broadcasting network statewide maine united states branding mpbn slogan more to explore channels digital wcbb 10 vhf wmeb tv 12 vhf wmem tv 10 vhf wmed tv 10 vhf wmea tv 45 uhf subchannels x. 1 x. 2 pbs x. 3 world x. 4 maine capitol connection affiliations pbs npr bbc cbc pri apt owner maine public broadcasting corporation first air date november 13 1961 wcbb september 23 1963 original mpbn july 1 1992 current incarnation former affiliations net 1961 1970 transmitter coordinates see table below website www.mpbn.net the maine public broadcasting network abbreviated mpbn is a state network of public television and radio stations located in the state of maine in the united states . it is operated by the maine public broadcasting corporation which holds the licenses for all the public broadcasting service pbs and national public radio npr stations licensed in the state . mpbn has studios and offices in portland lewiston and bangor . mpbn s television network shows a block of standard pbs programming as well as many documentaries including nature programs and other science programs . mpbn s radio network airs news and talk programming from npr locally produced news programming jazz and classical music . mpbn s television and radio signals reach virtually all of the populated portions of maine and adjoining parts of new hampshire and massachusetts and the canadian province of new brunswick . mpbn television is also carried on cable television in most of new brunswick nova scotia prince edward island and newfoundland . 1 contents 1 history 1.1 radio programming 1.2 television programming 2 controversies 2.1 metropolitan opera cancellation 2.2 the sugartime episode of postcards from buster 2.3 the humble farmer 2.4 transmitter shutdowns 2.5 appropriateness of state funding 3 television stations 4 digital television 5 radio stations 6 references 7 external links history edit what is now mpbn dates from the 1992 merger of wcbb the pbs member station for most of southern maine with the original mpbn radio and television stations operated by the university of maine system . 2 3 on november 13 1961 wcbb signed on from lewiston as the first educational television station in maine and the third in new england after wgbh tv in boston and wenh tv in durham new hampshire . licensed to augusta it was a joint venture of colby college bates college and bowdoin college . 4 two years later wmeb tv began broadcasting from the university of maine campus in orono near bangor . 5 over the next decade umaine signed on three other stations across the state as well as several translators . these stations formed the original mpbn network . one of them was wmeg tv in biddeford near portland now wmea tv ; however it was and still is practically unviewable over the air in portland itself and points north . the university of maine system brought public radio to the state in 1970 when wmeh signed on from bangor . five other stations signed on over the next decade . the two groups merged on july 1 1992 to form the community licensed maine public broadcasting corporation . mpbn s bangor stations wmeb tv and wmeh fm became the flagship stations . the television stations adopted the on air name maine public television but dropped this in favor of maine pbs in 1998 . the radio stations became known as maine public radio . in 2006 they reverted to the mpbn moniker . following the merger wmea tv became the flagship station for a secondary pbs service maine public television plus ; 6 unlike the main network this service expanded its over the air reach through the use of low power repeaters w39bq in lewiston which signed on january 1 1994 7 and w30bf in bangor which launched on april 16 1994 . 8 cuts in federal funding led to the elimination of mpt plus on june 30 1996 ; 9 wmea and w30bf then reverted to carrying the primary maine public television service 10 though the latter station was sold in 1999 11 and is now jctv affiliate wckd lp while w39bq eventually ceased operations . radio programming edit mpbn s radio service carries a mixed format of news and information from npr pri and other sources . it also carries a three hour block of classical music on weekdays between 9 a.m.and 12 noon and some evening music programming one of the few npr members in new england to still have a significant classical music program . local programming includes maine calling an interactive radio program hosted primarily by jennifer rooks and produced by jonathan smith . various guests often from maine are invited to participate in the discussion and audience members are encouraged to participate through calling in or through other forms of media . accompanying npr s all things considered is maine things considered maine s only daily statewide news program . television programming edit mpbn s television service carries the basic pbs program schedule along with a handful of local programs such as the maine experience a feature magazine series maine watch a weekly public affairs program and live coverage of the annual maine state high school basketball playoffs . controversies edit metropolitan opera cancellation edit in 2000 the live metropolitan opera radio broadcasts on saturday afternoons which had been a mainstay of classical music broadcasting for more than twenty years was discontinued . despite maine public broadcasting s claims that the opera was being dropped due to lack of popularity among listeners a citizens protest forced the state network to reinstate the saturday afternoon opera a few months later . 12 13 in the course of 24 months in 2000 and 2001 in what appeared to be a plan to significantly reduce local music programming longtime classical music hosts victor hathaway virgil bissett helen york and dave bunker left the station . bissett retired bunker moved to southern maine after his wife gained employment there . despite bunker s willingness to continue his popular morning music show from the portland studios of mpbn he was let go and leitha christie hired in his place . york resigned in protest . 14 the sugartime episode of postcards from buster edit in may 2005 maine public broadcasting joined a few other pbs stations in showing the controversial sugartime episode of postcards from buster . the program is about a cartoon rabbit named buster baxter who travels the country with his father and interacts with children from different cultures and in different family structures . pbs headquarters had pulled the episode from its national broadcast schedule after receiving a critical letter from newly installed education secretary margaret spellings who was upset that buster was visiting a vermont family headed by two women . wgbh the boston based pbs affiliate and original producer of the program subsequently made the episode available to stations that still wished to air it on an individual basis . 15 the humble farmer edit maine humorist robert skoglund a.k.a. the humble farmer was host of a weekly jazz and humor program of the same name on mpbn starting in 1978 . 16 the show was canceled in 2007 after a series of disagreements over whether some of skoglund s comments were in violation of the station s policy of neutrality on political issues . 17 in 2003 in what is known as the war rant skoglund spoke about a weasely faced war monger from way down south who didn t even get most of the popular vote identifying the person as the author of mein kampf . 16 18 19 in 2006 he read passages from encyclopedia britannica about fascism under mussolini . 16 20 mpbn management regarded these to be veiled comparisons to george w. bush and admonished skoglund to refrain from political commentary . 16 on november 3 2006 skoglund submitted a prerecorded program in which he read a letter from a maryland listener who described the effects of tax cuts in that state . 16 21 mpbn regarded this as advocating a position on maine s upcoming taxpayer bill of rights referendum question and chose to not air the program . 18 mpbn vp for programming charles beck then sent skoglund a letter outlining guidelines and warning him that further comments perceived as political would lead to the show s cancellation . 16 22 arguing that the strict guidelines were setting him up to fail 16 skoglund discontinued all commentaries speaking only to identify songs and musicians . 16 17 18 in 2007 mpbn required on air staff to sign a revised policy agreement on political neutrality . skoglund refused to sign and his program was cut june 13 2007 . 17 transmitter shutdowns edit in december 2008 due to the economic crisis and lack of governmental funding mpbn announced plans on temporarily closing down wmed tv and fm in calais and wmef fm in fort kent for at least six months beginning january 2009 . 23 24 in addition mpbn s radio and television stations would leave the air for five hours each night as an energy saving measure . 25 however many viewers and listeners complained to mpbn for their actions . another concern is for mpbn s role as the state s primary carrier for the emergency alert system which will be hampered during the times it is not on the air as well as in areas where aerial service has been discontinued . 25 in part of the response from viewers and listeners in the affected regions mpbn delayed their closures until february 28 2009 at earliest . 26 on february 12 2009 mpbn officially rescinded plans to close down the transmitters after responses from its viewers and listeners as well as stakeholders legislators and then governor john baldacci . 27 appropriateness of state funding edit in 2012 governor paul lepage proposed eliminating all state funding for mpbn from the budget referring to such aid as corporate welfare . 28 the republican controlled legislature rejected this proposal and instead passed a budget directing mpbn funding be changed to a fee for service model instead of a general appropriation over the next five years . 29 television stations edit mpbn operates 5 full power television stations station city of license other cities served channels digital first air date call letters meaning erp digital haat digital facility id transmitter coordinates wcbb augusta lewiston portland 10 vhf november 13 1961 colby bates bowdoin original owners 29.7 kw 304 m 39659 44 9 15 n 70 0 34.7 w 44.15417 n 70.009639 w 44.15417 ; 70.009639 wcbb wmeb tv flagship orono bangor 12 vhf september 23 1963 maine educational bangor 15 kw 375 m 39648 44 42 11.6 n 69 4 45.1 w 44.703222 n 69.079194 w 44.703222 ; 69.079194 wmeb tv wmem tv presque isle 10 vhf february 17 1964 maine educational m 14.5 kw 353 m 39662 46 33 2 n 67 48 32 w 46.55056 n 67.80889 w 46.55056 ; 67.80889 wmem tv wmed tv calais 13 vhf september 15 1965 maine educational 3.5 kw 134 m 39649 45 1 44.4 n 67 19 23.8 w 45.029000 n 67.323278 w 45.029000 ; 67.323278 wmed tv wmea tv1 biddeford portland 26 uhf march 15 1975 maine educational 50 kw 231 m 39656 43 25 0.3 n 70 48 15.2 w 43.416750 n 70.804222 w 43.416750 ; 70.804222 wmea tv notes 1 . wmea tv used the callsign wmeg tv from its 1975 sign on until 1984 . 2 . all main mpbn stations shut down their analog signals on january 11 2009 over a month ahead of the original february 17 transition date 30 causing many of mpbn s viewers to lose the signal . 31 mpbn also operates 3 translator stations station analog channel city w04bs d 4 bethel w03am d 3 harrison w05dd d 5 st. francis digital television edit mpbn s digital channels are multiplexed digital channels channel programming