WCTE Strategic Plan 2020 3 VISION STATEMENT

WCTE Upper Cumberland PBS

VISION 2020 Community Impact Plan For Fiscal Years 2017 - 2020 Strategic Framework Toward a Sustainable Future The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967

2 ABOUT WCTE, UPPER CUMBERLAND PBS

WCTE, Upper Cumberland PBS, is a small, rural public media organization located in Cookeville, Tennessee and serving a fourteen county region, known as the Upper Cumberland. It is the only broadcast television station in a seventy-five mile radius of Cookeville, nestled in between Knoxville, Nashville and Chattanooga.

The station went on the air as a state licensee in 1978 with a single analog signal. In 1989, the station was transferred to a community licensee and was governed by a local board of directors, the Upper Cumberland Broadcast Council.

In 2017, the award-winning station is recognized nationally, regionally and locally as a full service PBS member with a strong emphasis on locally created content; education; public safety; and a national conduit for independent producers.

The station hosts four channels: WCTE 22.1 HD; WCTE Create 22.2; WCTE World 22.3 and WCTE PBS KIDS 22.4. Located on WCTE’s transmitter site is a 300 ft tower and a building dedicated to emergency services and public safety for Putnam County and the Upper Cumberland region.

WCTE currently focuses on the Upper Cumberland area, although the signal reaches 1.3 million viewers throughout middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky with over- the-air broadcast, cable and satellite services. Through the expanded use of digital content and online funding campaigns, the goal is to reach more fully outside of our current demographic.

WCTE Strategic Plan 2020 3 VISION STATEMENT

WCTE envisions an educated, inclusive, prosperous, safe and healthy region working together through public media.

VALUES

EXCELLENCE TRUST

Commit to Act with integrity to achieving a high maintain and build level of quality, on the confidence SERVICE productivity and ACHIEVEMENT placed in us by our service. community.

Develop and Listen, understand maintain high and respond so that standards of every person who performance and interacts with WCTE TEAMWORK strive for continuous RESPECT finds value. improvement to meet or exceed expectations. Combine the Honor and safeguard Trusted Valued Essential knowledge and resources and relation- skills of our staff and ships, and include the INNOVATION partners to build GROWTH diverse perspectives solutions, achieve and unique contribu- goals and foster tions of all individuals. shared success.

Encourage and Advance our staff’s embrace creativity, skills and our organi- resourcefulness, zation’s capabilities collaboration and in order to best serve change. our community.

4 WCTE Strategic Plan 2020 MISSION STATEMENT

WCTE exists to establish life long learning and cultural storytelling by connecting the Upper Cumberland to the world and the world to the region.

MISSION ELEMENTS

5 1 Culture & Content Organization 5 K E Y E L E M E N T S C R I T I C A L TO 2 4 O U R 2 0 2 0 V I S I O N Education & Sustainability Community Impact

3 Visibility

WCTE Strategic Plan 2020 5 6 Trusted Valued Essential the UpperCumberland, Tennessee, oroneofthekeyidentified content areas. independent producers asapresenting station for national distributed content highlighting independent productions. 3. theintegrationwill prioritize ofcontent experiences across platforms. from Buildingonlessonslearned recentwork. nationalandevents, andlocalseries WCTE 2. (i.e. UCRegion). information to meetings;socialmediaandsurvey listen to thecommunity partner community life. 1 community prioritiesby acquiring, producing, aligning anddistributingcompelling Content we ofeverything do. isat theheart To strengthen civiclife andengageour . audiences, we mustcontinue to listen to ourcommunities andalign ourwork with national andlocalcontent; andwe mustmake ourcontent easilyaccessible across

Align localcontent to andminds, move enrichlives hearts andstrengthen Develop, integrate, andprioritize multi-platform storytelling. Drive capacity, discovery andinnovation through data, technology and WCTE will prioritize theintegration willprioritize ofmulti-platformthroughoutWCTE our storytelling WCTE willdevelop content WCTE that theissuesfacing reflects region andwillsupport Board;Use conversations; community the Advisory CAB, UCBC,Millennial WCTE MISSION ELEMENTONE every platformevery on-airandonlineto expand ourregional audience. WCTE Strategic PlanWCTE 2020 CONTENT Content 1

MISSION ELEMENT TWO

It is important that we provide the means for our audiences to become engaged at a range of levels in in the content we provide. We wish to expand our capacity to empower and create a community of lifelong users.

2 Education & Community Impact

EDUCATION & COMMUNITY IMPACT

1. Provide curriculum-based content to drive success in school and life for children 2 – 8. Sustain the WCTE Ready To Learn initiative with the Putnam County School system and related partners; provide a 24/7 PBS KIDS channel; PBS Learning Media; and expand the Ready To Learn initiative to additional Upper Cumberland counties.

2. Engage our community in local, and national content as well as educational resources that can impact personal and civic life.

Continue growing community engagement opportunities in the Upper Cumberland through strategic partnerships in Putnam and surrounding counties.

3. Support Workforce Development / Career Education with regional partners.

Grow WCTE’s American Graduate initiative to highlight and support regional economic development.

WCTE Strategic Plan 2020 7 8 Trusted Valued Essential engage thecommunities with WCTE’s content, programs andevents. Focus ondeveloping withintheUpperCumberland anddisseminating that stories ofimpact key stakeholders intheUpperCumberland. 3. platforms witheffective messaging andbranding. forPrioritize reaching andexpanding optimumopportunities target audiences on all 2. Develop andimplement acomprehensive marketing andcommunications plan. storytelling, independent andeducation productions to educational initiatives. Position asthelocalandnational mediaagent for theUpperCumberlandWCTE withlocal 1 .

Achieve ahighlevel andcredibility onthelocalandnational ofvisibility level. Create more ofthe visibility brand ineachofthe14countiesWCTE/PBS andwith people intheregion, thegreater ofthestation to theability generate audiences The more visible iswithcontentWCTE onthelives andwithapositive of impact MISSION ELEMENTTHREE and sustainablefundingfor thework. VISIBILITY WCTE Strategic PlanWCTE 2020 Visibility 3

MISSION ELEMENT FOUR

It is essential that WCTE implement a sustainable funding model that will assure a viable future for the station and its important role of providing and engaging our region in content and service.

4 Sustainability

SUSTAINABILITY

1. Develop and implement an integrated business and organization model that is sustainable and fosters the funding, innovation, collaboration, responsiveness, unity and cohesiveness.

Organize development efforts into viewer-sensitive, community- sensitive and capacity building campaigns.

2. Support and evolve WCTE’s technical infrastructure.

Sustain and enhance content delivery, public safety, revenue generation and prepare for the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard through regional partnerships.

3. Grow and diversify revenue streams.

Intensify efforts to engage audiences, build relationships and drive membership through mobile, social, web and over-the-top platforms. As well, focus on attracting major capital donors, corporations and foundations to establish a WCTE endowment.

WCTE Strategic Plan 2020 9 10 Trusted Valued Essential To execute this 2020StrategicWCTE Plan, ourteam needsto becommitted, inspired, and content, engage the community and achieve impact on important issues.content, onimportant andachieve engagethecommunity impact and success. 3. Recognize andreward individualandteam collaboration, innovation environment. alearning-driven and support ofthese values, fresh willprioritize support ideas, promoteWCTE adiversity ofperspectives, 2. Create aPBSpassionate internal culture reflective ofour values. techniques, invest intraining ofcore competencies andmonitor progress. motivated professionals. order In to dothis, willfocus onprogressiveWCTE management 1 aligned. WCTE’s greatest strength isourpeople, andtheircommitment to themission. . Invest inourpeoplethrough education andongoingtraining. PBS’ values definehow we internallywork andwiththepublic mediasystem.In Motivate andinspire ourpeople, to stengthening produce ourability anddeliver Create possible that recruits thebestworkplace andretains ateam ofinspired and MISSION ELEMENTFIVE ORGANIZATION CULTURE & WCTE Strategic PlanWCTE 2020 Organization Culture & 5 WCTE TEAMS

DEVELOPMENT ENGINEERING & TECHNICAL OPERATIONS

CONTENT & DIGITAL MEDIA EDUCATION & COMMUNITY IMPACT