Travel board to weigh $106,500 for Wyoming PBS food series

The Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board will decide Thursday whether to put $106,500 in lodging tax money behind Wyoming PBS's proposed series, "Handshake: Stories from Wyoming's Table," a 10-episode season focused on farm-to-table stories in Jackson Hole, Star Valley, Green River Valley and Rock Springs application. The application says the board's share would cover logistics, field crew, per diems, gear and producer fees, while Wyoming PBS would fund the other 70% of Season 1.

For me, the key question is whether a tourism board should treat a public television series like destination marketing without firmer deliverables. Wyoming PBS says success would include a digital completion rate above 60%, teacher adoption through PBS LearningMedia, added underwriting and donations, and broader carriage through other public television stations application. Those are at least metrics, which is more than some applications offer, but Thursday's discussion is worth watching for how tightly the board expects those benchmarks to be reported before reimbursing the money.