in WVIA’s “Our Town” series. “Our Town Lewisburg” will be a “day-in-the-life” one-hour video scrapbook focusing on the people, places, and happenings of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, as seen through the eyes of its residents. Lewisburg residents are invited to attend the first “Our Town Lewisburg” community/volunteer meeting, Thursday, February 10th at 6:30 p.m. at Community Partnerships at 328 Market Street, Lewisburg PA, 17837. Residents will discuss which landmarks, events, and local stories the program should tell about their town. WVIA will answer questions about the project during the meeting and ask volunteers to brainstorm a list of subjects and events to videotape. On Thursday, February 17th at 6:30 p.m. WVIA will hold a second community/volunteer meeting at Community Partnerships. During this meeting volunteers will participate in a whiteboard session to determine the stories to be told in the program and which stories each volunteer will videotape to create “Our Town Lewisburg.” WVIA hopes to recruit 20 to 25 area residents with personal camcorders. If needed, the snow date for the meeting will be on Thursday, February 24th at 6:30 p.m. Following safety protocol, attendees will be required to wear masks at each meeting. Anyone interested in being a videographer and/or storyteller for the program should contact VIA “Our Town” producer, Lisa Mazzarella, at 570-602-1164 or by e-mailing lisamazzarella@wvia.org. “Our Town Lewisburg” will debut in June 2022 on WVIA TV. For more information on the “Our Town” series, visit http://www.wvia.org/television/documentaries/our-town-series/. As the public television station serving northeastern and central Pennsylvania, the “Our Town” project was initiated in an effort to involve the communities and their residents with WVIA. The “Our Town” series is intended to treat viewers to the many personalities, perspectives, and possibilities that local towns have to offer.
WVIA Now Live on Directv Stream WVIA announced today that it is now live streaming on DIRECTV STREAM. A dedicated live channel for WVIA is already available to all local DIRECTV STREAM customers, supplemented with additional PBS on-demand programming that will continue to expand PBS’s digital footprint and offer viewers additional ways to stream PBS content. “As viewer habits continue to evolve, PBS remains committed to making our award-winning, national and local content available to all Americans across as many platforms as possible. This partnership will allow PBS and our member stations to expand our digital footprint and reach more viewers with content that inspires, educates, and entertains,” said Ira Rubenstein, PBS Chief Digital and Marketing Officer. “Entertainment is personal and should serve every member of the household, which is why we’re partnering with PBS to deliver DIRECTV STREAM customers more choice, more control and a more convenient way to access the content they care about most,” said Rob Thun, Chief Content Officer for DIRECTV. Relationships like this one ensure that on-demand content from PBS favorites including AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, FRONTLINE, GREAT PERFORMANCES, MASTERPIECE, NATURE are available to as many viewers as possible. In addition, PBS KIDS channel has recently joined both the DIRECTV STREAM and DIRECTV lineups, helping to extend the PBS mission of preparing young children for success in school and life through trusted, educational media, available anytime and anywhere. Now, even our youngest of viewers can access their favorite series, including DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD, MOLLY OF DENALI, ODD SQUAD, PINKALICIOUS & PETERRIFIC and WILD KRATTS, among many others, via DIRECTV and its on-demand menu or using the same capabilities on DIRECTV STREAM. In addition to DIRECTV STREAM, WVIA content is available on all WVIA-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and PBSKIDS.org, as well as the PBS Video app and PBS KIDS Video app. WVIA members are also able to view an extended library of quality public television programming via Passport.
WVIA Announces News Director WVIA, the PBS and NPR affiliate for northeastern and central Pennsylvania, has announced that Julie Sidoni is the organization’s new News Director. Sidoni will start at WVIA on October 4, 2021. As WVIA’s news director, Sidoni will lead WVIA’s investment in local journalism and will oversee WVIA’s local coverage across all of the station’s television, radio, and digital platforms. “We are thrilled that Julie will be guiding WVIA’s journalism team. Our priority in the past year has been to increase local output across platforms and have deeper conversations that effect change,” said WVIA President and CEO Carla McCabe. “With Julie’s extensive career serving northeastern and central Pennsylvania and her knowledge of the issues that matter most to the people we serve, Julie is uniquely positioned to lead this public service for the WVIA community by adding a journalistic perspective.” “With over 20 years of covering stories in our region, we are very excited to have Julie come aboard,” said Ben Payavis II, WVIA Chief Content Officer. “We look forward to the contributions she and her team will bring to the radio programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered, as well as our public affairs television series, Keystone Edition.” Julie began her award-winning journalism career in public radio, at the NPR affiliate WDUQ-FM in Pittsburgh. She also spent time learning the business as a producer at WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh before graduating from Duquesne University, and soon landed her first on-air television reporting job at WJAC-TV in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. A year and a half later, she was hired as a reporter for WNEP-TV in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and spent nearly 20 years there as an anchor/reporter. Aside from her work in the news business, Julie is also a writer and has been awarded a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Wilkes University. She is also an adjunct professor in the School of Communications at Wilkes University, teaching undergraduate public speaking. The St. Marys, PA native now calls Kingston home. She lives there with her husband, Attorney Jeffrey Yelen, and her two sons, Charlie and Jack. “I have loved serving my community all these years through my work at WNEP. I’m now very much looking forward to putting those years of experience into practice here at WVIA,” Sidoni said. “I learned how to be a journalist from my colleagues in public television and radio, so in many ways, this feels like a homecoming.”
Award Winning Journalist Tracey Matisak to Host WVIA Mental Health Initiative Mind Over Matter Award winning journalist Tracey Matisak will host the WVIA and Geisinger presented mental health initiative Mind Over Matter. “We are excited to have Tracey guide conversations and increase awareness of mental illness prevention, treatment, and management in our area” said Ben Payavis II, WVIA’s Chief Content Officer. “Her extensive resume and inquisitive approach make her an ideal partner on this project to inform and engage the people of northeastern and central Pennsylvania.” “Mental health is a topic that, until recently, has not gotten the attention it deserves. While we have all been (rightly) focused on COVID-19, the anxiety and depression that have come along with it have created something of a secondary pandemic. I’m encouraged by those in the public eye who have courageously come forward to share their challenges and spark a national and long overdue conversation around mental health. It’s a topic that has touched my own life, and one that I’m looking forward to exploring with WVIA viewers through Mind Over Matter. My hope is that the series will encourage and challenge us all, and heighten our awareness and sensitivity to this important topic” said Matisak. With more than 30 years of major market television and radio experience, Tracey has anchored numerous special projects for WHYY-TV/PBS in Philadelphia; she also serves as a regular guest host on WHYY-FM’s Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane. In addition, Tracey serves as moderator for the Philadelphia Speakers Series, where she has shared the stage with the likes of NBC’s Tom Brokaw, former British Prime Minister David Cameron, Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson and acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns. Tracey is a frequent moderator for the Author Events series at the Free Library of Philadelphia, where she has interviewed former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, entertainer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte, Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington and Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, among others. In addition, Tracey travels nationwide hosting live, interactive executive leadership webcasts for Skillsoft Corporation. In that capacity, she regularly interviews some of the most widely respected authors and speakers in the business world, including Daniel Pink, Seth Godin, John Maxwell and Angela Duckworth. Tracey is perhaps best known for her work in television news, having worked for 12 years at FOX 29, Philadelphia. There, she anchored the live morning show Good Day Philadelphia and served as an anchor and reporter for FOX 29’s Ten O’Clock News. She was also a contributor to the HGTV show Design Basics, and has served as a news anchor for a number of Philadelphia radio stations, including KYW Newsradio. A graduate of Temple University, Tracey taught for several years there as an adjunct instructor in the Klein College of Media and Communication. A winner of several local Emmy awards, Tracey was among the first to be inducted into Temple University’s School of Media and Communications Hall of Fame. She has also won the Sarah Award for Excellence in Broadcasting from the Association for Women in Communications and was named Communicator of the Year by the National Black MBA Association. Originally from Hazleton, PA, Tracey and her husband Daniel are the parents of three young adults; they live in suburban Philadelphia. Mind Over Matter is a yearlong initiative which includes programs and presentations created by WVIA. The series goal is to combat the stigma and increase awareness, prevention, treatment and management of a range of mental Illnesses. Like WVIA’s successful Battling Opioids series, this public health initiative aims to improve the mental and physical health of our community through a multi-platform approach that will include TV, radio, and digital content. Major funding for Mind Over Matter is provided by Geisinger. On Thursday, August 26th at 8pm the initiative will present Living with Alzheimer’s & Dementia, a program that explores the effects these diseases have on individuals, families and communities. To find more information and to learn more about Mind Over Matter visit wvia.org/mindovermatter.
WVIA Announces Kate Sickora as New Chief Development Officer WVIA, the PBS and NPR affiliate for northeastern and central Pennsylvania has announced that Kate Sickora is the organization’s new Chief Development Officer. Sickora will start at WVIA in July. “I am excited to have the opportunity to work with Kate and proud that we can attract such talent to join the WVIA team” said Carla McCabe, WVIA President and CEO. “Kate brings the perfect mix of fundraising experience and commitment to the public media mission.” Kate Sickora is an award-winning Development Professional and Major Gifts Officer who has spent her career in public television and radio raising millions of dollars over her twenty years in the industry. Starting first at KLRN Public Television in San Antonio, Kate then moved to Oregon Public Broadcasting for her role as Director of Major Gifts. She then served as a major gifts and board development consultant to over a dozen stations creating new major gift programs and coaching station staff how to strengthen those already in place. After NPR received the transformational bequest by Joan Kroc, NPR hired Kate to work collaboratively with stations to build trusting relationships so further philanthropic opportunities could thrive. She is delighted to work in the space where her personal passion for a stronger public media system and her great honor in connecting with inspiring philanthropists overlap. “I am thrilled to join Carla McCabe and her strong team at WVIA,” said Sickora. “The station has such a great history, a talented and committed board of directors, and a long history of loyal support from the community. To me this signals WVIA’s value as a very special regional treasure and I believe in Carla’s vision for making the station even stronger for the future. My children and I are looking forward to embracing the NEPA community as our new home.”
WVIA Wins 2021 Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Award WVIA has been awarded the 2021 Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Award in the Judges’ Merit Television Category for the presentation of the Scranton Civic Ballet’s production of ‘The Nutcracker’. “WVIA was honored to present this performance to the people of northeastern and central Pennsylvania. This award is a credit to the talented performers in front of the camera and behind the scenes that made this presentation a possibility.” Said Carla McCabe, WVIA President, and CEO. “It is always an honor to be recognized by the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters for the work that we do.” Said Ben Payavis II, Chief Content Officer at WVIA. This inaugural collaboration was made possible by a generous COVID Creative Community Grant from the Lackawanna County Council on the Arts. “The Nutcracker” presentation, which annually presents an educational performance for 1,200 school children at no charge was seen across 21 counties throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and schools received a digital link to enhance their virtual curriculum with this artistic performance. Under the artistic direction of Helen Gaus, 60 students and adults, ranging in age from 8 to 50, shared the timeless tale of Clara, Drosselmeyer, and the Nutcracker that unfolds as the delicate Sugar Plum Fairy and all of Tchaikovsky’s musical sprites weave their enchanting spell. WVIA’s presentation of the Scranton Civic Ballet’s production of ‘The Nutcracker’ is available to watch anytime, on-demand at https://www.pbs.org/video/the-nutcracker-presented-by-scranton-civic-ballet-company-lmihxl/, as well as on the PBS and WVIA apps. The Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters endeavors to promote collaboration between radio and television broadcast station owners, managers, and staff across the Commonwealth. We assist our member stations in serving their communities, audiences, and advertisers through FCC licensed free over-the-air broadcast program operations. To learn more about the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters, please visit https://pab.org.
WVIA to Air Special Rebroadcast of War Stories: Pat Solano In remembrance of Pat Solano, WVIA will air a special rebroadcast of the award-winning original documentary film War Stories: Pat Solano on Friday, January 29th at 7:30pm and on Sunday, January 31st at 1:30pm on WVIA TV. Solano, a resident of Pittston Township, was a decorated veteran of World War II having completed 23 combat missions with the Eighth U.S. Air Force Heavy Bombardment Group. During his military career he earned multiple military honors and medals. For more information and to watch War Stories: Pat Solano on-demand please visit https://on-demand.wvia.org/video/wvia-special-presentations-war-stories-pat-solano/
