Message from CEO Bill McColgan

I don’t have to tell you that we are experiencing the unprecedented. Things are changing quickly as schools and businesses close to stem the spread of the coronavirus, and Mountain Lake PBS is committed to taking steps necessary to provide the programs and services important to you and your families, friends, and neighbors.

Nightly Production & Programming

While most of our staff is working remotely now, our production & content team is pulling together daily interviews and updates on COVID-19 in our region, available on-air nightly at 6:30 and on-line at mountainlake.org/coronavirus. Thom Hallock and his team are doing an incredible job, and I thank them for their dedication. 

Meanwhile, we continue our commitment to thoughtful journalism on programs like PBS NewsHour, Frontline, New York Now, and our own Mountain Lake Journal… keeping us all informed about the challenges we face together locally and as a global community.

Learning at Home

As many of us find ourselves at home with children out of school, we are here to provide a community classroom for students throughout our region. Beginning Monday, March 23, we’ll be updating our broadcast schedule. We will continue to devote a portion of our broadcast day here on Mountain Lake PBS to PBS KIDS programs… offering high-quality educational content for younger children. Then from 12 PM to 4 PM, we’ll have programs for older students in grades 4 and up.  In the coming days, we will be working with educators to offer additional, impactful educational programming to this new daytime lineup. You can view the current line up here.

We recognize that not all families in our region have access to high-speed broadband service, so we hope that these free over-the-air programs can be helpful during these challenging times.

In addition, we’ve collected resources and tools for children, parents/caregivers, and educators on our website to support you during the school closures as you learn at home. You’ll find distance learning resources from PBS LearningMedia, activity guides for parents, and links to full episodes for children of all ages.

Community Input

Things are changing rapidly, and we’re adapting as we go. We’d love to hear from you. Is there a service we could be providing? Are there resources you’ve found useful? Your input is critical as we serve this community during these challenging times. Contact us with any comments or suggestions.

Please take care of yourselves and one another during the difficult days. Thank you for allowing Mountain Lake PBS to be a part of your community!