Mississippi Public Broadcasting

Background
Mississippi Public Broadcasting is the statewide PBS affiliate located in Mississippi. Its headquarters are located in Jackson, where their flagship station WMPN is located.

1st Logo (1970-1978)
Logo: We start with a closeup of the text (which is in black as with the logo) with colors behind the text sliding to the left. The text zooms out, then the words fade to white as the colors slide away.

FX/SFX: The zoom out and color change.

Music/Sounds: A moog synth tune.

Availability: Extinct.

2nd Logo (1978-1994?)
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Nickname: "Epic Public Television"

Logo: On a black background, we zoom out through the top of a lowercase, brown, 3D "mississippi" (a la the 1986 Warner Home Video logo). There is a yellow glow around "mississippi" and the dots of the "i"s are at various places. While it is zooming out, it turns counter clockwise to face the viewer. Once it is in place, it flashes yellow while we zoom out past two brown "walls". The "walls" are actually part of the "E" of a stylized "ETV" where the "E" is at a 45-degree angle and the bottom-left is wedged into a combined brown "TV". The word "mississippi" zooms in while "ETV" is zooming out and stops alongside the "E" and ends before the "V". Once everything is in place, the whole logo flashes yellow, giving the letters of "ETV" a yellow outline.

Variant: A later short version cuts out the zooming of "mississippi".

FX/SFX: The flashing, zooming, and turning of the letters, done by Digital Effects, Inc. It appears to be early CGI, which does make it highly advanced for its time.

Music/Sounds: A dramatic violin and drum fanfare (an excerpt from the De Wolfe Music library track "Diffusion" by Reg Tilsley). The short version has three chimes play against a Moog synth bass line.

Availability: Rare, intact on older prints of The Write Channel, and later programs seen on MPB's YouTube channel. Its longevity is amazing, lasting at least into the early 90's.

Editor's Note: While this logo did not age very well (thanks to its color scheme and dated fonts), it is still a great example of the capabilities of early CGI.

3rd Logo (1994?-2005)
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Nickname: "Blue E", "Diamond E"

Logo: On a marble background we see two transparent blue cubes that look like E's revolve, come, and and shifted the opposite directions. They form a solid blue tilted "E" (like the E in "ETV" from the previous logo). "Mississippi Educational Network" and "Presents" fade in. A spotlight can be seen shining. Another version had "MISSISSIPPI EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION", in a regular font, and the marble is different.

Variants:
 * One version had a sky as its background. The text zooms out, and there is only one E, which comes from the top.
 * Another version was superimposed into the intro, without text.

FX/SFX: Very good CGI animation that holds up today.

Music/Sounds: An orchestral fanfare not unlike the previous logo (the Diffusion music variant).

Availability: Rare.

1st Logo (2005–2010)


Nickname: "M of Stairs"

Logo: On a black background, we see white lines that look like stairs zooming out into a 3D letter "M". Underneath the letter "M" is the text reading "Mississippi Public Broadcasting".

Earlier Variant: The white text "in association with" was seen above the "M".

FX/SFX: The zooming or none.

Music/Sounds: A 6-note synth tune or none. In other cases the end theme.

Availability: Seen on Between the Lions from the mid-late 2000s.

2nd Logo (2010-present?)
Logo: On the same background as the 2009 PBS logo, we see "MPB" zoom out, on letter at a time. Below zooms out "Original Production".

FX/SFX: All CGI.

Music/Sounds: TBA

Availability: TBA

3rd Logo (2010-)
Logo: On a white background, we see a 2D (sometimes 3D) "M". To the right side of the "M" is the same text reading "Mississippi Public Broadcasting".

FX/SFX: The "MPB" zooming quickly into the call number scene.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: This is the most current logo, but its not seen on any MPB programming, but used as a station ID.