WTVP Stronger Together
Rich Draeger: Local Stories Have Greater Impact
8/4/2026 | 1m 30sVideo has Closed Captions
Rich Draeger shares why local stories and community support make WTVP stronger.
WCBU host Rich Draeger reflects on his family’s years as WTVP members and volunteers, his appreciation for local programs and the value of Passport. He explains why stories produced by people who live in Central Illinois carry greater impact and how viewers, volunteers, donors and staff come together to make WTVP stronger.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
WTVP Stronger Together is a local public television program presented by WTVP
WTVP Stronger Together
Rich Draeger: Local Stories Have Greater Impact
8/4/2026 | 1m 30sVideo has Closed Captions
WCBU host Rich Draeger reflects on his family’s years as WTVP members and volunteers, his appreciation for local programs and the value of Passport. He explains why stories produced by people who live in Central Illinois carry greater impact and how viewers, volunteers, donors and staff come together to make WTVP stronger.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Where to Watch WTVP Stronger Together
WTVP Stronger Together is available to stream on pbs.org and the PBS app.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship- My wife and I have been supporting members for many years.
We love the local programming that they do.
We've been volunteers as well, and it's just a nice local resource that more people need to know about and I think more people hopefully would support.
Being members, you get access to Passport, and Passport is so cool because you can go back and watch those shows over and over again.
We really like Christine Zak's show and just starting to check out Blake Wirth's program, "Vibe 309."
So we really love the local aspect.
When you talk about local stories told by local people, I think it has much more impact.
When you have that sense that somebody local, somebody that you can run into, say hi to at an event, produce the show that you're watching, I think that just speaks volumes about it because they can bring kind of an everyday, every-person view to those programs.
When you talk about a community-based public broadcast medium like WTVP, it is stronger together.
It's not just you, the staff.
It's the viewers.
It's everybody that comes together.
It's the volunteers.
So if we believe in WTVP, here's the opportunity to come together as a community, and I think Stronger Together captures that wonderfully.
I support WTVP because I think it's a valuable asset for our community, and I'm just happy to be a small part of it.
And I think the more people know, the more people will come on board, and we truly will be stronger together.
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WTVP Stronger Together is a local public television program presented by WTVP