Some of you may have seen Wisconsin Public Television's coverage of Governor Walker's State of the Budget Address on Tuesday. Behind the scenes it was anything but business as usual. The extremely tight security at the Wisconsin State Capitol presented extra challenges for the production crew trying to bring cameras, lighting equipment and other gear into the second floor Assembly Parlor where we set up our mini studio. Each entry required passing through 2-3 checkpoints of security.

30 minutes before the Governor's speech thousands of noisy, angry protesters converged on the police barricade just outside the Assembly windows. That is also the exact spot where our director, producer and technical support team are working to bring you the live broadcast from our production truck.

In one ear we heard chants of "This is what democracy looks like" in the other ear "standby in 3, 2, 1. The viewers at home only saw the quality production they are accustomed to getting from Wisconsin Public Television... despite that it was one of the more bizarre, challenging – and perhaps memorable live productions we may ever encounter.

***in the category of full disclosure the employees of Wisconsin Public Television are state employees.

Last week prior to the Super Bowl In Wisconsin aired a report about the early days of the Acme Packers and how Curly Lambeau carried this team on his back. One of our viewers emailed to say his father Ed Huston played for the team in those early years.

Edwin Huston lived in Richland Center WI. He told his son how the uniforms had no padding and they played in a field of thorns. It was nothing like what the players have today. His son offered to send us a photo as the proof.

Besides playing football Edwin was also the Drum Major for the Richland Center, WI. band so he would march with the band and then play football all in one afternoon.

I found the story of Edwin Huston very intriguing and the photos are worth a thousand words. I'm sure Packer backers everywhere can appreciate what the players had to endure in those early years. Thanks for sharing Jim.

Another busy week in the world of news and public affairs! Governor Scott Walker delivered his State of the State address. We're looking to the Budget Address for more specifics on spending cuts that get at the state budget deficit.

This week on "Here & Now" we talk with U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan who has just released his spending cut plan as chair of the House Budget Committee. We hear from Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen about his reaction to a federal judge's ruling this week that invalidated the Obama health care law and we hear the opposing viewpoint.

Also, we continue our interviews with candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. This week, we talk with Joel Winnig. Finally, our singing commentator, Peter Leidy, puts the Super Bowl to song. "Here & Now," Friday night at 7:30 p.m. on Wisconsin Public Television.

As the producer of In Wisconsin... I invite you to watch this week's show no matter where you live. We are based in Madison but our newsmagazine hosted by Patty Loew covers every corner of the state. In Wisconsin airs in most places at 7:30 on Thursday nights and there is an encore presentation at 10:30 Sunday night.

In Milwaukee it's a bit different with a broadcast time of 11:30 Sunday morning. And not to be outdone... we also have viewers in Minnesota. In Wisconsin is carried by Minnesota Public Television (WDSE-TV) in Duluth at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday for viewers in the Northwest corner of Wisconsin. I'm sure the Minnesotans who watch will enjoy the Packer report we have planned for our first show in February.

But I'm jumping ahead of myself... this week In Wisconsin features reports from around the state that include a new low-speed rail plan for Milwaukee, restoration on a 1916 Frank Lloyd Wright home, a very personal mission for a New Richmond High School student interested in stem cell research and find out how the Wisconsin DNR is using high-tech decoys to catch hunters who break the law.

This week I've slated several new reports for In Wisconsin. One of the more interesting is a new approach to burials, admittedly, not everyone is comfortable thinking about. It's called green or natural burial. Wisconsin is starting to provide options for this end of life choice. Find out what this eco-friendly option is all about and why it is being met with some opposition.

You'll also see an inspiring report about Andy Janiki. He's a quadriplegic but that's not stopping him from exploring the wilds of Wisconsin. Four different state parks are now offering rentals of adaptive kayaks made specifically for people with disabilities. It has allowed Janiki to regain his freedom.

Next week - Thanksgiving night -we take a look at a historic deer research project in Wisconsin, the making of the UW Arboretum by the boys in the Civilian Conservation Corps and a little trivia. Do you know who's considered Wisconsin's first scientist?

You'll get the answer on In Wisconsin Thursday's at 7:30 p.m. on Wisconsin Public Television.

When you work in television, or maybe even watch it a lot, or watch it somewhat critically, it's hard not to always be thinking about how it's done. So it was interesting to me last night to watch the live episode of 30 Rock on NBC with my mother.

My mom is a big 30 Rock fan, but not especially interested in the behind the scenes aspects of TV production. In fact, she hadn't heard that the show would be live and didn't really notice. But she could tell something was up: "Baldwin and Tina Fey seem different. It's like they're acting on stage. Usually they're so natural."

I suppose that it's ironic that a performance with the actors really live at that moment you're watching would seem less real than a program that's taped and edited. And few shows are as heavily edited as 30 Rock, which made its live effort all the more bold.

I thought it was great show, but of course a lot of my favorite television is television that's about television.

Even if you don't like "The Other Guys" -- the new Will Ferrell cop comedy -- stay through the end credits. Not for the hilarious outtakes, but for an expertly rendered animated lesson in contemporary economics. The Portland Mercury review commented: "something weird happens during The Other Guys' end credits: It turns into PBS."

PBS is also referenced more directly earlier in the movie. The plot involves a complicated economic scheme that may be a swindle and to help explain it the cop played by Will Ferrell creates an explanatory video. Public television fans will recognize the distinctive voice of Will Lyman, a frequent narrator for Frontline.

I got the sense that Ferrell and the film's director, Adam McKay, may have been inspired by the numerous Frontline investigations into the recent financial collapse and set out to build a comedy around it. Perhaps failing to find much humor in the details of deficits, bailouts and CEO salaries they abandoned that plan and stuffed that info in at the end. But even if it's an afterthought, it's a very well done one.

The "other guys" of the title refer to Ferrell and his partner played by Mark Wahlberg. As opposed to a couple of superhero cops Samuel L. Jackson and Duane Johnson who get all the media attention, these other guys toil in the background doing the extensive paperwork. That is until the untangling financial plots thrusts them center stage.

We in public television, I suppose, can relate to being the "other guys" in the world of broadcast media. So I enjoyed seeing public TV getting some attention in mainstream entertainment.

National Public Radio is no longer calling itself National Public Radio, opting instead for just the initials NPR, reports the Washington Post, saying it's more streamlined and modern.

If you've downloaded an NPR podcast or gone to npr.org to read a news story, you know that NPR is much more than broadcast radio, which was clearly a motivation for the name change.

It is, perhaps, a bit too easy to poke fun at this type of rebranding. "NPR used to stand for something, but now..." The most infamous is Kentucky Fried Chicken's change to KFC, as if removing "fried" from their name would remove any concern about nutrition.

I looked into this a little bit and it turns out KFC is bringing back the full Kentucky Fried Chicken title at new locations, and trying to emphasize its Southern roots. I'll raise a wing to that.

Maybe one day, when NPR content is somehow being beamed directly to our brains, they'll bring back National Public Radio as a quaint reminder of a bygone time.

After all, nothing beats the original recipe.

One benefit of working at WPT is that our in-house television line-up includes the satellite channels PBS uses to distribute its programming to its member stations. Stations record the programs and then broadcast them according to their schedules.

That means in some cases, you can happen upon an upcoming program. For example, this week, I saw a few minutes of the Great Performances production of Hamlet that will be broadcast this week. The unexpected preview certainly wet my appetite. The staging has an English Manor/Agatha Christie feel that I found an interesting choice. The play is a murder mystery on one level, after all, though Hamlet is no Poirot. My children are obsessed with Shakespeare so we definitely will be watching.

At other times, you can stumble upon programs unlikely to be carried by WPT, like one on right now about Chinese-language movie theaters that used to be at the social heart of this country's many big city Chinatowns. Alas, now all disappeared,and completely unknown to me before this documentary.

It's a great reminder of the variety of unique programming only available through public broadcasting.