About ideastream®

ideastream is public broadcasting and a whole lot more.

ideastream is a non-profit organization that applies the power of media to education, culture and citizenship. It includes WVIZ/PBS, 90.3 WCPN, educational and public service cable channels, broadband interactive video distance learning, the Internet and other interactive media.

Based on careful and ongoing ascertainment of community needs, ideastream acquires, creates and delivers content that connects those who seek knowledge with those who have it.

ideastream leverages technical, creative and financial resources through partnerships with other organizations that share interests in education and public service. Support comes primarily from contributions made by individuals, foundations and corporations. Funding from state and federal agencies also plays a critical role.

ideastream has attracted national attention as a new model for public service media. The services of ideastream are utilized by more than 2.8 million people a month in the Northeast Ohio region.

Born Out of Partnership

Stimulated by the success of a collaborative project, the planning committees of WVIZ/PBS and 90.3 WCPN met in the fall of 1999 to discuss how the two stations could continue to partner to better serve the community. As discussions evolved, it became clear that the then separate organizations shared a public service mission, had identical business models, and held a common view of the digital future.

In January of 2000, the committees made the following recommendation to their respective boards: combine WCPN & WVIZ to form a new non-profit multimedia entity with distinctive, locally-based content in areas of news, education, entertainment, culture and public service to serve the Northeast Ohio community and beyond.

Both boards agreed, and each appointed members to an implementation team. That team worked diligently over the next nine months to outline a specific plan to merge the organizations into a new non-profit entity. The plan was approved by the two boards and announced in October of 2000.

On June 30, 2001, the former non-profit organizations, Educational Television Association of Metropolitan Cleveland and Cleveland Public Radio, were dissolved. On July 1, a non-profit organization, ideastream, took life as a new public service multiple media organization with a Board of Trustees comprised of members of the former boards of the predecessor organizations.

Funding to facilitate this transition was contributed by The Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Many Streams: One Big Idea

The concept of ideastream is to bring together a variety of educational and public service media programs to leverage creative, technical and financial assets to better serve our communities.

Public Television

Every day, WVIZ/PBS offers 24 hours of educational, cultural and informational programming. This includes 12 hours a day, Monday through Friday, dedicated to educational programs for children. In addition to outstanding programs acquired from around the world by PBS and American Public Television, WVIZ/PBS also offers a range of locally-produced programs including the weekly series City Club Forum, broadcasting the proceedings of the nation’s oldest continuous free speech forum; Feagler & Friends, a round table discussion of public affairs; Applause, a look at the rich arts and cultural life of Northeast Ohio; and NewsDepth, a valuable source of current events for thousands of Ohio third through eighth grade students.

Public Radio

Every day, 90.3 WCPN offers 24 hours of news, information and music programming. This includes news, in-depth features and intelligent talk. In addition to programs from National Public Radio, Public Radio International, British Broadcasting Corporation and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 90.3 WCPN provides a focus on the regional community through locally-produced programs.

Daily, locally-produced programming includes news story inserts into Morning Edition and stand alone, regionally-focused newscasts presented throughout the day; The Sound of Ideas®, a lively, one-hour call-in program on topics identified as priorities by the citizens of Northeastern Ohio; Around Noon, dedicated to local arts and culture; and outstanding jazz.

Educational Services

With programs and services traditionally offered by WVIZ/PBS, and also in partnership with school consortia and other local and regional organizations, ideastream provides a range of educational services from preschool through post-secondary and lifelong learning. Workshops help parents and child-care professionals build effective learning environments for children using public television and other media. In partnership with colleges and universities, a range of college credit courses are available through WVIZ/PBS Educational Services.

Kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) services help teachers to teach and students to learn with technology-based tools, innovative multiple-media products, interactive video distance learning, and professional development courses offered online and in workshop settings.

ideastream manages the Northern Ohio Technology Association, a K-12 school consortium that provides a broadband, continuous-presence, interactive distance learning system, connecting K-12 schools, colleges and universities. The system allows a teacher in one location to teach students in four locations as if it were one classroom. ideastream also hosts the K-12 Math and Science Consortium, dedicated to improving math and science education through professional development.

Statewide Partnerships

On behalf of all public broadcasting organizations in Ohio, ideastream manages two Columbus-based services. The Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau produces radio and television reports on political issues seen and heard on public television and radio stations throughout the state.

Ohio Government Telecommunications (OGT) presents sessions of the Ohio Legislature, the Supreme Court of Ohio and events that take place at the State Capitol, providing core content for The Ohio Channel. The Ohio Channel also presents programs produced by public broadcasting stations around the state, made available to the public as digital multicast services, and on many cable systems. OGT also provides audiovisual support for the Statehouse and an interactive website where video from legislative sessions can be called up on demand.

Other Organizational Affiliations

ideastream collaborates with Cleveland Classical Radio and The Cleveland Foundation to assure that WCLV 104.9 FM continues to serve Northeast Ohio’s classical music audience through the WCLV Foundation. ideastream is a founder of and network subscriber to OneCleveland, a community-based nonprofit consortium providing ultra broadband networking services to educational, governmental, research, cultural, and healthcare organizations.

ideastream Mission

To strengthen our communities by providing distinctive, thought-provoking programs and services that enlighten, inspire, educate and entertain.

ideastream Vision

ideastream will be recognized as an indispensable resource critical to the future success of the region and deserving of philanthropic and public support.