This Week has a new look, new format, and new website. What do you think?
Welcome back. If you are reading this you know that This Week in Northern California has scrubbed its cool blue look and is returning to the air with a brand-new set, and a brand new snazzy website created with bright, vibrant hues. I've never been one who paid a great deal of attention to the desk fronts and background screens on television programs, but I have to admit that considering the precarious social and financial situation of our world, this sunny new look does lift one's spirits. We are excited about the change but would like to know your thoughts.
As we enter our twentieth season please be assured that this is not a superficial overhaul of This Week. Our change is much deeper and more profound than new colors. For the past three months, a group of very dedicated people at KQED has spent many hours trying to tackle some of the same problems you might also be facing at home. Foremost among them: How can we do more with less?
I think of public television as the "soul food" of the broadcasting industry. It exists to serve our most basic needs, to inform, to educate, and to quiet our souls with the best of the arts and culture we share as humans. But no matter how noble the goals of public broadcasting, there is still the daunting task of generating the resources to create content.
The time away from our weekly program schedule accomplished two important things. It allowed the production team sufficient time to rethink the show's mission and objectives, and to bank some resources that can now be used to present a richer programming experience. We will welcome back our great local reporters but we will also incorporate material from our arts program Spark and fascinating science stories with the help of QUEST, we will travel to the source of interesting stories and invite expert guest to share our studio.
The world of social media has opened to us with the launch of our new website. It allows the program to be streamed online with options for you to share it with friends and comment. However the most important element for me is the opportunity to engage you in conversation about what we do or should do as we continue to build the new This Week.
Now it's your turn, tell us what you think about this week's program, our new on air look, and our greatly enhanced website.
Belva