Stateline Blog

Two Stateline programs were honored at the annual awards banquet of the Oklahoma Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, February 20th in Oklahoma City.

Stateline's May, 2009, program, "The People," exploring efforts to preserve American Indian culture in Oklahoma received honorable mention recognition in the special program, documentory, or series category.

First place in the same category went to "Television Pioneers," the February, 2009, special on the early days of Oklahoma television.

In addition to its television awards, the Oklahoma SPJ chapter also presented awards in newspaper, radio, magazine, online, and public relations categories.  A complete list of winners may be found here.

Stateline's Television Pioneers received a Program Production Award from the National Educational Telecommunications Association at it's 2010 Conference on January 14, making OETA one of only 23 public broadcasters honored with the award this year.

The NETA Awards are annual recognition of member-produced excellence in public broadcasting, a tradition established more than forty years ago by the pioneering Southern Educational Communications Association.

Television Pioneers is Stateline's 2009 exploration of the television's early days in Oklahoma, featuring interviews with surviving pioneers and rare footage of early television programs in Ada, Enid, Lawton, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa.

Charles "Boots" Kennedye is a producer for OETA's documentary series Stateline and a member of the Kiowa Tribe--but not necessarily in that order. In November Boots was honored by the Native American Cinema Showcase at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

During American Indian heritage month the museum and the American Indian Cultural Center presented a film festival focused on works by Native Americans. Stateline's The People was featured alongside documentaries by Julianna Brannum and a film by Sterlin Harjo.

A few in the audience wiped away tears during The People as Vanessa Jennings, a Kiowa artist, expressed her hopes and fears about the future of traditional Kiowa tribal customs.

The People is an hour-long Stateline special, produced as a companion to the PBS series We Shall Remain and focused on the struggle of Oklahoma tribes to preserve their cultural identity.

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes at museums, zoos, and performance venues?  That's one of the programs Stateline will be working on for 2010.

The staff met recently to toss around program ideas for the coming year and whittled an initial list of more than three dozen down to nine.

We're hoping to provide some insight into the secret societies which helped shape Oklahoma, we think senior care is a growth industry worth exploring, and we hope to shed some light on the world of autistic Oklahomans.

Our history programs have been very well received and two are in the planning stages for the coming year including a profile of Quanah Parker, the last chief of the Quahadi Comanche Indians, and an exploration of Oklahoma's extraordinary experience with prohibition.

Of course nothing's set in stone and our programming may change in the coming year.  Stay tuned!