Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB), Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Louisiana (DPIL), and students from LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication have partnered on a new public awareness campaign designed to help connect more Louisiana families with free books for young children, while giving students valuable real-world production experience.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books each month to children from birth to age five, regardless of family income. In 2023, LPB was designated by the Louisiana Legislature as the statewide partner for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Louisiana.
For this latest awareness campaign, students in a senior-level class at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication developed a new public service announcement (PSA) promoting the program under the guidance of Professor Sadie Wilks, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Student Success.
The collaboration began at the start of the semester with a visit to LPB’s headquarters, where students toured the station and met with LPB and DPIL staff for a collaborative brainstorming session focused on the campaign’s goals, audience, and messaging.
From there, the students identified their target audience, developed messaging, outlined production logistics, and worked alongside LPB’s production team to bring the campaign to life. The finished 60-second PSA, which also includes a message from Governor Jeff Landry, is now airing across LPB’s statewide broadcast platforms.
“Working with the student team brought a level of energy and creativity that elevated every part of this project,” said Molly Marker, State Director of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Louisiana. “They didn’t just help produce a PSA. They connected the dots between partners, families, and voices across the state and found a compelling way to tell that story. Their fresh perspective and genuine enthusiasm made the impact of the Imagination Library program feel real, personal, and powerful.”
“Being able to collaborate with LPB and Imagination Library offers our students an opportunity to work with industry professionals on a project with professional expectations and hard deadlines,” said Professor Wilks. “That’s something that we can’t replicate in the classroom, and it’s vital to their career preparation.”
LPB Deputy Director Matt Tessier said the collaboration reflected LPB’s educational mission.
“LPB’s mission is to educate – and we were able to accomplish that on two fronts with this project: Working with college seniors to round out their communications curriculum with hands-on experience in broadcasting and video production, while in turn strengthening early childhood education in our communities as more families sign up for the Imagination Library.”
Students involved in the PSA development include Lindsay Bickham, Molly Bigler, Khylar Christophe, Jessica Jefferson, Natazjah Lampkin, Ella Savoie, and Reese Tanner.
The PSA is currently airing on LPB-HD, LPB PBS KIDS, and LPB-3. It is also available online at www.lpb.org/dolly and on LPB’s YouTube channel.
For more information, contact Colleen Spillane, Public Information Officer, Louisiana Public Broadcasting at (225) 767-4453 or 1-800-272-8161 ext. 4453, or by email at cspillane@lpb.org.
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