Mainebiz

V O L . X X I V N O. I V F E B R UA R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8 18 O n a Saturday morning in January, it's Falmouth High School in blue versus St. Dominic in black, in a high-stakes brain-power compe- tition. ey're duking it out on "High School Quiz Show: Maine" at Maine Public Television studios. After stage manager Luke Merkel warms up the audience with Trivial Pursuit questions, host Shannon Moss takes over for the main event, which consists of four rounds. Off camera, the judges intervene once, to verify that per- tussis is the same as whooping cough. When the episode airs this spring, it should make for riveting prime-time viewing. Maine Public has high hopes for Season 2 after 12,000 households tuned in weekly during the pilot. is season is twice as long, and saw 60 schools apply for 16 slots. "Maine Public is known for years as a place where people watch basketball tournaments," says Mark Vogelzang, Maine Public's president and CEO. With the new show, "aca- demics get front and center." It's among many initiatives the industry veteran has launched since taking the reins in 2012 to keep Maine Public fresh and relevant to viewers and listeners, and he's just getting started. "We know that we have a man- date to continue to serve Maine with unique and relevant content," says Vogelzang. Besides the new game show, he promises more in-depth journalism and continued investment in digital technology. All that costs money and resources, as fundraising becomes more challenging for all non-profits. From MPBN to Maine Public e Maine Public Broadcasting Network was created from the 1992 merger of the educational stations provided by the University of Maine System and the WCBB public TV station operated by Colby, Bates and Bowdoin colleges. It was rebranded as Maine Public in 2016. Henry "Hank" Schmelzer, then chairman of Maine Public's board, says that while it took Vogelzang a while to win over the board, "he does what he says he's going to do." He also admires Vogelzang's fundraising acumen, saying his one-day campaigns are "the envy of a lot of the public broadcasters through- out the country." Maine Public employs close to 100 people — in Lewiston, Portland, Bangor and Augusta — and has an annual operating budget of around $13 million. It operates five TV stations, including a PBS Kids free over-the- air channel launched last year as well as seven radio news stations and the Maine Public Classical music channel that debuted in 2016 with six FM sta- tions. Together they provide core PBS and NPR programming to Maine, as well as parts of New Brunswick and P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y M A I N E P U B L I C Maine Public calling CEO Vogelzang charts a new course for the radio and TV broadcaster B y R e n e e C o r d e s C O M M U N I C AT I O N S & T E C H N O L O G Y F O C U S Membership and donor support: $6.28 million Corporate support: $2.35 million Federal funding via CPB: $1.69 million State funding: $1.5 million Other: $448,944 TOTAL: $12,268,144 S O U R C E : Maine Public Broadcasting MAINE PUBLIC REVENUE SOURCES (FY 2017) 4% 12% 14% 19% 51% Mark Vogelzang, pictured here in Maine Public's technical hub in Bangor, says the upcoming five-year strategic plan will continue to focus on content and technology.

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