Philly's WYBE: All shorts, all the time

WYBE's new model, based on 5-minute programs that run online and on-air, aims for "a marriage of the often-frustrated community-TV ideal of locally produced original programming and the convenience and short-attention-span exuberance of free digital media-on-demand," reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. On the new Mind TV, paying WYBE members get production training and a platform for their videos, which station execs hope will provide about one-third of all content. The rest will be produced by station staff or chunked from existing pubTV programs. Resources for the change came in part from NBC, which--in exchange for one of WYBE's digital channels--provided the pubcaster with new studio equipment and training. (See Current's story on WYBE's revamp in the April 21 issue.)