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WKNO Breaks Ground on $10 Million Digital Media Center
At Site Donated
by Harrah’s Entertainment
Memphis, TN – WKNO, public broadcasting for
the Mid-South, broke ground today for its projected $10 million Digital
Media Center on land donated by Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc.
The 7.69 acre site is located at 7151 Cherry Farms Road in the Goodlett
Farms planned business development.
The 39,000 square foot building will be the home for
WKNO offices as well as production and broadcast operations for the
public television and radio stations. The state-of-the-art building
will include two TV studios – one equipped with HD production
equipment – an HD edit suite, and new digitally equipped FM
studios. This Digital Media Center will provide WKNO with the digital
foundation necessary given the revolutionary change in technology,
according to WKNO’s President & CEO Michael J. LaBonia,
and allow WKNO to continue to pursue its mission as the Mid-South’s
storyteller showcasing the people, places and events that make this
a special place to live and work.
Designed by TRO Jung Brannen, the
Digital Media Center will be constructed by Montgomery Martin over
the next 12-13 months. This will be the first building designed and
constructed specifically for broadcasting in the station’s
50 plus year history. The WKNO Digital Media Center is part of a
$15 million Capital Campaign for WKNO’s transition to digital
broadcasting according to WKNO’s Capital Campaign Chair Stephen
H. Rhea. “We anticipate surpassing this goal in the coming
months as we launch the final, public phase of the campaign,” he
said. Rhea added that “the Campaign’s success speaks
to the wonderful community resource that WKNO has been for over 50
years and we are so appreciative of the investment by the community
in this important institution.”
“Harrah’s has a commitment to our communities
to help make them healthy and vibrant places to live and work. We
are proud to donate this land to WKNO as a valuable, educational
institution within our community. We hope this donation will allow
WKNO to continue to make a positive impact in our employees’ lives
and in the community in general for many years to come,” said
Tony McDuffie, senior vice president, controller & chief accounting
officer, Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc.
“It is this most
generous gift by Harrah’s Entertainment that allows WKNO to
move forward today with this much needed Digital Media Center that
will serve our viewers and listeners with quality public television
and radio programs for decades to come,” said Mr. LaBonia.
WKNO’s
Board of Trustees Chair William L. “Bill” Taylor added
that WKNO is within $750,000 of its $10 million goal to have all
the funding necessary to construct the building debt-free.
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