Jump to content

Oklahoma Educational Television Authority

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from K34IN-D)
"KETA-TV" redirects here. Not to be confused with KERA-TV or WETA-TV.
"KOED-TV" redirects here. Not to be confused with KODE-TV or KQED.
"KOET" redirects here. For the former educational television station in Ogden, Utah, see KOET (Utah).
"KETA" redirects here. For other uses, see Keta (disambiguation).

Oklahoma Educational Television Authority
BrandingOETA
Programming
Subchannelssee § Subchannels
AffiliationsPBS
Ownership
OwnerOklahoma Educational Television Authority
History
First air date
April 13, 1956 (68 years ago) (1956-04-13)
NET (1956–1970)
Links
Websitewww.oeta.tv

The Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA) is a state network of PBS member television stations serving the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The authority operates as a statutory corporation that holds the licenses for all of the PBS stations operating in the state; it is managed by an independent board of gubernatorial appointees, and university and education officials, which is linked to the executive branch of the Oklahoma state government through the Secretary of Education.

In addition to offering television programs supplied by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and acquired from various independent distributors, the network produces news, public affairs, cultural, and documentary programming; the OETA also distributes online education programs for classroom use and teacher professional development, and maintains the state's Warning, Alert and Response Network (WARN) infrastructure to disseminate emergency alerts to Oklahoma residents. The broadcast signals of the four full-power and fifteen translator stations comprising the network cover almost all of the state, as well as fringe areas of Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas near the Oklahoma state line. It and KRSU-TV, an independent public station owned by Rogers State University in Claremore, are Oklahoma's only public television stations.

OETA's main offices and production facilities are located at the intersection of Kelley Avenue and Britton Road in northeastern Oklahoma City, adjacent to the former studios of KWTV-DT and KSBI. In Tulsa, OETA uses studios on the campus of Oklahoma State University's extension center.

History[edit]

Incorporation and development[edit]

OETA traces its history to November 19, 1951, when a state educational television development conference was held to direct the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to file applications with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reserve certain broadcast television frequencies in selected cities throughout Oklahoma for non-commercial educational stations.[1] In a unanimous vote, the Oklahoma Legislature subsequently approved House Concurrent Resolution #5, which urged the FCC to reserve broadcast television frequencies for non-commercial use. On May 18, 1953, Oklahoma became the first state that passed legislation to develop a statewide educational television service, when the legislature passed House Bill #1033, creating the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority as an independent statutory corporation. The bill—which was co-sponsored by State Rep. W. H. Langley (D-Stilwell) and State Sen. J. Byron Dacus (D-Gotebo), and was signed by Governor Johnston Murray—charged the organization with providing educational television programming to Oklahomans on a coordinated statewide basis, to be made possible with cooperation from the state's educational, government and cultural agencies, under the supervision and direction of the statute authority.[2][3][4]

After appointing its members, in August 1953, the OETA Board of Directors held its first meeting and began the process of forming a statewide public television network. On December 2, 1953, the FCC granted a construction permit to build a television station on VHF channel 13 in Oklahoma City; seven months later, on July 21, 1954, it would grant OETA a second permit to build a non-commercial station on VHF channel 11 in Tulsa.[5][6] To help finance the venture, the OETA was authorized to issue revenue bonds redeemable with financial funding accumulated in the public building fund. It would take three years for OETA to sign on its first station, as the legislature failed to appropriate operational funding to the statute corporation, which it was required to allocate under mandate of the authority charter; legislators believed that donations from private entities and the public would be able to cover the operating expenses for the upstart stations.[3][4][7]

After securing a broadcast license from the FCC, $540,000 in legislative appropriations, and private funding from various special interest groups (led by a $150,000 donation by Daily Oklahoman publisher Edward K. Gaylord and the donation of $13,000 worth of broadcasting equipment from RCA), KETA (which added the TV to its callsign on January 31, 1983) in Oklahoma City—which would become the network's flagship—was finally able to sign on the air over channel 13 on April 13, 1956; it was the first educational television station to sign on in Oklahoma, the second in the Southwestern United States (after KUHT in Houston, which launched in May 1953 as the nation's first public television station) and the 20th non-commercial television station to sign on within the United States. Channel 13 originally operated from studio facilities located on the campus of the University of Oklahoma in Norman; its transmitter antenna (which began construction on August 1, 1955) was based in northeast Oklahoma City near the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Kelley Avenue, per an agreement with the Oklahoma Television Corporation that granted the OETA free use of the 1,572-foot (479 m) transmission tower and adjacent land near the studio building of KWTV (channel 9).[7][3][8][9][10][11][12] (The tower was decommissioned when KETA and KWTV switched to digital-only broadcasts from a separate tower, located between 122nd Street and the John Kilpatrick Turnpike in northeast Oklahoma City, in 2009; the antenna and the upper half of the tower were physically disassembled by engineers and crane equipment during the summer of 2014, and its remnant sections were imploded that October.)[13][14]

KETA—as well as the full-power repeaters it would sign on in later years—originally served as a member station of the National Educational Television and Radio Center (NETRC), which evolved into National Educational Television (NET) in 1963. During its first fourteen years of operation, KETA – and later, KOED – maintained a 20-hour weekly schedule of instruction programming, broadcasting only on Monday through Friday afternoons (from 1:30 to 4 p.m.) from August through May; much of the station's programming in its early years consisted of video telecourse lectures televised in cooperation with the Oklahoma State Department of Education, which offered course subjects attributable for college credit. Programming from NET aired on KETA year-round during prime time for 2+1⁄2 hours each Monday through Friday (from 6:30 to 9 p.m.).[7][3]

In June 1956, ABC elected to use KETA to telecast the network's coverage of the Republican and Democratic national conventions, and Presidential election results. In seeking a waiver of FCC rules requiring advertisements to be deleted when an educational television outlet carries a sponsored program, ABC noted that it was denied "effective competitive access" in Oklahoma City, due to the fact that KWTV and NBC affiliate WKY-TV (channel 4) were the only stations operating in the market at that time and already had primary network allegiances. By early July, the OETA had withdrawn KETA from the waiver petition, resulting in the FCC choosing unanimously to refuse to "entertain" an ABC-only request to waive the rules.[15][16]

Expansion into a statewide network[edit]

A 1959 photo of an early broadcast being made from the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority.

Over the course of nineteen years, the authority gradually evolved into a statewide public television network. KOED-TV (channel 11) in Tulsa, which was founded through a legislative appropriation granted to the authority, became the first of KETA's three satellite stations to go on the air, on January 12, 1959. The launch of the state's second educational television station made Oklahoma only the second U.S. state to have an operational educational television network after Alabama Educational Television began expanding into a statewide network in April 1955. (The authority petitioned to move KOED's allocation to that reserved by local commercial station KJRH-TV [channel 2] in July 1981, but was ultimately denied permission to take over the frequency.)[7][3][17] In 1970, KETA and KOED became member stations of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which was launched as an independent entity to supersede and assume many of the functions of the predecessor NET network.

OETA experienced significant growth under the stewardship of Bob Allen, a former Director of Communications at the Oklahoma State Department of Education, who was appointed as the authority's executive director in June 1972 and remained in that position until his retirement in December 1998. Allen—who would also serve on the Board of Directors of PBS and other national public television organizations during his tenure at the member network—initiated many efforts to help grow OETA into his vision as a network that would distribute educational and cultural programs throughout Oklahoma's 77 counties.[18]) and Bill Thrash, who was appointed as OETA's station manager and program director after having worked at KTVY's programming and managerial departments since the 1970s,[19][20] In 1973, OETA expanded its broadcast schedule to 49 hours per week (from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 to 10 p.m. each weekday); that year, the network expanded its weekday lineup into the late-evening hours, and began to offer an expanded programming schedule on Saturdays (from 3 to 10 p.m.), in addition to an existing Sunday lineup that expanded from evenings only to the daytime hours around that time. OETA moved its main Oklahoma City operations in 1974, when it opened a new studio and office facility next to KETA's Kelley Avenue transmitter site, which was constructed through funds appropriated by the legislature and allowed the member network to begin producing locally originated programming.[7][3] To accrue additional donations to fund programming and operational expenditures, OETA inaugurated its annual "Festival" pledge drive in 1975; the first edition of the two-week event—which is held each March, except in 2019, during the suspension of pledge collections in the midst of its dispute with the OETA Foundation—saw OETA raise more than $125,000 in public and private donations to help with programming dues and acquisitions. In 1976, OETA purchased a mobile broadcasting unit for the production of programs in the field, which allowed it to conduct remote broadcasts at various locations throughout Oklahoma. The following year, the state legislature's OETA appropriation funding for 1977, granted the authority funds to purchase an extensive curriculum of instructional telecourse programs for broadcast on the network to schools across Oklahoma.

On December 1, 1977, the network launched its third station, KOET (channel 3) in Eufaula, as a satellite of KOED-TV to serve most of east-central Oklahoma.[a] The sign-on of KOET—which the FCC had reserved its would-be channel 3 allocation for noncommercial use on August 20, 1975, and granted it to petitioner OETA on December 28, 1976—was made possible in part by a 1966 federal grant to the authority that was intended to fund the expansion of the state network and to allow it to purchase color broadcasting equipment.[21][22] In 1978, OETA produced the first program to be syndicated nationally by the member network to other public television stations, when it broadcast the U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships; that year also saw the premiere of OETA's first regionally syndicated series, The Other School System, a 13-part program co-hosted by Art Linkletter and former Miss America (and Clinton native) Jane Jayroe.[7][3][23]

OETA launched its fourth and final full-power station on August 6, 1978, when KWET (channel 12) in Cheyenne signed on as a satellite of KETA, serving west-central and portions of northwestern and southwestern Oklahoma, and the far eastern Texas Panhandle. (OETA filed a petition to reserve channel 12 for non-commercial use on February 18, 1976, and granted it to the authority on May 13 of that year.)[3][24][25] OETA also began building a network of low-power UHF translators (each operating at 1,000 watts) to service parts of the state that were unable to receive the four full-power VHF stations. That same year, the network signed repeaters in Hugo and in Idabel to relay KOET.

In 1979, under the guidance of Governor George Nigh, OETA activated four additional translators in Beaver, Boise City, Buffalo and Guymon to relay KWET and KETA's programming to the Oklahoma Panhandle and portions of northwestern Oklahoma.[4] By the time the translator network was completed in 1981, with the sign-on of six repeaters in Alva, Ardmore, Duncan, Frederick, Lawton and Ponca City,[4] OETA extended its coverage to nearly the entire state. As of 2017, OETA's full-power stations make up the vast majority of its overall coverage, reaching roughly 80 percent of Oklahoma's geographic population.[4] In 1981, OETA opened a satellite facility in east Tulsa on North Sheridan Road and East Independence Street (southwest of Tulsa International Airport) to serve as a secondary production facility and to house the operations of KOED and its relays; the first television program to be produced out of the new Tulsa facility, Arts Chronicle, made its debut on the network the following year. 1981 also saw OETA enter into an agreement to syndicate Creative Crafts, an arts and crafts program that had been produced by KTVY in Oklahoma City since 1950, on the network's stations on a 13-week trial basis.[26]

On April 2, 1983, straight-line wind gusts between 100 and 120 miles per hour (160 and 190 km/h) at the upper sections of KETA's broadcast tower tore loose brackets that held in place a 1,600-foot (490 m) long, 6+1⁄8-inch (160 mm) thick copper transmission cable that linked to the station's transmitter dish, ripping the cable from the tower and causing an electrical short in the transmitter. Over-the-air service to KETA and its translators in north-central and southern Oklahoma was restored later that week, after KWTV allowed its fellow tower tenant to use their backup cable until repairs could be conducted. However, to facilitate upgrades to its transmission system that would begin on August 15, KWTV management notified Governor Nigh that it needed to use the cable to replace clamps attached to channel 9's main cable line, a situation that would have resulted in OETA having to suspend programming for two weeks.[27][28] After the Oklahoma State Contingency Review Board rejected the authority's request for emergency funds for the transmission cable replacement, on July 21, Allen initiated his own fundraising effort: it included distributing funding solicitation mailers that were delivered to 34,000 private and public donors who contributed to the "Festival '83" pledge drive that March (who were asked to contribute pledges averaging $6.40 per person), and a stunt conducted by Allen himself, in which he climbed onto the tower to seek donations from the public. The effort raised $248,000 in donations ($40,000 above his funding goal of $218,000).[20][29] The failure to obtain legislature approval to be granted funding for the repairs came as OETA received a 24.8 percent reduction in state funding in its 1983 funding appropriation, stemming from a decline in state revenue that necessitated budget cuts that adversely affected several other state agencies; the cuts led to OETA implementing a two-day furlough of its entire employee base that December. Also that year, the authority established the OETA Foundation, becoming one of the first public television stations in the nation to adopt an endowment model for private donations; the foundation's programming endowment plan was created to solicit and receive permanent endowment donations to help support Oklahoma's public television system.[4][30]

Newspaper ad announcing the debut of The Lawrence Welk Show on OETA, which would soon syndicate it to other PBS member stations nationwide.

To help improve OETA's standing in the state, Allen initiated several ambitious programming efforts. In 1987, the authority's production unit, The Oklahoma Network, acquired the national syndication rights to The Lawrence Welk Show, producing compilation episodes combining excerpts from the classic variety series with original hosted wraparound segments; OETA subsequently began distributing the program to other PBS member stations throughout the United States.[31] Then in 1989, the network premiered Oklahoma Passage, a five-part miniseries told in the form of a first-person story illustrating the first 150 years of Oklahoma's history from the perspective of a Georgia family who moved to the Indian Territory in the 1840s.[7] In 1990, OETA premiered Wordscape, a 16-part nationally syndicated instructional series for children in Grades 4 through 6, providing grammar instruction through two to five word cells per 15-minute episode, which were tied to a common theme; the Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded the program a 1991 Heartland Emmy Award for Outstanding Youth/Children's Program.[32][33]

The Literacy Channel[edit]

Further information: KAUT-TV § KTLC, The Literacy Channel

OETA was involved in a complex 1987 proposal by Pappas Telecasting involving three commercial stations in Oklahoma City. In the proposal, Heritage Media would donate the license of Fox affiliate KAUT-TV (channel 43) to OETA for $1 million; Pappas would purchase KOKH-TV, the programming of KAUT and independent KGMC (channel 34), along with KAUT's Fox affiliation; and KGMC would be converted into a HSN affiliate. OETA planned to fund KAUT's conversion through start-up grants, including a $75,000 grant from KOCO-TV.[34] One revision to the proposal had OETA purchase KGMC as a contingency.[35] Governor Henry Bellmon disapproved of this proposal following earlier claims from management of inadequate funds to operate the existing stations; the state legislature prohibited OETA from using state funds in the proposal in the state's 1990 funding appropriation bill, particularly if sufficient private funding was not obtained.[34][36][37] Bellmon also called for a state audit of OETA amid allegations from a former employee of public fund misuse and requiring station employees to attend foundation-related meetings and work for the foundation's pledge drive on state and additional uncompensated time.[38][39] Despite FCC approval, Pappas failed to finalize the KOKH purchase on a deadline, and the deal was terminated in February 1989.[40][41]

Heritage later filed to purchase KOKH-TV, concurrently donating KAUT's license, transmitter and master control facilities to OETA on April 23, 1991;[42] included in this was a two-year option for OETA to buy KAUT's remaining assets for $1.5 million.[37][34][36] KAUT's Fox affiliation, general manager, 30 employees and programming assets were all transferred to KOKH on August 15, 1991.[42][43][44][45] On that same date, KAUT was relaunched as "The Literacy Channel": a demonstration initiative devised by OETA's Board of Directors, the OETA Foundation Board of Trustees, and Heritage Media; PBS senior vice president for education services Sandy Welch and management with the Children's Television Workshop collaborated with the consortium in the development of the station's new format, which the OETA and PBS intended to use as a model for instructional and educational programming on a national level.[46] The second station allowed the OETA to more than double its offerings of telecourses in an effort to reduce illiteracy in the state,[34] with offerings of such series as Learn to Read and GED on TV.[46] KAUT's call sign changed to KTLC on January 17, 1992.[47][48]

As the OETA's state budget appropriation shrank, KTLC began altering its program format to save money, even though most of the channel's funding initially came from private sources. In July 1993, weekday and weekend morning schedules were axed, initially temporarily, in response to a 17.9-percent budget cut that left the Literacy Channel with no state funding source. The OETA board requested the OETA Foundation's permission to conduct two on-air fundraisers to keep the Literacy Channel on the air.[49][50] A nine-day fund drive took place in September.[51] By 1995, half of the funding for the Literacy Channel came from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the remainder from private donors, with no state funding.[52] This was the case even though governor David Walters had previously recommended expanding the service, saying, "[W]e need to sell reading and writing like we would sell soap."[53]

OETA put KTLC up for sale in October 1997 to help fund the network's digital television conversion process; The Literacy Channel would continue as a cable-only service alongside long-term plans to become an OETA digital subchannel. All proceeds from the sale would be placed in an endowment.[54] Paramount Stations Group, the owned-stations unit of UPN, won a bidding war for the station with a $23.5 million bid.[55] The bid was approved weeks before the market's existing UPN affiliate, KOCB, was to switch to The WB following a larger deal reached with KOCB's owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group,[56] a deal the network unsuccessfully fought in court.[57] Consequently, UPN was unviewable in the Oklahoma City market entirely[58] until KTLC was relaunched as KPSG-TV on June 19, 1998.[59][60][b] As part of the deal, Paramount agreed to air The Literacy Channel programming in late-mornings, provide OETA with airtime for promotions, cover some costs for digital equipment installation, and simulcast one fundraising drive per year, all over a five-year period.[62]

Recent history[edit]

In April 2000, OETA began installation of a digital satellite distribution network to replace its microwave distribution system, in an effort to modernize transmission relays to the 19 full-power and translator stations; the satellite feed was first uplinked to the authority's translators in the Oklahoma Panhandle, with the remaining stations being brought online into that summer.[63] In 2003, the four full-power OETA member stations each began to operate digital television signals; the launch of the signals came just before an FCC-imposed May 31 deadline for public television stations to commence digital transmissions, after delays by the state legislature in allocating funding for the upgrades until the 2001 legislative session, when it appropriated $5.6 million for OETA to install its digital transmission equipment (the OETA Foundation matched the appropriation with $5.6 million in private donations to fund the digital transition; funding for the network's digital transition would total at $11.5 million).[64][65] In 2005, OETA began broadcasting some PBS programs across its stations' digital signals in high definition. In 2006, the authority launched three full-time digital channels as a subcarrier feeds: OETA OKLA (which was devoted to local and regional programs, both recent and archived, along with carrying select PBS-supplied programming content; it was converted into an affiliate of the World Channel in January 2019), OETA Kids (offering PBS-supplied and acquired children's programs; it was originally programmed by OETA directly, before affiliating with the PBS Kids Channel in January 2017) and OETA You (a member service of the PBS YOU instructional programming network, which became an affiliate of its successor service Create in January 2007).[65] In December 2008, OETA began producing most of its locally produced productions in high definition; however, unlike the commercial television stations serving the state's four main television markets, most programming promotions supplied by PBS or short-form content produced internally or via outside providers aired during breaks between programs were not transmitted by the member network in HD until late 2018 (although underwriter sponsorship tags and select promos for OETA original programs were presented in the format).

As early as 2000, OETA developed plans to construct a new Tulsa facility to replace its existing Sheridan Road building, which suffered from infrastructure problems, space limitations, and technical issues with its aging broadcasting equipment (including equipment interference caused by airplanes arriving and departing from Tulsa International Airport). The authority obtained initial funding from several area legislative representatives, who pooled $250,000 in bond money diverted from the State Capitol improvement fund to go towards development of the new complex. OETA attempted to find a suitable facility when it decided to provide funding for the planned Thomas K. McKeon Center for Creativity at Tulsa Community College's South Boston Avenue campus, which was to include a television production facility funded independently of the college—to be named The Distance Learning Production and Broadcast Studio—connected or adjacent to the building to serve as its new Tulsa studio. The state legislature denied a proposal by the authority to appropriate funding to construct the studio building, resulting in OETA dropping out as a planned tenant at the Center for Creativity shortly before design renderings were submitted.[66] On August 20, 2009, OETA announced that it would build an 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m2) studio facility on the campus of Oklahoma State University–Tulsa, with construction scheduled to begin in October of that year. OETA moved its Tulsa operations into the new Greenwood Avenue facility in March 2011.[67][68][69]

State funding cutbacks[edit]

The Oklahoma Legislature has incrementally reduced OETA's budget, including a 45 percent decline between 2008 and 2016; total operating expenses fell from over $5 million to $2.8 million during this period. These cuts led to the cancellation of Oklahoma Forum and Stateline, and reductions in State Capitol bureau staff; in 2010, OETA employed 68 staffers, well below the 84 employees it was authorized.[70] State funding accounts for about one-third of OETA's budget, with the remainder of funding from member donations, in-kind contributions and Foundation donations;[70] By 2016, OETA executive director Dan Schiedel asserted the Foundation's donations were failing to keep up with the state's funding cutbacks, while several state legislators argued for OETA's elimination as it was no longer a "core government function".[71]

In May 2023, Governor Kevin Stitt vetoed a measure to provide state funding to OETA for three years, accusing the network of "indoctrinating" and "overly sexualizing" children, including broadcasting of pro-LGBT content in local and national programming.[72][73] The veto was later overridden by the Oklahoma Legislature.[74][75]

Dispute with the OETA Foundation[edit]

On December 6, 2018, the OETA Foundation filed a declaratory judgment petition with the U.S. District Court of Oklahoma County against the OETA, alleging that the agency was trying to "obtain complete and unfettered control" over the foundation's assets through a new proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would set new rules governing its relationship with the OETA Foundation not covered by an existing 1992 agreement to protect monetary gifts from private donors and underwriters and to comply with state regulator requirements, including classifying the foundation as a "component unit of OETA" and a revocable restriction on its use of OETA service marks or logos. The petition claimed that OETA refused to report on expenditures when requesting disbursements of its Corporation for Public Broadcasting Community Service Grant funding (received by the foundation on behalf of OETA), had accused the foundation of appropriating donations for the development of the cultural program Mosaic, Oklahoma without OETA authorization, and had caused a 30 percent decline in foundation donations over the same period in 2017 by airing national fundraising programs from PBS and other distributors instead of the locally originated AugustFest pledge drive—which, like OETA's other twice-yearly pledge drives, featured a mix of special programs and live segments—in 2018. OETA also suspended its 2019 Festival drive for similar reasons; the member network resumed pledge drives in November 2019, using the aforementioned national interstitial format and switching their scheduling from biannually to quarterly.[76][77]

Foundation representatives contended that OETA management believes that the foundation's oversight demands over budget issues had exceeded its authority, and that the Kirkpatrick Foundation and other unnamed private donors objected to provisions in the new MOU that would have given OETA greater operational control over the OETA Foundation and led the former to withdraw their support in July 2018 amid concern that the loss of the foundation's 501(c)(3) status would make their donations no longer be tax deductible.[c] In a statement OETA representatives also detailed other issues it says had arisen with the foundation in the years since Daphne Dowdy was appointed as its president in 2014, including the withholding of funds and refusal to release financial documents to the agency for joint audits with the Oklahoma state government. The OETA board later stated that the foundation had undertaken a disinformation campaign "aimed at undermining OETA in the hearts and minds of donors, citizens and public officials".[76][77][78]

On December 14, 2018, OETA informed the OETA Foundation that it must vacate the network's Oklahoma City headquarters by January 13, 2019; in its reasoning for the eviction, OETA Board of Directors chairman Garrett King stated that the OETA Foundation had interfered with day-to-day operations by changing locks, attempting other building alterations and denied OETA personnel access to sections of the member network's main facility, along with having foundation staff make repeated attempts to hack into OETA's computer system. The foundation defied the eviction notice, continuing to operate from the facility after the proposed deadline had passed; Dowdy cited the organization's lack of a lease or rental agreement with OETA for the facility as to why it chose not to vacate its offices.[79] Subsequently, on December 21, OETA asked the District Court for a summary judgement allowing it to terminate its current agreement with the OETA Foundation and be able to select and immediately transfer assets to another nonprofit organization if one was chosen to serve as its fundraising partner.[80]

On January 8, 2019, the nine-member OETA Board of Directors voted unanimously to sever ties with the OETA Foundation and transfer all fundraising efforts to a new organization, Friends of OETA Inc., while also adopting and ratifying an attorney-client contract approved by the office of then-Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter shortly after Friends of OETA was incorporated on November 30, 2018. OETA temporarily stopped accepting donations until a relationship between the agency and Friends of OETA was negotiated and formally ratified. Dowdy stated that the original foundation—which was required to relinquish all held assets, funds, information and property being held under the resolution—would continue fundraising and providing financial support for OETA as the action did not dissolve the OETA Foundation. The foundation also charged that Friends of OETA's management by OETA board members (with King as its president and Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Chancellor Glen Johnson acting as its secretary) created conflicts of interest that would result in the organization having a "complete absence of financial and ethical accountability". The new organization would otherwise be run by an independent governing board to which the authority would elect and whose members it would be able to remove.[81][82][83][84][85]

On April 10, 2019, the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority reached a "mutually acceptable" settlement agreement with the OETA Foundation, in which the foundation would dissolve and transfer "all funds and assets held in trust for OETA" (totaling $1.6 million) to Friends of OETA by 12 p.m. on April 12. As part of the agreement, Daphne Dowdy—whose role as OETA Foundation president was immediately terminated—would receive her remaining salary for 2019 as part of a severance agreement and was required to vacate her office at OETA's Oklahoma City headquarters by May 15, and the remaining OETA Foundation staffers would be permitted to choose between receiving severance pay or seeking employment with either OETA or Friends of OETA. The OETA Board of Directors seated the Friends of OETA governing board during a regularly scheduled meeting at its Oklahoma City offices on April 24.[86][87][88]

Programming[edit]

Original productions[edit]

OETA is one of several PBS member stations or regional networks that distributes programming for syndication to other public television stations around the United States; these programs, along with shows produced for exclusive broadcast on OETA within Oklahoma, are produced by the network's production unit, OETA: The Oklahoma Network. It has distributed The Lawrence Welk Show since October 3, 1987, after that series left commercial syndication, and has also produced specials featuring excerpts from the program (beginning with the 1987 PBS special, Lawrence Welk, Television's Music Man). The acquisition and syndication of the program—consisting of an initial pickup of 52 episodes—came after a successful pledge donation assignment during the Festival '87 drive that March, in which viewers were inquired whether OETA should return Welk to television; reruns of Lawrence Welk—which have become a staple of the member network's weekend evening schedule—have since become OETA's most-watched program.[31][89] OETA also distributes The Kalb Report, a monthly discussion program focusing on issues of ethics and responsibility in media that is hosted by Marvin Kalb.[90]

Locally produced programming on the state network includes the OETA Movie Club (a weekend evening showcase of American Public Television-packaged classic movies from the 1930s to the 1990s, which was originally hosted by B.J. Wexler from its premiere in February 1988 until November 2018. Wexler would introduce each show by serving himself a large bucket of popcorn and providing details of the movie and actors.[91] The show is currently hosted by former Oklahoma News Report anchor Robert Burch),[92] Oklahoma Horizon (a weekly newsmagazine, produced by the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education in cooperation with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, which focuses on economic and social issues, and is syndicated to the RFD-TV cable network in the United States and the Global Broadcasting Network in Europe), Oklahoma Gardening (a weekly gardening series produced by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service at Oklahoma State University–Stillwater through the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and OSU Agricultural Communications Services, which debuted in 1975)[93] and Gallery (which debuted in April 2001 and focuses on Oklahoma's art community; it produced a spin-off series, Gallery America, that debuted in January 2016).[94][95]

Newscasts[edit]

OETA is one of only a handful of PBS member outlets that produces a local or regional news program. The network launched its news operations on January 3, 1977, when it premiered The Oklahoma Report, a half-hour nightly newsmagazine, consisting of three ten-minute interview programs. Due to viewer demand, by 1980, the program expanded into a conventional news program that featured both pre-recorded news stories filed by OETA's own reporting staff in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and taped reports from news-producing commercial television stations in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa markets.[d] In subsequent years, the program incorporated content from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry; the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education and eventually, OETA's Stateline and Gallery production units. The retooling of The Oklahoma Report came after OETA raised enough funding to hire a three-person anchor/reporter staff and a small production crew.[96]

For much of its first fourteen years on the air, the program was anchored by El Reno native Tom Gilmore, who also hosted two public affairs shows on the network, Legislative Week in Review and Oklahoma Week in Review. Gilmore would eventually be appointed as OETA's manager of news and public affairs after Pam Henry stepped down from the position in 1987. Following Gilmore's retirement from broadcasting in 1990, Dick Pryor, Mary Carr Lee and Lisa Mason took over as anchors of the retitled Oklahoma News Report.[96][97][98]

ONR's format was altered in July 2010 to correspond with $1 million in cuts state funding cuts: anchors George Tomek and Gerry Bonds, along with meteorologist Russ Dixon, were dismissed; nightly weather reports were eliminated; and five additional news programs were placed "on hiatus" by OETA and eventually canceled.[99][100][101][102] Dick Pryor, who was retained as ONR's sole anchor, remained in that position until leaving in 2015.[103] On July 2011, ONR was converted from a nightly program to a weekly newsmagazine, this came after an additional 9 percent reduction in state funds.[104] ONR was expanded to an hour-long program on October 16, 2020, corresponding with ONR's 40th anniversary.[105]

Notable alumni[edit]

Technical information[edit]

Full-power stations[edit]

Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

OETA full-power stations
Station City of license
Facility ID ERP HAAT Transmitter coordinates First air date Public license information
KETA-TV Oklahoma City 13 (13) 50205 50 kW 462.6 m (1,518 ft) 35°35′52.1″N 97°29′23.2″W / 35.597806°N 97.489778°W / 35.597806; -97.489778 (KETA-TV) April 13, 1956[106]
KOED-TV Tulsa 11 (11) 66195 47 kW 521 m (1,709 ft) 36°1′15″N 95°40′33″W / 36.02083°N 95.67583°W / 36.02083; -95.67583 (KOED-TV) January 12, 1959
KOET Eufaula 3 (31) 50198 1,000 kW 364.1 m (1,195 ft) 35°11′1″N 95°20′20″W / 35.18361°N 95.33889°W / 35.18361; -95.33889 (KOET) December 1, 1977
KWET Cheyenne 12 (8) 50194 60 kW 303.2 m (995 ft) 35°35′36″N 99°40′2″W / 35.59333°N 99.66722°W / 35.59333; -99.66722 (KWET) August 6, 1978

Translators[edit]

Subchannels[edit]

All transmitters broadcast the same four subchannels.

OETA subchannels[107]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
xx.1 1080i 16:9 OETA-HD PBS
xx.2 480i 4:3 WORLD World Channel
xx.3 16:9 Create Create
xx.4 4:3 Kids PBS Kids

Analog-to-digital conversion[edit]

During the digital television transition, KETA-TV and KOED-TV signed off their analog signals on February 17, 2009, while KWET and KOET did so on March 31, 2009. All OETA translators signed off their analog signals on June 12, 2009. KETA and KOED relocated their digital signals to VHF channels 13 and 11, respectively, KWET's digital signal remained on pre-transition VHF channel 8, and KOET remained on pre-transition UHF channel 31. All full-power stations began displaying virtual channels corresponding to their former analog channel numbers.[108]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ KOET's signal overlaps with that of KOED in that section of the state near and to the adjacent north of the Interstate 40 corridor [including portions of McIntosh County, to the north of Eufaula], and with KETA in portions of Creek, Okfuskee, and Hughes counties near State Highway 56.
  2. ^ Channel 43 reverted to the call sign KAUT-TV on December 12, 1998, after founding owner Gene Autry's death two months prior.[61]
  3. ^ Kirkpatrick Foundation executive director Louisa McCune mentioning in a letter to the foundation that it provides monetary gifts only to nonprofit organizations and not government entities.
  4. ^ Although Oklahoma is served by four television markets that each have commercial network-affiliated stations licensed within the state, the Oklahoma News Report did not include reports from stations based in the Lawton–Wichita Falls and Ada–Sherman markets; reports from Fort Smith–Fayetteville and Amarillo stations that were filed from municipalities on the respective Oklahoma sections of either market were also not presented.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "CHAPTER 6: EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION". Tulsa TV Memories. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  2. ^ "Oklahoma Plans First Statewide Educ. TV System" (PDF). Broadcasting-Telecasting. May 25, 1953. p. 94. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via American Radio History.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "OKLAHOMA EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION AUTHORITY (OETA)". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f J.E. McReynolds (July 12, 1992). "OETA Won Audiences, U.S. Awards". The Daily Oklahoman. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  5. ^ "Withdrawal of Competitive Bids Allows TV Grants in Five Cases" (PDF). Broadcasting-Telecasting. December 7, 1953. p. 53. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via American Radio History.
  6. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting-Telecasting. December 7, 1953. p. 94. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via American Radio History.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g George Lang (November 4, 2016). "OETA celebrates 60 years on air as it faces new challenges". Oklahoma Gazette. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  8. ^ "Okla. Educational TV Unit Awards Bond Issue" (PDF). Broadcasting-Telecasting. January 18, 1954. p. 101. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via American Radio History.
  9. ^ "KETA-TV Construction Starts" (PDF). Broadcasting-Telecasting. August 29, 1955. p. 84. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via American Radio History.
  10. ^ "Educational Television Directory" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 11, 1957. p. 103. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via American Radio History.
  11. ^ "Rollcall: 28 ETV's on the Air" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 11, 1957. p. 103. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via American Radio History.
  12. ^ Mel Bracht (February 16, 2003). "KWTV commemorates 50 years". The Oklahoman. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  13. ^ Graham Lee Brewer (October 23, 2014). "Historic Oklahoma City television tower is coming down". The Oklahoman. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  14. ^ Kelly Ogle (July 28, 2014). "End of An Era: KWTV To Take Down Historic Broadcast Tower". KWTV-DT. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  15. ^ "Educ. TV, ABC-TV Ask FCC To OK Convention Tieup" (PDF). Broadcasting-Telecasting. June 4, 1956. p. 72. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via American Radio History.
  16. ^ "Closed Circuit" (PDF). Broadcasting-Telecasting. July 9, 1956. p. 5. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via American Radio History.
  17. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 24, 1981. p. 60. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via American Radio History.
  18. ^ "OETA Executive Director to Retire". The Daily Oklahoman. September 6, 1998. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  19. ^ "Oklahoma broadcasting legend Bill Thrash dies". The Daily Oklahoman. July 15, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  20. ^ a b J.E. McReynolds; Jim Worrell (July 12, 1992). "Allen Turned His Vision for OETA Into Reality". The Daily Oklahoman. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  21. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 1, 1975. p. 58. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via American Radio History.
  22. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 24, 1977. p. 66. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via American Radio History.
  23. ^ "Jane Jayroe: Full Resume" (PDF). JaneJayroe.com. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  24. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 1, 1976. p. 66. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via American Radio History.
  25. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 31, 1976. p. 89. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via American Radio History.
  26. ^ "OETA will carry show on crafts". The Daily Oklahoman. December 17, 1981. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  27. ^ Pat Record (April 4, 1983). "Line expert checking OETA wind damage". The Daily Oklahoman. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  28. ^ "Public TV stays on air". The Daily Oklahoman. Associated Press. July 21, 1983. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  29. ^ "OETA Solicits Repair Funds". The Daily Oklahoman. July 22, 1983. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  30. ^ "OETA Annual Report: 2013" (PDF). Oklahoma Educational Television Authority. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  31. ^ a b "PBS pops cork on champagne music". The Daily Oklahoman. October 4, 1987. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  32. ^ "OETA to Present "Wordscape'". The Daily Oklahoman. September 16, 1990. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  33. ^ "1991 WINNERS: 1991 Heartland Emmy Awards". National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  34. ^ a b c d Tim Chavez (April 24, 1991). "KAUT Owners Agree To Buy Channel 25". The Daily Oklahoman. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  35. ^ "OETA Files Application of Intent to Purchase KGMC-TV". The Journal Record. August 18, 1988. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  36. ^ a b "Second time may be charm for new OETA outlet". Tulsa World. Associated Press. April 24, 1991. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  37. ^ a b Wayne Singleterry (February 13, 1989). "Robert Allen: New Literacy Channel to Be "A Godsend' for Oklahoma". The Daily Oklahoman. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  38. ^ Randy Ellis (April 5, 1989). "Bellmon Calls for State Audit of OETA Letter From Ex-employee Alleges Unethical Practices at Educational Station". The Daily Oklahoman. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  39. ^ "Bellmon Orders Audit of OETA". Tulsa World. April 5, 1989. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  40. ^ Jon Denton (January 18, 1989). "UHF Picture Expected to Change Soon". The Daily Oklahoman. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  41. ^ Jon Denton (February 16, 1989). "City Television Deal Falls Through Chain Breaks When Californian Misses Deadline to Buy Channel 25". The Daily Oklahoman. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  42. ^ a b "OETA Agrees To Donation". The Daily Oklahoman. April 24, 1991. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  43. ^ "TV Stations To Change Thursday". The Daily Oklahoman. August 11, 1991. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  44. ^ Morrow, Darrell (August 13, 1991). "KOKH, KAUT to Change Operations on Thursday". The Journal Record. ProQuest 259340345. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014.
  45. ^ "KOKH-TV Fox 25 to Challenge Major Network Affiliates". The Journal Record. August 23, 1991. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  46. ^ a b "Literacy Channel Offers Shows For Kids to Watch With Parents". The Daily Oklahoman. August 18, 1991. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  47. ^ "Cable Lineup Changes". The Daily Oklahoman. January 12, 1992. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  48. ^ "For the Record". Broadcasting. February 3, 1992. p. 58. ProQuest 1014743672.
  49. ^ English, Paul (June 17, 1993). "Public TV Plans Belt-Tightening After Fund Cuts". The Daily Oklahoman. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  50. ^ English, Paul (June 25, 1993). "Literacy Channel Morning Programs Cut to Save Cost: OETA Board to Seek Funding". The Daily Oklahoman. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  51. ^ "Literacy Channel Launches Its First Fund-Raiser Since Starting". The Daily Oklahoman. September 12, 1993. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  52. ^ Rodgers, Kim (February 2, 1995). "GOP Plans Threaten Future of OETA Station". The Journal Record. ProQuest 259387073.
  53. ^ "Walters Seeks to Expand Literacy Channel Reach". Tulsa World. Tulsa, Oklahoma. January 31, 1994. p. 10. Archived from the original on February 16, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  54. ^ "OETA looks to sell Channel 43 in digital move". The Journal Record. October 31, 1997. ProQuest 259368726.
  55. ^ Potts, Gregory (December 22, 1997). "UPN offers highest bid for KTLC". The Journal Record. ProQuest 259372269. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014.
  56. ^ McClellan, Steve (July 21, 1997). "WB woos and wins Sinclair" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. pp. 4, 8. ProQuest 1016966796. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  57. ^ Siegel, Andrea F. (January 13, 1998). "Appellate court allows WNUV shift to Warner". The Baltimore Sun. p. 3C. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  58. ^ Potts, Gregory (December 23, 1997). "A network of changes". The Journal Record. ProQuest 259372138.
  59. ^ "UPN returns on Saturday". The Journal Record. June 19, 1998.
  60. ^ "Channel 43 sale completed". The Journal Record. July 22, 1998.
  61. ^ "KPSG Memorializing Gene Autry With Movie Serial, Name Change". The Daily Oklahoman. December 6, 1998. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  62. ^ "OETA to sell KTLC-43 to Paramount Stations". The Journal Record. January 8, 1998. ProQuest 259395037. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013.
  63. ^ "OETA boosts digital network". The Daily Oklahoman. April 26, 2000. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  64. ^ "OETA faces deadline for upgrade". The Daily Oklahoman. July 30, 2001. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  65. ^ a b Heather Warlick (June 5, 2007). "Stay tuned for TV's digital future". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  66. ^ April Marciszewski (February 16, 2007). "TCC Campus Building: Center for Creativity to go up minus OETA studio". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  67. ^ "OETA To Build New Studio On OSU-Tulsa Campus". KOTV-DT. August 20, 2009. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  68. ^ Nathan Osburn (August 16, 2000). "Lawmakers plant seed money for new OETA Tulsa studio". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  69. ^ "OETA to Begin Construction of New Studio; OSU-Tulsa Parking Temporarily Affected". Oklahoma State University–Tulsa. December 14, 2009. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  70. ^ a b Smith, Casey (August 26, 2014). "OETA navigates shrinking state funds". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  71. ^ Randy Krehbeil (June 14, 2016). "Latest budget cuts leave OETA struggling to survive". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  72. ^ Ferguson, Tom (May 3, 2023). "Minority Leader Munson calls for legislature to override OETA funding bill veto". KOKH. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  73. ^ Forman, Carmen (April 28, 2023). "Stitt vetoes OETA bill, accuses network of trying to 'indoctrinate' kids". Tulsa World. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  74. ^ "Bill Information for HB 2820". Oklahoma State Legislature. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  75. ^ Savage, Tres (May 26, 2023). "'Tantrum': Legislature overrides 19 Stitt vetoes, but some budget bills hit snag". NonDoc. Sustainable Journalism Foundation. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  76. ^ a b Nolan Clay (December 7, 2018). "Foundation claims major donors are leaving because of OETA power grab". The Oklahoman. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  77. ^ a b Dru Sefton (December 17, 2018). "OETA's fundraising group asks court to intercede in disputes with station". Current. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  78. ^ Nolan Clay (December 10, 2018). "OETA alleges donations for public television misused". The Oklahoman. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  79. ^ Nolan Clay (December 23, 2018). "OETA wants foundation to vacate shared building". The Oklahoman. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  80. ^ Dru Sefton (January 16, 2019). "OETA Foundation remains in network building despite eviction notice". Current. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  81. ^ Nolan Clay (January 8, 2019). "OETA cutting ties with OETA Foundation after bitter dispute". The Oklahoman. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  82. ^ Dru Sefton (January 9, 2019). "OETA Board votes to form new fundraising organization". Current. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  83. ^ Brian Brus (January 9, 2019). "OETA finds new fundraising friend". The Journal Record. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  84. ^ Aaron Morvan (January 11, 2019). "FAQs about OETA and the OETA Foundation". Oklahoma Educational Television Authority. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  85. ^ "OETA Foundation Continues to Support Public Television". OETA Foundation. January 25, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  86. ^ Nolan Clay (April 11, 2019). "OETA Foundation to dissolve, transfer funds to new nonprofit". The Oklahoman. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  87. ^ Dru Sefton (April 11, 2019). "Oklahoma nonprofit to dissolve in settlement of OETA court battle". Current. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  88. ^ Aaron Morvan (April 24, 2019). "OETA Partners with Friends of OETA, Inc". OETA. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  89. ^ Tony Frazier (March 15, 1987). "OETA offering best for Festival '87". The Daily Oklahoman. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  90. ^ "The Kalb Report". George Washington University. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008.
  91. ^ "Longtime 'OETA Movie Club' host B.J. Wexler dies". Tulsaworld.com. February 12, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  92. ^ "OETA Movie Club Marks 10 Years". The Oklahoman. February 1, 1998. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  93. ^ "Gardening Expert Dies At Age 80". The Oklahoman. October 11, 1995. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  94. ^ Mel Bracht (April 8, 2001). "OETA 'Gallery' showcases art, artists". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  95. ^ Brandy McDonnell (January 7, 2016). "'Gallery America' premieres tonight on OETA". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  96. ^ a b "Newscast Goes Statewide". The Daily Oklahoman. July 8, 1990. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  97. ^ "State mourns passing of pioneer newsman". The Oklahoman. May 14, 2003. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  98. ^ "Tuning In..." The Daily Oklahoman. March 11, 1990. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  99. ^ Sherrow, Rita (July 1, 2010). "OETA cuts three longtime anchors". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  100. ^ "OETA dismisses three on-air news staffers due to state budget cuts". Current. July 1, 2010. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  101. ^ Hill, Nicole (July 8, 2010). "With a budget cut of nearly $1 million, OETA is making some changes". Oklahoma Gazette. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  102. ^ "PBS lets anchors go". The Norman Transcript. Associated Press. July 1, 2010. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  103. ^ Bracht, Mel (August 7, 2015). "Dick Pryor leaving OETA for public relations firm". The Oklahoman. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via Tulsa World.
  104. ^ Bracht, Mel (June 29, 2011). "OETA changes nightly 'Oklahoma News Report' to weekly show". The Oklahoman.
  105. ^ Morvan, Aaron (September 30, 2020). "The Oklahoma News Report Celebrates 40th Anniversary and Announces New Hour-Long Format". Oklahoma Educational Television Authority. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  106. ^ "FCC History Cards for KETA-TV".
  107. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KETA". RabbitEars. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  108. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 26, 2017.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://wiki.riteme.site/w/index.php?title=Oklahoma_Educational_Television_Authority&oldid=1233356247"