KET Executive Director to Retire

After just more than six years at the helm of Kentucky Educational Television, Mac Wall announced plans Thursday to retire at the end of the year.

Wall, 63, said a desire to spend more time with his family prompted the decision.

"My wife in early September went on our trip to Spain, and I say 'our trip' because I didn't go," said Wall, who was at a meeting of the Organization of State Broadcasting Executives at the time. "She came back and said that will never happen again."

The couple are expecting their first grandchild next spring and plan to spend their time in Florida and Oregon with family, he said.

Wall said the highlight of his time at KET was the 2005 launch of the network's EncycloMedia education service for schools and its expansion.

"It's free, it's robust, it's deep and it's invaluable. It's just been a rock star for us," he said of the program, which is a partnership with the state Department of Education. "When you get into these really rural poor school districts, and they have this and it's free, it's powerful."

Wall's time at KET also has seen its expansion of high-definition programming. But it also has been a difficult time financially.

http://www.kentucky.com/lexgo/tv/story/960175.html