News release Public Information Office  SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu Spring 2004 news releases Public Information home News archive Contact: Rene Abadie Date: 5/5/04   SOUTHEASTERN CHANNEL EXPANDS INTO ST. TAMMANY, WASHINGTON PARISHES       HAMMOND -- The Southeastern Channel, Southeastern Louisiana University's educational cable access channel, quadrupled its reach into 92,000 homes in the area when it began broadcasting May 1 in St. Tammany and Washington parishes on Charter Cable Channel 17.       The channel previously aired solely in Tangipahoa and part of Livingston parishes, reaching into about 23,000 households. The channel now covers the entire north shore area serviced by Charter Cable, which includes 33 different communities with approximately 240,000 potential viewers.       The channel currently can be viewed in St. Tammany and Washington parishes on Channel 17 in Charter's basic cable lineup and will switch to Channel 18 in the fall once all of Charter's cable subscribers have been notified. The Southeastern Channel, which has been airing on Channel 18 in Tangipahoa and Livingston since July 2002, will continue to air on that channel in those parishes.        "Charter Communications is very pleased to be partnering once again with Southeastern to expand the reach of the Southeastern Channel to all of our subscribers," said Charter General Manager Kelly LeBouef.  "We see great things happening at the university, and we're just glad that we can be a part of that.  We're pleased to announce that the Southeastern Channel will be available to all of our viewers on the north shore because we look at Southeastern as the university of the north shore."       The Southeastern Channel broadcasts a wide variety of campus events such as concerts and lectures, theatrical productions, and university athletic events.  The lineup also includes documentaries, community talk shows, magazine programs, and public affairs programming.       The channel carries college-level telecourses, which can be taken for credit at Southeastern.  The broadcast schedule includes workplace training programs, teacher professional development programming, and educational series aimed at improving the performance of elementary and high school students.       "Through telecourses, performances and other original educational programming, our expanding  partnership with Charter Communications will allow us to more effectively achieve the mission of the  university to lead the educational, economic, and cultural development of southeast Louisiana," said John Crain, Southeastern provost and vice-president for academic affairs.       The Southeastern Channel also airs programs from its affiliate partners such as the Annenberg Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a noted provider of student and teacher development programs. Other partners include the Classic Arts Showcase, NASA-TV, Louisiana Hometown Network, Farm Bureau, and Research Channel, a consortium of major research universities.       "The Southeastern Channel airs programs with excellent quality and value for its audience," said Rick Settoon, general manager of the channel. "We believe our new viewers will enjoy and benefit from our diverse lineup of educational, entertainment, community and sports programming."       Several Southeastern Channel programs have recently won national and international awards against top competition in the television industry. Included are "Fighting Lions: The Glory Years," a documentary on the history of Southeastern football, and "The 2003 North Shore Gubernatorial Forum,” in which gubernatorial candidates addressed economic and transportation issues facing the area. Other winners were "Southeastern Times," a university news magazine, and "Come, Memory…," a concert by the Southeastern Wind Symphony.