Public Television In Peril

Stepping into the “Wayback Machine,” we visit Peoria, Illinois, circa 2001 AD.

The local PBS station, WTVP-TV, is in the process of converting to digital high definition broadcasting.

Station management, the Illinois Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation (IVPTC), makes an assessment that its existing studios in rent-free digs on the campus of Bradley University are size-challenged for the transformation.

The decision is made to move into a completely new building, a facility filled with all manner of 21st Century wizardry guaranteed to make all other small market television stations drool with desire