Communiqué
Membership Spotlight: Bill and Linda Rothman
< < Back toATHENS, OH – As retired educators, Bill and Linda Rothman understand the value of WOUB Public Media and what it brings to the region. They appreciate the educational resources of PBS KIDS programming and shows like Nature and NOVA on WOUB TV as well as the news and information on WOUB FM, but their true love is Masterpiece.
“We really started watching WOUB TV when we realized that there was too much violence on network programming,” said Linda. “We first found Downton Abbey and that’s where we got hooked on Masterpiece. The British really have wonderful TV programs figured out.”
Bill grew up on a small farm near Cleveland and Linda is from Cincinnati. The two met while attending Ohio State and got married. They moved to Athens when Bill was offered a job teaching at Hocking College.
“It wasn’t even called Hocking College back then,” said Bill with a laugh. “It was called Tri-County Technical Institute. And it was supposed to be a temporary job. They needed a business instructor to fill in for someone who was out with a medical issue, but it ended up lasting 40 years.”
Linda was a primary education teacher who taught in Columbus for four years before teaching in the Trimble School District for 35 years.
As the couple enjoys their retirement years, they find great joy in watching WOUB TV.
“We love Call the Midwife, All Creatures Great and Small and Finding Your Roots,” said Linda. “We also enjoyed Sanditon, Seaside Hotel, and we are just crushed there might not be another season of Hotel Portofino. It ended with such a cliff hanger.”
The two became supporters of WOUB during a TV pledge drive and have been happy to continue contributing to support the programming they love.
“It just made sense if we are going to watch this, we ought to be members,” said Bill.
The Rothmans are also discovering other WOUB TV programming outside of Masterpiece and plan to start watching PBS News Hour more regularly to become better informed on the issues of the day.
“We have heard that PBS News Hour is the place to go to get a deeper level-headed perspective,” said Linda. “We appreciate everything WOUB has to offer.”