Jackson Free Press

An employee of Mississippi Public Broadcasting for 28 years, Rick Klein got his first taste of Los Angeles glitz at last month's Daytime Emmy Awards. "Between the Lions," the educational show that Klein helps produce, won three awards, including Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series. Klein and his co-producer, Scott Colwell, received the Emmy for Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series, while writer Keri Horn won for Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series.

"It was frightening and thrilling at the same time to be around all this incredible talent," Klein told the Jackson Free Press. "We were up against 'Sesame Street,' Disney and Nickelodeon."

A native of Louisville, Ky., Klein came to Jackson after a stint at an Orlando, Fla., public television station. He is an executive producer for MPB and one of several producers for "Between the Lions," but he has filled many other positions for the show, including on-camera, when he filled in as an extra, reading a book to his grandson.

"It's public broadcasting, and you look for cheap or free talent," Klein said. "It's usually yourself or your immediate family."

"Between the Lions" is filmed at MPB's Jackson studios, but the show is a collaboration with several other organizations, including WGBH-TV in Boston. The Jackson-based Barskdale Reading Institute contributes financial support. The show, which started in 2001, came to MPB in 2005. It features a family of puppet tigers and brief segments devoted to different aspects of reading and literacy. The goal, Klein said, is to prepare young children for school.

"Between the Lions," airs on MPB Monday through Friday, at 12:30 p.m. MPB is currently broadcasting the show's eighth season, and the show's producers have already completed the ninth and tenth seasons.

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