Take a look at the newly introduced video portal from PBS - video.wpt2.org This new site takes episodes, collections and specials from all of our locally produced programs and puts them in one place. We are adding new content daily so check back frequently to explore new content and re-experience some of your favorites from the past.

Can't find what you're looking for? There are a variety of ways to search our video content. If you're looking for something specific you can choose a particular program that you're interested in and sort through the videos by topic.
OR
If you're trying to find out as much as possible on a particular subject, you can select from a list of topics or use the search function to find video from all PBS programs.

As In Wisconsin first reported back in August 2009. The PBS series American Masters will air a documentary about Wisconsin's own John Muir. (Father of the National Park System)

A freelance producer and crew were shooting on the former Muir property in Marquette County (Fountain Lake Farm) last fall for the upcoming documentary called, "John Muir in the New World." The documentary is in editing right now and will be ready to air on Earth Day in mid-April 2011 right here on Wisconsin Public Television.

For more information about the documentary and to hear from the series producer you can watch our web extras. Also, only on the web you can learn about Muir's strict religious upbringing, the biggest threats to the Muir property today and find out what the current landowner would say if he ever met John Muir.

For more on John Muir's legacy and the Wisconsin man who's walking in his footsteps you can watch our In Wisconsin report about the former Muir property. Click here to watch!

For a very long time the PBS NewsHour has expressed a desire to form stronger partnerships with local public television station news departments. The thinking has been that local reporters can find stories in their area that help illustrate a national issue. This can save the NewsHour the expense of sending their own crew, while showcasing the reporting skill that the PBS system has at its local stations.

About a year ago, Frederica Freyberg appeared via satellite for a round table discussion of state budgets in crisis, which you can see here. This week, the NewsHour presented a long tape piece combining reports from New York, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Idaho public television reporters discussing what their states are going through. You can see it here.

I would have been happy to see Wisconsin represent, but however tough the state's budget problems are, these other states are in much worse shape.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the changes coming to the Newshour with Jim Lehrer. This coming Monday, Dec. 7, will see the rechristening of the program as The PBS Newshour along with a beefed up online effort. The New York Times recently had a good article on the changes.

Also reported in the Times is the unfortunate news that both Bill Moyers Journal and Now with David Brancaccio will be going off the air next April. Moyers is retiring by choice, but Now's cancellation seems to be due to difficulty obtaining funding.

I saw Brancaccio speak in Los Angeles last spring at an awards presentation and recall him talking about the financial difficulties Now was having. At the time the staff were taking multiple mandatory furlough days. (For a recent interview WPT did with Brancaccio -- albeit before the cancellation was announced -- check out the WPT station blog Be more Tuned In.)

PBS execs say that a new public affairs program line-up will be announced in January. As we say in television, stay tuned.