Employees of PBS 45 & 49 who received a NETA award for the educational project Constitution Challenge are (clockwise from top left) Paula Kritz, Diane Steinert, Maria Mastromatteo and Duilio Mariola.

 

PBS 45 & 49 in Winners Circle at National Educational Television Conference

Columbus, Ohio — Jan. 28, 2008 — PBS 45 & 49 took top honors at a January 2008 national public broadcasters conference for an educators’ multimedia resource called Constitution Challenge. The organization received first place in the category of Instructional Media (Small Market) when the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) honored 24 public broadcasters with awards at The Columbus Hotel.

This year’s national panel of judges described Constitution Challenge as “a well-designed, multimedia, cross-disciplinary resource that can be easily incorporated into most curricula.” They praised Constitution Challenge’s design, durability and ease of use. One reviewer, himself a former teacher, said, “I would have loved [to have had] this piece when I was in the classroom.”

Employees of PBS 45 & 49 who worked on the project were Maria Mastromatteo, project coordinator; Duilio Mariola, producer and videographer; Paula Kritz, teacher guide layout and Web site designer; and Diane Steinert, teacher guide editor. “I’ve always known that our multimedia education projects are award-worthy,” said Trina Cutter, PBS 45 & 49 president and chief executive officer. “It is nice to be recognized nationally for our efforts.”

PBS 45 & 49’s Department of Educational Services provides state-of-the-art services to students and educators in eight Ohio counties. It offers professional development opportunities, multimedia instructional content, distance learning projects, award-winning instructional television programming and more.

At the NETA ceremony, in all, 40 trophies in the areas of program production, promotion, outreach and instructional media were awarded. The celebratory presentation was part of NETA’s annual conference, held this year in Columbus, Ohio. The NETA Awards are annual recognition of member-produced excellence in public broadcasting, a tradition established more than 40 years ago by the pioneering Southern Educational Communications Association.

NETA is a professional association founded in 1997 to serve public television licensees and affiliated educational organizations. The organization has members in 44 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. NETA is headquartered in Columbia, S.C.

 

About PBS 45 & 49
PBS 45 & 49 is owned and operated by Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, Inc., a private, nonprofit corporation and consortium of Kent State University, The University of Akron and Youngstown State University. A trusted community resource, PBS 45 & 49 uses the power of commercial-free television and related services to enrich the lives of people through high-quality programming and educational services that teach, illuminate and inspire. The only broadcast television service that reaches all of northeast Ohio, PBS 45 & 49 is available to 1.8 million households and 4.6 million people in the Cleveland and Youngstown designated market areas. In an average week, over 500,000 households tune in. Through funding from eTech Ohio, the organization provides K-12 educational technology training and instructional television programming to 21,500 educators and 257,400 students in eight Ohio counties. For more information about PBS 45 & 49, visit www.pbs4549.org or call 1-800-554-4549.