On March 1, 1965, Penn State’s new television station, WPSX, broadcast its first programs with the goal of expanding the university’s educational outreach. Currently celebrating its 60th anniversary year, the station (now known as WPSU-TV) has grown to reach 515,000 households in 24 counties, having greatly expanded its programming, community engagement offerings, and the variety of ways people can access and use all that WPSU offers.
“We really, truly try to serve the needs of Central Pennsylvania,” says Jeff Hughes, director of programming and broadcast operations, who has worked for WPSU-TV for more than 37 years. “We’re not programmed from some central location in New York or Los Angeles. … We talk to our viewers every day. We know what they enjoy, what they value, and what they need in the community. And we try to program WPSU to be able to respond to those needs.
“If you take it all the way back to year one of our 60 years, it’s interesting because in the late ’50s and ’60s, many universities like Penn State were trying to find ways to increase their engagement and their impact,” he says. “These universities petitioned the FCC to gain access so they could use television — the new technology — to help them meet their educational mission. It was considered the ultimate prize or feather in the cap for a major university to have a broadcast station and a license to reach the general public. And that’s how WPSX came to be.”
Hughes says the founding general manager, the late Marlowe Froke, had the vision for how the university could educate through television not only the 30,000 students on campus but also communities, from farmers and steelworkers to everyone who needed the benefits of public education.
“I only had the good fortune of working with him for four years when I first started,” Hughes says. “He was the nicest person, at the highest level of the organization. He knew my name from day one. He was very welcoming, generous, exactly what you would expect from someone who had committed his life to public education.”
WPSU has four public television channels. The main channel, WPSU-TV, offers a wide variety of programs from PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) and distributors like BBC Studios and American Public Television, plus local news and other programs created by the station for the community. Viewers can enjoy news, documentaries, and public affairs on the WPSU World channel. WPSU Create focuses on how-to programming and travel, and WPSU Kids offers safe, educational, and entertaining programs for children.
The WPSU channels are available through cable, the PBS App, and livestreaming, and on demand through digital platforms. The primary channel, WPSU-TV, can be watched in high definition at no cost by using a TV antenna.
“We have the best programming anywhere for children,” Hughes says. “I’ve seen my niece and nephews grow up on PBS Kids programming, and it helped them prepare to be lifelong learners from the earliest age.”
His 91-year-old father watches WSPU every day and enjoys learning about science and history through programs like “Nova,” “American Experience,” and the Ken Burns documentaries.
Hughes says WPSU helps bring the arts and cultural programs to a relatively rural area through nationally distributed programs like “Great Performances” and locally produced programs that showcase local musicians, like “The Local Groove Presents.”
The “Our Town” series was created to give small communities the opportunity to share whatever they’re proud of and to shine. He says the residents of the towns love it. More than 35 towns have been featured. One episode, “Our Town: Big Valley” (in Mifflin and Huntingdon counties), received a 2024 Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmy Award.
“I’ve heard from farmers that say they will plan when to plant crops based on information from ‘Weather World,’” Hughes says. “‘Weather World’ is meteorology but it’s also climatology. Compared to weather shows on other platforms, our show is more centered on educating and looking beyond the weather for tomorrow and looking at climate trends in general. And that’s really important for a farmer, knowing when can I safely put the crops in.”
WPSU specialized in sports, especially women’s sports, at a time when women’s sports were not on television, Hughes says. “We broadcast Penn State’s Lady Lions basketball way before it was popular anywhere else.”
He says WPSU produces unique programs on various topics, including some that have helped the community and viewers nationwide deal with difficult issues — “Speaking Grief,” which helps people deal with the loss of loved ones, and “Telling Amy’s Story,” a tragic account of local domestic violence victim Amy Homan McGee.
The station was able to restore and re-broadcast “The Pennsylvania Game,” a popular “Jeopardy”-style show from the 1980s and ’90s that teaches Pennsylvania history. The show is also available on-demand. “Even though these shows are 30 years old, people love to learn about their local area,” Hughes says.
WPSU-TV continues to expand its other offerings, beyond television programming, to provide free online educational resources and a variety of outreach programs to meet the needs and interests of the community.
Toni Irvin, WPSU director of education and engagement, says WPSU-TV reached more than 15,000 children, educators, caregivers, and community members in 2024 through community outreach activities, including festivals, field trips, program screenings, studio tours, family nights, virtual field trips, and more.
She says, “We have outreach engagement events, and we have opportunities to connect people to the programming itself.”
The WPSU.org website offers educational materials for teachers, parents, and kids. However, WPSU Education Program Manager Sarah Hamilton directs teachers to the professional educator resources on the PBS LearningMedia website, wpsu.pbslearningmedia.org, that the website describes as “curated free, curriculum-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans, and more for teachers like you.” She says the website is searchable by grade bands and subject matter, and offers interactive games and videos.
Virtual field trips are available for six destinations, including WPSU Studios and Elk County. Educators can download a teacher guide and request a WPSU Virtual Field Trip Kit from the local intermediate unit.
New in 2024, the WPSU Education Ambassadors Program is a free year-long professional development opportunity for educators that focuses on media literacy and offers Act 48 continuing-education credits. Irvin says the program develops critical thinking and research skills, including how to evaluate the credibility of information and use it in civil discourse. The program uses a train-the-trainer approach so participants can be ambassadors in their area and share what they learn.
Events for the general public include monthly “World Kitchen” interactive Zoom classes, where people learn by doing. Culinary experts teach how to prepare foods from different cultures, and participants follow along to create and enjoy the foods in their own homes.
WPSU and the State College Area School District co-hosted the fourth annual Multicultural Children’s Festival at the high school on March 22. “We had over 2,000 people who participated in that event,” Irvin says.
“We’ve done fun engagement events like a murder mystery coupled with a screening,” Irvin says. “We are really proud of what we do. It’s something that is valued and necessary.”
When Marlowe Froke’s wife, Marliene, was asked what she felt he might say about the 60th anniversary of WPSU and its future, she offered, “The sharing of facts, knowledge, and education with everyone, in all walks of life and of all backgrounds and beliefs, is vital now more than ever. So, too, is community engagement, while treating each other with dignity, respect, and compassion. WPSU is essential in navigating our world.” T&G
Karen Dabney is a freelance writer in State College.
