WEDU president to head Florida PBS, NPR group

Richard Lobo, president of Tampa-based WEDU, Channel 3, is the new chairman of the nonprofit group that represents Florida's 13 PBS stations and 13 National Public Radio stations.

Lobo will serve a two-year term on the Florida Public Broadcasting Service Inc. He was elected at the group's meeting Friday in St. Petersburg.

Also elected to the organization's board of directors was JoAnn Urofsky, general manger of WUSF, Channel 16, in Tampa.

Lobo, 72, was previously vice chairman of the board and has served as chairman of its legislative affairs committee. He has 50 years experience in broadcasting.

As chairman he says he will be working with the organization's board to 'advance the mission of public broadcasting in the state."

"We work with the state Department of Education in Tallahassee because a number of the stations have educational outreach programs," he says. "Many stations run at least seven hours a day of educational children's programming.

"We also keep the state Legislature aware of the value of our programming. It's a real honor to serve as chairman."

Lobo, who grew up in Tampa, has be with PBS outlet WEDU since 2002. The grandson of Cuban immigrants and son of cigarmakers, he ran commercial television stations in Miami, New York, Chicago and Cleveland.

In 1994, he was appointment by President Bill Clinton to head the U.S. Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which runs Radio and TV Marti, government channels that broadcast news and information into Cuba.

Lobo is on the board of directors of the Florida Association of Broadcasters and is a member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Suncoast chapter.

The Florida Public Broadcasting Service helps member stations bring PBS programming and educational services to the communities they serve. The organization is the sole distributor of content for the Florida Knowledge Network, which provides video curriculum and training for Florida's public school students, teachers and educators. Some affiliates run "Ready to Learn" programs, which provide free books and grassroots literacy outreach to prekindergarten children and their families in eight Florida markets.