A major milestone has been reached by Southeastern’s award-winning television channel, the Southeastern Channel. As of late December 2010, selected shows from the Southeastern Channel began showing at welcome centers across the state. These 13 centers, located along major highways and entryways to the state, frequently host over 1 million visitors every year, which is a large increase from the channel’s previous 250,000 viewers.

Boasting such shows as “The Florida Parish Chronicles” and “Backyard Wonders,” the Southeastern Channel has won six Emmys over the past five years and has been nominated for 18. According to Station General Manager Rick Settoon, this is more than any other commercial and non-commercial Lousiana Public Broadcast channel in the state.

“We always produce our programs to make the highest quality possible. For any of our programs, we try to make them as effective as possible so that they will appeal to our audiences,” said Settoon.

The decision to air the channel’s shows came after a Louisiana Office of Tourism official viewed several of the Southeastern Channel’s shows. Later, samples were sent to be reviewed in Baton Rouge where the decision was finally made to host the Southeastern Channel in the state’s 13 welcome centers.

“We found the production qualities and storytelling to be such that it would provide entertainment for visitors taking a break from the road, as well as an enticement for travelers to see and do something they may not have considered already while in the state,” said Nancy Broussard, director of the Welcome Center for the Louisiana Office of Tourism, in a January 2011 Public Info. Press Release.

Interwoven among the daily showings of the Southeastern Channel at the various centers will be advertisements promoting Southeastern as a whole.

Settoon views this selection by the Louisiana Office of Tourism as a great opportunity but admits that he is far from finished when it comes to his vision for the future of the Southeastern Channel.

“Just as the Louisiana Office of Tourism has presented this wonderful opportunity to the Southeastern Channel and the university to reach over a million viewers statewide, we plan to continue producing more programs that appeal not only to a North Shore community audience and Southeastern students, but to viewers across the entire state,” said Settoon.

For more information on the Southeastern Channel, students may visit the channel’s Web site at www.selu.edu/tv or watch the channel on Charter Cable channel 18.