The PBS39 Partnership: Communicating Ideas Through Visual Media
The PBS affiliate in the Lehigh Valley is PBS Channel 39 WLVT which reaches 12 million potential viewers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Policy Studies formed a partnership with PBS39 to produce complete coverage of the 2012 US national elections. The partnership expanded with Lafayette Lens, a half-hour series covering issues of global importance.
Lafayette Alumni Who Shaped Our World
Lafayette students partnered with PBS39 to produce a documentary about notable and distinguished Lafayette alumni whose contributions shaped our world. Featured alumni include Allan Kirby (1915), William Simon (1952), John Landis (1939), and Phillip Hench (1916).
Shifting Democracy: Lafayette Students on the 2022 Elections
Lafayette students partnered with PBS39 to produce a four-episode series about the 2022 elections. Some of the featured content includes student interviews, guest panelists, and a quiz bowl matching the College Democrats against the College Republicans.
Trying Times: Containing America’s Mental Health Epidemic
In this edition of Lafayette Lens, policy studies students from Spring 2021 look deeply into various types of mental disorders, explore the causes, and hear from experts on promising treatments and remedies. They reflect on gaps in access to mental health care, and how the pandemic has affected treatment options and support systems.
2020 US National Election Coverage
Students from two Lafayette classes – one a freshman seminar course and the other a 400-level course for juniors and seniors – reported and produced stories, working with Lehigh Valley Public Media staffers who helped them with development. Much of the work had to be done remotely because of the pandemic, with students spread out across the country.
Lafayette Lens: Vote Your Voice
Students in Professor Crain's Policy Studies Leadership class interviewed national experts in a thorough examination of the political issues in the 2020 primary election season.
Lafayette Lens: Exploring Artificial Intelligence
Professor Crain's senior seminar course partnered with PBS39 on the creation of an educational broadcast exploring artificial intelligence (AI). This project was created throughout the fall 2019 semester.
Election Coverage
The Policy Studies Program partnered with PBS39 to produce coverage of the US national elections in both 2012 and 2016. The 2016 program received a nomination for a regional Emmy award.