Founded in 1992 through a historic merger, Maine Public came into being to unite the state’s public broadcasting efforts into one strong voice. The idea sparked when the University of Maine System and three private colleges (Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin) realized they could save money and reach more people by joining forces rather than operating separately. They decided to combine their radio and television stations to create a single network that could serve the entire state, from the cities to the rural forests. Today, the organization is a non-profit entity that is community-supported and overseen by a volunteer Board of Trustees. Today, Maine Public is run by local journalists and producers and is mainly focused on state politics, environmental news, and arts and culture. They are headquartered in Lewiston, Maine, with additional studios in Portland and Bangor. They serve as the local affiliate for NPR and PBS, providing educational content and news to residents across the entire state and even into parts of Canada. One interesting fact: A unique fact about Maine Public is the hidden meaning in the call letters of its original television station, WCBB. The letters stand for "Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin," the three rival colleges that originally teamed up to launch the station in 1961. It was an incredibly rare instance of private colleges collaborating to build a public TV station, a partnership that laid the foundation for the network today.