We reserve the right to remove any user or user's comments that are deemed inappropriate. Examples: comments that are abusive, off-topic, use foul language; comments that contain racist, sexist, homophobic, or other offensive terminology; solicitations and or advertising spam; comments that include attacks that celebrate death, injury, or illness of any person, public figure or otherwise. Located in the state Capitol building, The FLORIDA Channel is a public affairs programming service funded by The Florida Legislature and produced and operated by WFSU-TV. It features programming covering all three branches of state government, and is Florida’s primary source for live, unedited coverage of the Governor and Cabinet, the Legislature and the Supreme Court. The FLORIDA Channel began its statewide gavel-to-gavel coverage with the 1996 legislative session. Then housed at the Public Broadcast Center in Tallahassee, it was the only source of live, unedited legislative coverage in Florida. In 1997, coverage was expanded to include Florida Supreme Court Oral Arguments. That same year, WFSU-TV assumed management of the television facility located on the 9th floor of the Florida Capitol building in Tallahassee and the responsibility for producing all FLORIDA Channel programs. In 1998, Capitol Update premiered and gavel-to-gavel coverage of legislative special sessions and the Public Service Commission Agenda Conferences began. In 2002, The FLORIDA Channel launched its year-round, 24/7 programming service – providing extensive coverage of the three branches of Florida’s government. Today, The FLORIDA Channel produces more than 2,500 hours of original programming annually that can be seen on PBS multicast channels, cable systems, and public, education and government access channels across the state. With the addition of remote events crews that travel the state, its coverage has expanded to include meetings of the Board of Education, the Board of Governors, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and other meetings and events relating to state government. And during hurricane season and other states of emergency, The FLORIDA Channel broadcasts live coverage of briefings from the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. All programming televised by The FLORIDA Channel is closed captioned for the hearing impaired.
