KNPB's Silver Anniversary: Celebrating 25 Years of Service
KNPB Public Broadcasting is celebrating 25 years of service in the community!
KNPB signed on the air September 29, 1983, with a broadcast of Sesame Street. With the finanical support of the community and our members, KNPB continues to strengthen and enrich its offerings and services.
Congratulations to Aren Raynes, winner of KNPB's Silver Anniversary "Reach for the SKY" Raffle.
KNPB Then• Until 1983 communities in northern Nevada, particularly Reno/Sparks and Carson City, could not receive any public television service, as the Sierra Nevada Mountains prevented reception of KVIE Sacramento or KQED San Francisco, the closest public television stations to the Truckee Meadows. • When a multi-year feasibility study confirmed that there was potentially adequate community support, KNPB Channel 5 Public Broadcasting was licensed to the communities of northern Nevada. • KNPB Channel 5 signed on the air September 29, 1983, at 3 p.m., with an episode of Sesame Street. There were six full time staff members. The first volunteer was Ron Smith, who later was hired as the Development Director, a position he retired from in 2006. • KNPB first broadcast from a tower in downtown Reno that was donated by ABC affiliate KOLO Channel 8. The tower was later moved north of the city on Red Peak and housed in a garden shed. In the early years there were no translators. • Very involved in the feasibility study, the University of Nevada, Reno first hosted the station with office and studio space in the Edmund Caine Hall, the original home of the College of Education. • The first issue of the Take 5 member guide was published in December 1983. • The first three pledge drives expanded a member base of approximately 800 generated through the organizational capital campaign to nearly 2,500 when Channel 5 initiated its first “Four Fabulous Nights” in 1986. The Channel 5 auction launched in June 1986. • Local production began with the public affairs discussion around the 1984 election. Soon after, the station launched Journalists’ Notebook and Silver State, followed by Capital Issues in 1985 and To the Point in the late 1980’s. • By the early 1990’s KNPB had outgrown the UNR office and studio space, and a capital campaign was launched to finance a new building to be located at the northwest corner of the campus. Station staff were so cramped during the construction year that the entire development department was temporarily housed at the Reynolds School of Journalism. • In January 1996 KNPB moved into its brand new facility at 1670 North Virginia Street. The building was finished ahead of schedule and under budget. • KNPB has traditionally led the local media community in innovation: • First to broadcast stereo audio. | KNPB Now• KNPB has broadcast both analog and digital channels since September 2000. The analog channel will be turned back to the FCC February 17, 2009. Through a system of some 18 translators, today’s signal reaches communities throughout northern Nevada and eastern California all the way to Elko and beyond. • KNPB currently broadcasts 3 digital channels over the air: • Channel 5.1, KNPB’s “flagship” channel, same as analog channel 5 (Charter channel 5)
• Licensed to the communities of northern Nevada, KNPB receives financial support from diverse sources, the largest of which is the annual support of local individuals, corporations and foundations. KNPB’s membership currently numbers more than 8,000 viewers. • KNPB local productions tell the stories of the people and the culture of northern Nevada: The Nevada Experience, One on One, High Five, OpenLine, and Nevada Stories. Perhaps most popular, Wild Nevada and House With a History introduce Nevada to audiences throughout the U.S. through their distribution by American Public Television. KNPB’s web site, www.knpb.org, communicates KNPB and PBS information and services to keep audiences up-to-date about all station activities. New KNPB blogs and OpenLine live public affairs town meetings encourage viewers to interact with the station on topics of community interest. • KNPB’s education service includes PBS TeacherLine, online professional development graduate courses for teachers. An Education Resource Calendar is published for teachers monthly on the KNPB web site. • Outreach at KNPB extends the impact of television programming for learning, with discussion groups and activities for children and adults. The annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators competition attracts several hundred budding artists, grades K – 3. • In its 12th year, KNPB’s Ready To Learn activity serves our youngest viewers and their parents and caregivers. RTL media literacy workshops teach parents how to use the wonderful selection of children’s programs for learning in their daily activity at home and in the community. • More than 1,000 community volunteers participate in KNPB activities, from pledge drives to the auctions, production crews to outreach assistants.
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