“The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” launched in HD yesterday after the completion of a major portion of an upgrade to the WETA production center.

It may only be one program, but when it happens to be a news show that airs every weeknight of the year, those 260 annual hours of content add up to a lot of HD. In the case of the “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” on PBS, the move to HD next Monday evening, Dec. 17, will wind up doubling the total number of hours of HD content available to its mainstream audiences for the entire national network.

WETA, the flagship PBS station for Washington, DC, has selected a Solid State Logic C100 HD digital broadcast console for a new HD control room that will be used to produce the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer in hi-def.

HDNet and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer is airing the second in a series of jointly produced hi-def World Report shows, this time focusing on the conflict between India and Pakistan. The four half-hour episodes of the news series follow correspondent Simon Marks through India, Pakistan and the disputed region of Kashmi

Level 3 Communications said it has been selected by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions.

PBS documentary, public affairs, and news programming will soon be available 24/7, when PBS World launches on August 15. Series such as American Experience , NOVA , and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer will be regular features on the channel. Miniseries including Ken Burns’ The War will also be offered, in addition t

Elizabeth Anne Callan, 57, an award-winning producer for The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer for more than 20 years died Friday, August 17, at the Washington Hospital Center from injuries suffered in a fire.