PBS president to keynote at 50th birthday of Idaho’s first public TV station
Tuesday, September 15
Paula Kerger, president of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), will visit Moscow to commemorate the 50th anniversary of KUID, Idaho’s first public television station. Kerger, chief executive officer of PBS since 2006, will speak at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, in the auditorium of the University of Idaho's Administration Building.
Her keynote address, “Public Media's Past, Present and Future,” is free and open to the public. It will be followed by a reception in the gallery of the Albertson Building.
KUID-TV began daily programming Sept. 6, 1965. It was managed by the University of Idaho until 1982, when it joined with stations in Boise and Pocatello to form the Idaho Education and Public Broadcasting System, now called Idaho Public Television.
“I am delighted that Paula Kerger will help us celebrate this milestone,” said Patricia Hart, interim director of the School of Journalism and Mass Media, part of UI's College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. “The pioneers who put this station on the air laid the foundation for the most-watched statewide public TV network in the United States.”
Kerger’s keynote address will anchor a celebration that includes an open house at the TV studio, classroom visits, a reunion of former KUID student employees and displays of photos and memorabilia from the station’s early years on the third floor of the Administration Building. Unique among Idaho’s public TV stations, KUID has always had a strong role in the UI’s academic mission of preparing journalists and broadcasters for media careers, Hart said.
Former KUID station manager Peter Haggart of Moscow was part of the team that put the station on the air in 1965. Haggart, a longtime UI professor in television and film, will be recognized.
“Professor Haggart is a living link to the early years of the station, giving us insights into how public broadcasting has evolved nationally and in Idaho,” Hart said.
As president and chief executive officer of PBS, Kerger has made particularly strong commitments to the arts, news and public affairs. Among her accomplishments are the pop-culture phenomenon “Downton Abbey,” the highest rated drama in PBS history; new primetime science and arts series, and digital partnerships to ensure that PBS programming is accessible across multiple platforms and, increasingly, to a global audience.
“Paula Kerger’s leadership has been instrumental to the ability of PBS to adapt to changing technology and audiences,” said Ron Pisaneschi, general manager of Idaho Public Television. “She has been a strong supporter of regional networks such as ours.”
As an educational station, KUID has been unmatched, said Glenn Mosley, director of broadcasting for the School of Journalism and Mass Media. “Since 1965, students have worked side by side with professionals in the studio, control rooms and editing booths,” he said.
UI graduates who earned degrees in journalism, radio-television, telecommunication, visual communication, and broadcasting and digital media now work at TV stations, networks and cable channels across the country, Mosley said. Others have branched out into other news and entertainment media.
Contacts:
Patricia Hart
School of Journalism and Mass Media
psh@uidaho.edu
(208) 885-6012
Glenn Mosley
School of Journalism and Mass Media
gmosley@uidaho.edu
(208) 885-6020
Jenifer
Johnson
Idaho Public Television
jenifer.johnson@idahoptv.org
(208) 373-7220 or (800) 543-6868
About the University of Idaho
The University of Idaho helps students to succeed and become leaders. Its land-grant mission furthers innovative scholarly and creative research to grow Idaho's economy and serve a statewide community. From its main campus in Moscow, Idaho, to 70 research and academic locations statewide, U-Idaho emphasizes real-world application as part of its student experience. U-Idaho combines the strength of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. It is home to the Vandals. For information, visit www.uidaho.edu.