Daphne Council Took Up $29,300 Appropriation for PBS Travel Documentary Hosted by Meg Ryan
The City Council on Monday considered a resolution appropriating $29,300 from the General Fund to participate in a short-form documentary produced by EMPOWERED. The series will air on public television stations in all 50 states and is hosted by Meg Ryan.
Daphne asked its City Council on Monday to approve $29,300 from the General Fund so the city can be featured in a short-form documentary that will air on public television stations in all 50 states.
Daphne City Hall. Photo by JodyB via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).
The request appears as Resolution 2026-35 on the May 18 agenda — Item 11.F — under the title "Appropriation: Empowered Studio Production Authorization." It would amend the Fiscal Year 2026 budget that the council adopted in September under Ordinance 2025-17.
Excerpt from the May 18, 2026 Daphne City Council agenda, page 3 — item 11.F.
The full text of the resolution appears later in the same meeting packet (page 108 of 125) and lays out the underwriting in detail.
Full text of Resolution 2026-35 from the May 18, 2026 meeting packet, page 108.
According to the resolution, the series is titled "Discover America–America 250: Great Places to Live, Visit and Start a Business," produced by EMPOWERED and hosted by Meg Ryan. The cost breaks down into $25,900 for underwriting and scheduling fees and $3,400 to shoot on-site in Daphne.
About the program
EMPOWERED, hosted by the actor Meg Ryan, is a docuseries that distributes short educational segments to public television stations across the country. The program describes itself as covering "innovative" organizations and "women leaders," according to the Empowered Program website. Segments typically run three to five minutes; some are cut down further into 30-second or one-minute spots that the program says are distributed to cable channels as well.
Other participants have described the same model. A profile of one Ohio museum's segment in the Geauga County Maple Leaf notes that the program runs on a sponsorship basis, with featured organizations paying underwriting fees toward production costs. A separate company that joined the series in 2025 said its episode was set to "stream on public television stations across the US for a year," according to its own announcement.
The "America 250" framing in the resolution's series title appears to tie the segment to the national America 250 initiative, the federal effort marking the 250th anniversary of the country's founding in 2026.
If approved, the mayor would be authorized to execute the documents needed to carry out the agreement. The agenda does not give a production timeline or an air date for Daphne's segment.