FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Keith Smith, Lee County Public Resources
              (239)335-2665

LEE TV ADDING NEW PROGRAMMING INCLUDING CAPITOL UPDATE/CLASSIC ARTS SHOWCASE

FORT MYERS, FL. (August 14, 2003) - Lee TV, Lee County's Government Access channel, is adding programming from two new sources to give county residents a wider variety of programs both government-related and arts-related.

Lee TV will be carrying new programs via the Florida Channel, a service of WFSU-TV, the PBS affiliate in Tallahassee, and the Florida Legislature.  Like C-Span, the Florida Channel provides gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Florida Legislature, including regular and special sessions, Florida Supreme Court Oral Arguments, Florida Public Service Commission Conferences, and various cabinet level meetings. 

The Florida Channel also produces Capitol Update (legislative news), Florida Crossroads (documentary), and Florida Face to Face (one-on-one interview).  These three programs will be added to Lee TV's regular schedule and other programming may be carried live at various times.

Capitol Update is produced daily during the regular Legislative session and weekly when the Legislature is not in session.  The program explains developments in Florida's Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branches in every day terms to give viewers an up-to-date view of what is happening in state government.

Classic Arts Showcase is free television programming designed to bring the classic arts experience to viewers by providing video clips of a wide variety of different arts.  It includes video samplings of ballet, chamber music, dance, folk art, animation, musical theater, opera, orchestral, recital, solo vocal and instrumental, as well as classic film and archival documentaries. 

The Classic Arts programming will carried at 10:00pm to 8:00am Mon.-Wed.-Th.-Fri.-Sat. and from 5:00pm to 8:00am on Sundays/Mondays. Tuesday nights it will follow the rebroadcast of that week's regular Lee County Commission meeting.

 
Lee TV is Lee County's 24-hour government access channel that provides viewers with information on what is going on in Lee County Government.  It is broadcast on the ComCast cable system, channel 11and on the Time Warner cable system, channel 16.     A broadcast schedule can be viewed on the county's Internet website at: www.lee-county.com.  Click on Information/Media Services and select Lee TV Schedule.