Jellie's Jam: Smooth Viewing

New Hampshire PBS offers information, stories and entertainment over five channels through multiple devices, making viewing more convenient and personalized than ever. Ensuring programs air seamlessly for the viewer involves technical tools, organizational expertise and a distinctive human touch.

As the new broadcast operations coordinator at NHPBS, Melissa Jellie collaborates daily with internal traffic, master control and programming staff and with external program service providers to check the right programs are airing at the right time - free of impediments and technical issues. Live programming and last-minute changes present special challenges.

“I look for anything that is missing – like a program, a video or anything needing readjustment. Every check roots back mostly to missing media — confirming that media is playing from the correct feeds and airing trouble-free,” Jellie explains. “I equate it to looking for four-leaf clovers; something that stands out in our daily operations that needs attention or a fix.”

NHPBS offers broadcast programming across five major channels: the main NHPBS channel, EXPLORE, CREATE, WORLD and PBS KIDS. Jellie runs checks on all five channels but focuses on the channels where most local content is placed — NHPBS and EXPLORE. The chance to review submissions from independent producers of New Hampshire stories is another rewarding part of her new role.

Melissa grew up in Charlestown New Hampshire in a family of NHPBS viewers. “Dad took us hiking, so we enjoyed all the nature programs, while Mom was a sous chef and, together, we watched the cooking programs,” she says. “But a lot of my childhood nostalgia revolves around the kids’ programming.” In particular, Melissa remembers the gentle lessons of the Canadian children’s show THE BIG COMFY COUCH.

Jellie graduated from Keene State College with a film production degree, then worked at public access television stations in Vermont and Massachusetts, before realizing her goal to return to her home state and work at NHPBS.

“We do listen to viewer feedback on our schedule and programs. It’s always nice to hear what people like and to meet people in the community that we produce the content for,” she said. “People who work in public media really care about its community value.”

Starting in September, new programs are coming to NHPBS’ core channels, along with new blocks of programming to better serve viewer needs and interests.

Saturday evenings on NHPBS, enjoy the misadventures of a fictitious British theater company in THE GOES WRONG SHOW, a comedy based on the award-winning play The Play That Goes Wrong. Also on Saturdays, LA OTRA MIRADA will be the first Spanish-language show (with English subtitles) to air on NHPBS.  Viewers can tune in to follow the dramatic stories of brave young women in 1920s-era Seville, Spain.

NHPBS EXPLORE channel will now feature more topical adult programming during the day: arts and music on Mondays, news and independent programs on Tuesdays, history on Wednesdays, science and nature on Thursdays, and dramas on Fridays. Kids’ programming will air exclusively on NHPBS, PBS Kids 24/7, nhpbs.org and the PBS Kids Video App.

For more information on our new programs and schedule changes and to check the latest schedule, visit nhpbs.org/schedule.

Pressroom Contact

Carla Gordon Russell
Director of Communications
crussell@nhpbs.org
(603) 868-4339