| The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer Chooses St. Louis as Spotlight City
Correspondents From Premier PBS News Program Will Explore Local Impact of
Obama’s First 100 Days and Hear From Community at Town Hall Meeting
St. Louis, MO—April 15, 2009—Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff, Spencer Michels and Paul Solman of The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer will be in St. Louis beginning this week to gain insights on how President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office have affected the community. Producers of the highly respected news program chose St. Louis as a spotlight city and will discuss issues such as the economy, education and science. The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer airs on KETC/Channel 9 Monday–Friday at 6:00 p.m.
Over the next two weeks, the four correspondents will moderate forums and discussions in key locations in the metropolitan area focusing on these topics. Their observations will be featured in “Spotlight City” segments that will air nationally on the NewsHour on April 27 and 28. The final event will be a town hall meeting that will take place at Channel 9’s studio and will air during the NewsHour on April 29.
A television crew from KETC will accompany the NewsHour team at local events and will produce four 30-minute and one 60-minute follow-up programs that will be broadcast locally. One will air at 7:00 p.m. after each broadcast of the NewsHour from April 27 to May 1.
The upcoming schedule for NewsHour events is as follows:
Friday, April 17 — At Lindenwood University in St. Charles, NewsHour business and economics correspondent Paul Solman will moderate a forum with St. Charles County community leaders about the economic climate before an audience of business people, civic leaders and community members. This will be broadcast locally on Channel 9 on April 27.
Monday, April 20 — At Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, Channel 9 senior producer Jim Kirchherr will serve as moderator of the Regional Energy Summit 2009. Immediately following, NewsHour producer and correspondent Spencer Michels will host an economic forum to engage the region’s community leaders on economic issues. Parts of both events will be broadcast locally on Channel 9 on April 30.
Wednesday, April 22 — At the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, NewsHour senior correspondent Judy Woodruff will explore the impact of plant science issues on the region and world, and the intersection of science with economics, politics and public policy. Science and business leaders will be on the panel. This will be broadcast locally on Channel 9 on April 28.
Monday, April 27 — The importance of downtown St. Louis on the region’s sustainability and vibrancy will be explored in a forum hosted by NewsHour senior correspondent Gwen Ifill. The location is pending. The audience will include St. Louis business and civic leaders. This will be broadcast locally on Channel 9 on April 29.
Tuesday, April 28 — KETC will host an hour-long community town hall meeting hosted by Gwen Ifill before an audience of 150 representing a cross section of the community. A segment of the town hall meeting will air on The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer on Wednesday, April 29. The entire town hall meeting will be broadcast locally on Channel 9 at 7:00 p.m. on May 1.
All of the NewsHour-related activities recorded by Channel 9 will be compiled in a special that will air in June and be offered to viewers in a DVD set.
PBS
President Paula Kerger in St. Louis for Launch of KETC’s
Nine Network for Public Media
Historic Beginning of Innovative Community Interaction Network
Can Be Seen on Online Video Press Release
St. Louis, MO—October 9, 2008—On October 8, PBS
President and CEO Paula Kerger came to St. Louis to help KETC/Channel
9 launch the new Nine Network for Public Media, an innovative
concept to engage a network of trusted community partners
focused on strengthening our community.
The Nine Network for Public Media is an aggregate of trusted
community partners mobilized through the power of public media,
with the goal of strengthening the community. The actual facility
for the Nine Network is being developed inside the KETC building,
although the Nine Network itself will reach much farther.
Funding for the Nine Network for Public Media comes from the
Dana Brown Charitable Trust.
The complete launch for Nine Network can be viewed online
in an 8-minute video featuring remarks by and footage of PBS
President and CEO Paula Kerger; KETC President and CEO Jack
Galmiche; KETC Board of Directors Chair Jack Schreiber; board
member Randy Schilling; David Deiner, U.S. Bank trust officer
for the Dana Brown Charitable Trust; and architects Heather
Woffer and Sung Ho. The video also contains views of a model
of the Nine Network space.
To view the video press release, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LPVgO5mdyE,
or call Terri Gates at (314) 512-9036 for a DVD of the event.
KETC/Channel 9 Wins
Prestigious Station Excellence Emmy Award
Jim Kirchherr Also Wins for Story Broadcast on Living St.
Louis
St. Louis, MO—October 7, 2008—KETC/Channel 9,
St. Louis’ public television station, won the prestigious
Station Excellence Emmy Award from the Mid-America Chapter
of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS),
it was announced at ceremonies in St. Louis on Saturday, October
4. KETC senior producer Jim Kirchherr won the station a second
Emmy for a story that aired on the series Living St. Louis.
The Station Excellence Emmy was presented to KETC President
and CEO Jack Galmiche. The award recognizes station excellence
on and off air, including the quality, breadth and efficacy
of events and community involvement. KETC’s submission
detailed the station’s many community engagement efforts,
such as Your Stories: St. Louis Remembers World War II, Arthur’s
Picnic in the Park, Ready To Learn and the Community Cinema
Series. This marks the first time that KETC was nominated
for the Station Excellence Emmy, and the first time it has
won.
“We take great pride in being recognized for our contribution
to the community,” said Galmiche. “This award
is confirmation that we are delivering on our mission to bring
St. Louis together as we connect the region to the world and
the world to St. Louis.”
Kirchherr won in the Historical/Cultural Program Story/Feature
category for his story about Gen. Omar Bradley, a native of
Missouri who rose to the highest rank in the Army. Kirchherr’s
winning piece was broadcast as part of the station’s
twice-weekly magazine series Living St. Louis and can be viewed
online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_DSwXobZ9c. This
Emmy Award brings to 11 the number won by the series Living
St. Louis since its debut in 2004. Living St. Louis airs on
Mondays and Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. on Channel 9.
The Mid-America Chapter of NATAS includes all of Missouri
and Arkansas, southern Illinois, and part of Iowa, Louisiana,
Kentucky, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas.
Nancy Burchfield Named
Director of Major and Planned Giving at KETC/Channel 9
Public Television Station Also Promotes One and Adds Three
Additional Staff to Development Department
St. Louis, MO—September 9, 2008—St. Louis public
television station KETC/Channel 9 recently announced the appointment
of Nancy Burchfield to the position of director of major and
planned giving. At the same time, the station promoted Craig
Palmer to the position of director of foundation support,
and added to the staff Kathleen Blomberg as corporate accounts
manager, Lauren Tucker Huber as corporate support coordinator
and Heather Hope as major and planned giving coordinator.
“These appointments of key staff to strategic positions
are part of Channel 9’s long-range plan to increase
the station’s role as a community resource,” said
KETC Vice President of Development Beth Savage. “We
are very fortunate to attract and secure five development
professionals with such a wealth and range of experience and
talent.”
As director of major and planned giving, Burchfield will
manage cultivation and stewardship of Channel 9’s Studio
Circle Society and Legacy Nine donors. She comes to Channel
9 from the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, where she worked
since 2001 in development, most recently for five years as
the director of major gifts and planned giving. Previously,
she was director of capital giving for Mary Institute and
St. Louis Country Day School, director of principal gifts
at Washington University in St. Louis, and in similar positions
in development at Dartmouth College, Harvard Law School and
Tufts University. Burchfield is a resident of Webster Groves,
Missouri.
Palmer joined Channel 9 in November 2007 as grant writer.
His promotion to director of foundation support reflects his
success in developing and implementing mission-based proposals,
grants, initiatives and partnerships. Before coming to Channel
9, he worked in various communication and marketing positions
for engineering and technology firms in St. Louis and Indianapolis.
Palmer is a resident of University City, Missouri.
Blomberg brings 12 years’ experience in sales management
for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and for Young Innovations-Obtura
Spartan, a dental technology firm, to her role as corporate
accounts manager for Channel 9. In this position, Blomberg
will be responsible for securing underwriting support for
KETC’s programming and initiatives. Blomberg is a resident
of Eureka, Missouri.
Tucker Huber, Channel 9’s new corporate support coordinator,
is responsible for serving as the liaison for client accounts.
She has previous experience in public broadcasting at radio
station WSUI/KSUI in Iowa City, Iowa. While there, she worked
in fundraising, communications, marketing and administration.
She has a graduate degree in music from the University of
Iowa. She is a now a resident of Washington, Missouri.
Hope’s position as major and planned giving coordinator
represents her second stint at Channel 9. She served in a
similar role four years ago, before becoming alumni and development
assistant at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio. At Channel
9, she will work in donor stewardship under the director of
major and planned giving. Hope, a former Marine, lives in
Creve Coeur, Missouri.
KETC/Channel 9 Receives 2008 Governor’s Humanities Community
Heritage Award
Prestigious Award From the Missouri Humanities Council Recognizes
KETC’s Campaign, Your Stories: St. Louis Remembers World
War II
St. Louis, MO—September 10, 2008—The Missouri
Humanities Council announced last week that St. Louis public
television station KETC/Channel 9 won the 2008 Governor’s
Humanities Community Heritage Award. The prestigious award,
which recognizes “a special contribution to a community’s
understanding of its heritage,” was given to KETC for
the station’s community engagement initiative Your Stories:
St. Louis Remembers World War II.
The Governor’s Humanities Awards celebrate the accomplishments
of those who have made exceptional contributions to understanding
Missouri, its people and its stories. The public submits nominations
for the annual awards to the Missouri Humanities Council.
KETC’s Your Stories project was nominated for the Community
Heritage Award by editor Tom Finkel, managing editor Ellis
Conklin and reporter Aimee Levitt of the weekly newspaper
the Riverfront Times, for Channel 9’s outstanding contributions
to the humanities in Missouri.
The award will be presented at a ceremony on October 22 at
the Missouri governor’s mansion in Jefferson City.
“KETC is extremely honored to be chosen for this exceptional
award,” said KETC President and CEO Jack Galmiche. “We
are grateful to Gov. Blunt and the Missouri Humanities Council
for recognizing the work Channel 9 has done to preserve the
memories and history of our community.”
Last year, KETC engaged the community on air, online and
in person through Your Stories: St. Louis Remembers World
War II. It sought to preserve the history of World War II
by preserving the memories of local people who lived through
those years. The station obtained approximately 1,200 personal
stories from veterans and others, including those collected
on video, online and through the mail, plus hundreds of artifacts
such as photos, books and memorabilia. Everything is now archived
at the Missouri Historical Society. KETC staff members traveled
to all 29 Missouri and Illinois counties in the viewing area
to connect with people around Your Stories. Many of the people
interviewed told their stories for the first time; these stories
may have been lost had Channel 9 not taken on this work.
Arthur’s Picnic in the Park Moves to Central Field in
Forest Park
New Location for Channel 9’s Free Family Festival—
Popular Event Features Food, Fun and Favorite PBS Characters
St. Louis, MO—August 28, 2008—KETC/Channel 9’s
popular annual family event, Arthur’s Picnic in the
Park, returns to Forest Park for its eighth year, but in a
new location. The free children’s festival is moving
to Central Field, east of the upper Muny parking lot and within
sight of the Jewel Box. Arthur’s Picnic in the Park
will be held Saturday, September 27 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00
p.m.
The highlight of every Arthur’s Picnic is the chance
for children to meet, hug, greet and be photographed with
beloved PBS characters. Arthur, Clifford and Mr. McFeely from
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood will be on hand to
pose for photos with fans. Also attending this year will be
Digit from Cyberchase, Walkaround Bert and Ernie
from Sesame Street, Maya and Miguel, Curious George,
Whyatt from Super WHY! and Ruff Ruffman from FETCH!
Parents are advised to bring their own cameras and video
equipment.
The new and larger site has plenty of room for many other
entertainment options: giant inflatable toys to climb on and
explore, hands-on activity tents and stages for performers.
When it’s time to take a break, families can visit the
wide range of food and beverage vendors on site. Guests are
welcome to bring their own lunch and snacks to enjoy in the
shade of the picnic area. Parking is free. Arthur’s
Picnic in the Park will be open even if it rains.
Primary support for Channel 9’s Arthur’s Picnic
in the Park is provided by Citi, Korte, The Little Gym, McCarthy,
Delta Dental, Saint Louis Science Center and Sigma-Aldrich.
Additional support is provided by Fazio’s Frets &
Friends and 62 Sports Group.
KETC/Channel 9 in St. Louis Nominated for Prestigious
Station Excellence Emmy Award
KETC Also Receives Five Other Nominations for Living St.
Louis and Donnybrook
St. Louis, MO—August 26, 2008—KETC/Channel 9,
St. Louis’ public television station, earned six Emmy
Award nominations from the Mid-America Chapter of the National
Television Academy, including one for the prestigious Station
Excellence Emmy. The nominations were announced simultaneously
in St. Louis, Kansas City and Little Rock on Thursday, August
21.
The Station Excellence nomination recognizes station excellence
on and off air, including the quality, breadth and efficacy
of events and community involvement. KETC’s submission
detailed the station’s many community engagement efforts,
such as Your Stories: St. Louis Remembers World War II, Arthur’s
Picnic in the Park, Ready To Learn and the Community Cinema
Series.
The complete list of nominations and categories is as follows:
Station Excellence: KETC (Jack Galmiche, president and CEO)
Magazine Program: Living St. Louis (producers Anne-Marie
Berger, Ruth Ezell, Jim Kirchherr, Patrick Murphy; videographer
Scot Page; editor Greg Reinhart; associate producer Kate Shaw)
Historical/Cultural Program Story/Feature:
Living St. Louis: Omar Bradley (Jim Kirchherr, producer)
Living St. Louis: Bank Robbery (Patrick Murphy, producer)
Living St. Louis: Mel Bay (Ruth Ezell, producer)
Discussion/Interview Program: Donnybrook (Martin
Duggan, producer)
The Emmy Award winners will be announced on Saturday, October
4.
Janis Ian: Live From Grand Center, a KETC/St. Louis Production,
Selected for National Distribution by NETA
One-Woman Concert, Taped at the Historic Sheldon Concert Hall,
Will Be Fed in October
St. Louis, MO—August 26, 2008—Janis Ian:
Live From Grand Center, a one-woman concert featuring
Grammy Award-winning singer/composer Janis Ian (“At
Seventeen”) and produced by St. Louis public television
station KETC/Channel 9, will be distributed nationally in
October by the National Educational Telecommunications Association
(NETA).
The hour-long concert special was taped before a live audience
in June at The Sheldon Concert Hall, an acoustically perfect
venue built in 1912 and located in the St. Louis arts district
Grand Center. The television special, produced by KETC in
partnership with Grand Center Inc., combines a retrospective
of Ian’s hits with her most recent compositions, interspersed
with anecdotes about her life and 40-year career.
In 1965, at the age of 14, Ian recorded her first album.
She gained notice in 1967 as a folk singing wunderkind when
Leonard Bernstein featured her in his CBS television special
Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution, resulting in her
then-controversial song “Society’s Child”
becoming a national hit that was later inducted into the Grammy
Hall of Fame.
Ian’s 1970’s album Between the Lines
was nominated for five Grammy awards (winning two) and featured
the iconic lament of teen insecurity “At Seventeen.”
In Japan her album Aftertones was number one for
six months and a disco collaboration with Giorgio Moroder
went platinum throughout Europe, Africa and Australia. She
received her seventh Grammy nomination for a jazz duet with
Mel Torme. Ian released Society’s Child: My Autobiography
in July, as well as her 25th CD.
KETC/Channel 9 Earns 2008 IABC St. Louis Bronze Quill Award
Toolkit for Your Stories: St. Louis Remembers World War II
Wins Award of Merit
St. Louis, MO—July 2, 2008—KETC/Channel 9, St.
Louis’ public television station, earned an Award of
Merit in the St. Louis Chapter of the International Association
of Business Communicators (IABC) 2008 Bronze Quill Awards,
it was announced at a ceremony on May 22.
KETC public relations manager Terri Gates and brand manager
Matt Huelskamp won in the category Special Publications for
the Your Stories: St. Louis Remembers World War II brochure,
or toolkit, which was widely distributed last year to encourage
war veterans and others to preserve their World War II memories.
The Bronze Quill Awards recognize the best communication efforts
in the region and are judged by other IABC chapters around
the country.
Gates is a resident of southwest St. Louis County and Huelskamp
is a resident of Highland, Illinois.
KETC Announces Winners of Channel 9’s 14th Annual
Young Writers and Illustrators Contest
Four Local Children Will Advance to National Competition
St. Louis, MO—May 1, 2008—Ten children received recognition in Channel 9’s 14th Annual Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. Entries of the four first-place winners have automatically been entered in the national Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest and will compete with local winners from around the country. National winners will be announced later this summer.
Enchanted castles, deep-sea adventures and even skateboarding penguins appeared in this year’s submissions. The contest was divided by age into four categories, and from each category two winners were selected, one for writing and one for illustrating (only the story winner moves on to the national competition). The high quality of entries in some categories compelled the judges to bestow multiple awards. A panel of 15 judges including librarians, elementary and college teachers, early childhood educators and writers evaluated 577 entries, awarding points for originality, creativity, storytelling and artistic expression.
Each child who entered receives an invitation to a party sponsored by Channel 9 at The Magic House. All winners receive a prize package of writing and art supplies, have their stories posted on KETC’s Web site www.ketc.org/readingrainbow, and appear in promotional spots to be broadcast on Channel 9 this summer.
The winners are:
Kindergarten
Story Award: The Princess and the Cat by Abigail Pinkley, Edwardsville, IL
Honorable Mention: I Have a Dream by Carl Swanson, St. Peters, MO
The Secret Door by Bella Dortch, O’Fallon, MO
Illustrator Award: I Have a Dream by Carl Swanson, St. Peters, MO
The Secret Door by Bella Dortch, O’Fallon, MO
The Noble Prince by Darby Duncan, St. Charles, MO
The Princess and the Cat by Abigail Pinkley, Edwardsville, IL
First Grade
Story Award: The Story of the Turtle and the Snake by Samuel Wallaeger, Kirkwood, MO
Honorable Mention: The Amazing Adventures of Lang and Bin in Xian, China by Patrick M. Blanner, Ellisville, MO
Illustrator Award: The Story of the Turtle and the Snake by Samuel Wallaeger, Kirkwood, MO
The Amazing Adventures of Lang and Bin in Xian, China by Patrick M. Blanner, Ellisville, MO
Second Grade
Story Award: Chicken Bob’s Dream by Jimmy Marshall, Catawissa, MO
Honorable Mention: The Monkey Detective by Levi Pinkley, Edwardsville, IL
Illustrator Award: The Monkey Detective by Levi Pinkley, Edwardsville, IL
Third Grade
Story Award: The Great Adventure of Nerd Man by Wesley Taylor, St. Peters, MO
Honorable Mention: Cora and Mt. Dish-more by Cora DeBoard, Imperial, MO
Illustrator Award: Cora and Mt. Dish-more by Cora DeBoard, Imperial, MO
KETC Invites Current and Former Military Personnel and Families to Share Stories of Deployment
Community Engagement Initiative Around PBS Series Carrier Explores Impact of Military Service
St. Louis, MO—April 30, 2008—The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz is a 23-story-tall floating city, powered by two nuclear reactors and complete with an airport, hospital, dentist office, barber shop and 5,000 residents. This piece of America spends six months at sea cruising the oceans of the world as both a friendly and formidable U.S. ambassador.
In 2005, PBS filmmakers accompanied the Nimitz on a mission that included stops in Guam, the Persian Gulf, Hong Kong and Australia to document what life is like for the men and women on board, from the admiral and officers to the fighter pilots, cooks and teenage sailors who are away from home for the first time. Nearly 2,000 hours of video were shot and edited down to the 10-part series Carrier, which is currently airing on KETC/Channel 9.
The unique view of daily life that is revealed on Carrier will fascinate civilian audiences and perhaps stir memories for those who have served in the armed forces. KETC is offering current and former military personnel and their families and friends the opportunity to share their military life stories on the Web site www.ketc.org/carrier. Stories can be typed in directly or told on the phone using a toll-free number. The searchable Web site welcomes submissions from throughout the country and will remain open until March 2009.
“Carrier presents a compelling look at the sacrifices made by American servicemen and women,” says KETC Vice President of Education and Community Engagement Amy Shaw. “This community engagement initiative gives us a window to their experiences and helps our community appreciate their efforts even more.”
Carrier airs on KETC/Channel 9 Sunday–Thursday, April 27–May 1 at 8:00 p.m. It is repeated on those dates at 10:00 p.m.; on Tuesday–Saturday, April 29–May 3 at 2:00 a.m.; on Sunday, May 4, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.; and on Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. beginning June 18.
Channel 9 Documentary Traces the History of Jewish People in St. Louis
St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans Explores 200 Years of Jewish Pioneers, Experiences and Contributions
St. Louis, MO—March 27, 2008—The history of Jewish people in St. Louis is nearly as old as the history of the city itself. As St. Louis grew to become a major American city, its Jewish citizens were there every step of the way contributing not only skills and cultural diversity, but landmarks and icons that define St. Louis as clearly as the Gateway Arch. KETC/Channel 9 explores the rich history of St. Louis’ Jewish community in the hour-long documentary St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans, broadcast Tuesday, April 8 at 7:00 p.m. (rebroadcast Sunday, April 13 at 4:00 p.m. and Wednesday, April 23 at 3:00 a.m.).
The first Jewish settler arrived in St. Louis shortly after the Louisiana Purchase. “Jews had never been in a country that had guaranteed them so much freedom to do what and go where they wanted,” says KETC’s Jim Kirchherr, producer of St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans. “Freedom, opportunity and mobility—that’s why as soon as St. Louis became part of America, the Phillipson brothers came here from Philadelphia to open a store.”
It took 30 years before the Jewish community had a “minyan”—or the required 10 adult males necessary to hold the first worship service. That gathering was the start of United Hebrew, the oldest Jewish congregation west of the Mississippi River.
St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans follows the early growth of the German-Jewish community in the 1840s, the growth of Reform Judaism after the Civil War, and the next wave of East European immigrants from the 1880s to 1924.
The early 20th century opened an era of rabbis who were particularly influential in religious and civic life in St. Louis. Rabbi Howard Kaplansky of United Hebrew calls them “a generation of giants,” such as Rabbi Ferdinand Isserman from Temple Israel and Rabbi Samuel Thurman, who gave the invocation at Harry Truman’s 1949 presidential inauguration. St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans also profiles other Jewish leaders prominent for their civic influence: author and activist Fannie Cook, pioneering advertising executive Al Fleishman, and businessman-philanthropist I.E. Millstone who, at age 101, shares his memories on camera for this project.
The documentary explores the experiences of two frontier Jewish merchants who came to St. Louis in the late 19th century—one from Fort Smith, Arkansas, the other from Leadville, Colorado. Though competitors, they developed two of the city’s most popular department stores: Stix, Baer and Fuller and Famous-Barr. The program also explores issues of discrimination; disagreements on many topics within the Jewish community itself; and the impact of the Holocaust and the founding of Israel on Jewish St. Louisans.
“One of the recurrent themes in the story of Jewish life in St. Louis is how American Jews have been active and assimilated, and how that has played a role in philanthropy and charitable contributions,” says Kirchherr. “When you look at the people whose names are places—names such as Steinberg, Tilles, Greensfelder, Edison, Schoenberg, Aloe and May—you see that this has been a generous community.”
St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans features archival footage and still photos from the collections of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, the Missouri Historical Society, various congregations, the National Archives and Records Administration, the Fuller family, and more. In addition to Millstone and Kaplansky, those interviewed include academic historians Gil Ribak and Sonja Mekel; local historians Burton Boxerman, Don Makovsky and Rabbi Jeffrey Stiffman; Robert Cohn, editor-in-chief emeritus of The St. Louis Jewish Light; Barry Rosenberg, executive vice president of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis; and Andrew Walker of the Saint Louis Art Museum. Paul Schankman narrates the documentary.
Because the vastness of Jewish history in St. Louis makes it impossible to detail comprehensively in one program, St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans is part of KETC’s larger community engagement initiative, also called St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans. The initiative explores Jewish contributions to St. Louis through community conversations, a speakers bureau and a project to collect personal stories about Jewish life in St. Louis. For more information about KETC’s community engagement initiative, visit the Web site at www.ketc.org/jewishamericans.
KETC/Channel 9 Begins Production on National Documentary Featuring Local Students
National FIRST Robotics Competition Sets the Stage for Five Teams of Students, Including Group From Wentzville’s Timberland and Holt High Schools
St. Louis, MO—February 22, 2008—In January, KETC/Channel 9, the St. Louis public television station, began production of FIRST Robotics Competition: 2008 (working title), a two-hour documentary scheduled for broadcast nationally on PBS in late 2008 or early 2009. KETC received full funding for the project from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). It is being shot and edited in high definition.
The program will follow the experiences of five groups of high school students from around the country as they engineer, build and operate robots to compete in regional and national FIRST robotics tournaments. The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition began in 1992 with 28 teams; today it attracts over 37,000 students on 1,500 teams from eight countries in this “varsity sport of the mind.”
For the national documentary, a KETC production team has been following a group of competitors from Wentzville’s Timberland and Holt high schools; they’ve named themselves Ratchet Rockers. Each team is given six weeks to build their robot from a kit of common parts provided by FIRST. The robots will compete in the St. Louis regional contest to be held February 28–March 1 at the St. Charles Family Arena. The St. Louis regionals will host 43 teams from 12 states; the St. Louis area alone is contributing 14 teams from 29 high schools. Winners will move on to the nationals April 17–19 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Not only will the documentary explore the technical challenges faced by the students, but it will show them negotiating obstacles from daily life, including a lack of funds, personal rivalries, immigration requirements, physical ills and family problems. In addition to the Wentzville team, the documentary will profile an all-girls team from Baltimore; a team from Idaho headed by a young man with Muscular Dystrophy; a team from a youth corrections facility in Colorado; and a first generation Chinese student on a team from Seattle who must battle his non-English-speaking parents to let him participate.
“Through our production of FIRST Robotics Competition: 2008, KETC is bringing recognition of our region’s expertise in science and technology to a national audience and at the same time highlighting the Saint Louis Science Center, the competition’s local sponsoring organization, and many community-minded corporate supporters,” said KETC President and CEO Jack Galmiche. “This cooperative effort across so many platforms—educational, cultural, scientific, engineering and technological organizations—demonstrates St. Louis’ continuing role in innovation, and Channel 9’s role in showing the world that innovative spirit.”
Channel 9’s Living St. Louis Celebrates Black History Month
Local Magazine Series Devotes February to Exploring Notable People and Places in St. Louis’ African American Community
St. Louis, MO—January 16, 2008—KETC/Channel 9’s twice-weekly, Emmy Award-winning magazine series Living St. Louis celebrates Black History Month by devoting February to stories about St. Louis’ African American community. The half-hour series, broadcast Mondays and Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. (and rebroadcast Sundays at 4:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.), will highlight notable people and places that have had an impact on the African American community, or who were influenced by their time in the area. Below is a rundown of upcoming Black History Month stories.
February 4—Producer: Jim Kirchherr investigates the life of Annie Malone, the self-made millionaire who started the Poro line of beauty products for African American women. Her headquarters became an economic and social center of the Ville neighborhood, which is still the home of the Annie Malone Children’s Home.
February 5—This half-hour special on the life of artist, teacher and activist Katherine Dunham won an award from the National Association of Black Journalists for producer Anne-Marie Berger. Dunham’s dancing and choreography revolutionized modern dance. In the 1960s, she began her long association with East St. Louis and commitment to that community. The program includes her last television interview before her death in 2006.
February 11— Producer: Ruth Ezell profiles Cedric the Entertainer, the Berkeley High School graduate who has gone on to a successful career in films and commercials. The story includes one of his visits home for one of his charity events.
February 12—This half-hour special on Josephine Baker, the entertainer who left St. Louis to become the toast of Paris, includes an interview by producer: Ruth Ezell with Baker’s nephew (and St. Louis resident) Richard Martin Jr. The piece was recognized locally in 2007 for an Excellence in Communication Award from the Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists.
February 18—St. Louis University women’s basketball coach Shimmy Gray-Miller’s work goes beyond the basketball court. In this new segment, producer Anne-Marie Berger shows how Gray-Miller and the young women on her team put in hundreds of hours of service in the community.
February 25— In this new segment, Ruth Ezell investigates Webster Groves’ Douglass School, which was once the only high school in St. Louis County for African American students. Decades after the Supreme Court decision ending segregation, the school and its alumni are still remembered each February by the Webster Groves School District.
All Young Author-Artists Are Invited to Enter Channel 9’s 14th Annual Young Writers and Illustrators Contest
Four Local Winners Will Be Chosen for a Chance at National Honors
St. Louis, MO—January 9, 2008—Children in kindergarten through third grade are invited to submit their own original stories for Channel 9’s 14th Annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. The popular contest supports children’s reading and communication skills by encouraging them to express their ideas through stories using words and pictures.
In 2007 the contest attracted over 550 entries from the St. Louis area. Entries will be judged by local teachers and librarians; one winner from each of the four grade levels will automatically advance to the national competition. Last year for the first time, one of Channel 9’s winners, second-grader Henry Workman, won first place in the national contest in his grade category.
As part of their prize package, the local writing winners will be featured with their stories on Channel 9, and their stories will be posted on KETC’s Web site. An additional winner from each grade category will also be chosen based on the quality of illustrations that must accompany all stories. Winning drawings will be posted on KETC’s Web site, too, and the illustrators will be awarded art supplies.
Because Channel 9’s goal is to encourage, challenge and reward effort, every child who enters the contest will receive a certificate and an invitation to a party on May 18 at The Magic House children’s museum in Kirkwood.
The contest begins January 21 and all entries must be postmarked no later than March 17. Entry forms are available online at www.ketc.org/readingrainbow; at schools; and by calling Channel 9’s contest coordinator Sydney Meyer at (314) 512-9137.
KETC/Channel 9 Earns Award From
Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists
Ruth Ezell Wins for Josephine Baker Half-Hour Special Broadcast on Living St. Louis
St. Louis, MO—December 31, 2007—KETC/Channel 9 producer Ruth Ezell won an Excellence in Communications award from the Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists in November for her Living St. Louis story about Josephine Baker. The half-hour special won in the Television Feature Story category.
In the program, Ezell traces Baker’s career and the impact she had on entertainment and society, beginning with her impoverished childhood in St. Louis, to her explosion as a sensation in Paris music halls, to her spying for the French Resistance during World War II and her adoption of her “Rainbow Tribe” of children. In the special, Ezell interviews Benetta Jules-Rosette, professor of sociology at the University of California at San Diego; Olivia Lahs-Gonzales, director of the Sheldon Art Galleries and curator of the exhibition Josephine Baker: Image and Icon; and Richard Martin Jr., Baker’s nephew and a St. Louis resident.
The Josephine Baker program can be viewed here.
Ezell lives in the Midtown neighborhood.
KETC Will Broadcast Two-Hour, Live, New Year’s Eve Special From Grand Center
A Grand Night in St. Louis Brings the Spontaneity and Energy of
St. Louis’ Biggest New Year’s Party to Television
St. Louis, MO—December 20, 2007—KETC/Channel 9 will ring in 2008 with the biggest New Year’s Eve party in St. Louis! The annual First Night® festival, taking place on the streets and in the theaters, restaurants, stores and churches of the city’s Grand Center arts district, sets the stage for A Grand Night in St. Louis—a live, two-hour television special, broadcast Monday, December 31 from 10:00 p.m. to midnight.
KETC producers Patrick Murphy, Anne-Marie Berger, Ruth Ezell and Jim Kirchherr host the program, produced in partnership with Grand Center Inc., and funded in part by the Missouri Film Commission. The broadcast will also be aired by all Missouri public television stations, in Warrenton, Kansas City and Springfield, and be made available to public TV stations nationwide.
“By working in partnership with other organizations that share our goals, we can offer more to our region and engage the community in new ways,” said KETC President and CEO Jack Galmiche. “A Grand Night in St. Louis is a wonderful way to give people who can’t attend in person, the chance to still enjoy this spectacular celebration. No matter where you’re watching A Grand Night in St. Louis, we invite you to greet the new year with this exciting television event.”
A Grand Night in St. Louis will combine performances, interviews and scenes of revelry along Grand Boulevard. Musical segments from the Sheldon Concert Hall will feature two sets with the Oliver Sain Revue—one with vocalist Renee Smith, the other with singer Rollin Johnson. Another segment from the Sheldon will highlight the talents of vibraphone great Jonathan Whiting.
Special stories will give viewers behind-the-scenes access to Grand Center icons the Fox Theatre, Best Steak House, Sculpture Park, the Moto Museum, the Sheldon Chorale and St. Louis University leader Father Lawrence Biondi. In addition, painter Brian Olsen will demonstrate his unique brand of artistry by painting a life-size mural in 12 minutes in the middle of Strauss Park.
“Grand Center is St. Louis’ arts and entertainment district, and we’re going to have a lot of fun bringing the First Night celebration to everyone via television,” promises executive producer Patrick Murphy. “The best party in St. Louis is going to be happening on Channel 9.”
KETC Is Number One Among All 362 PBS Stations in the Country
Most Recent Ratings Show Channel 9 Has the Largest Per Capita Audience
St. Louis—November 6, 2007—KETC/Channel 9 in St. Louis is the most-watched public television station in the country, it was announced in a report issued last week by the A.C. Nielsen company. KETC ranked first in full-day gross rating points (GRPS) among all PBS stations in October, meaning that a higher percentage of viewers in the St. Louis market watched PBS station Channel 9 than did audiences in any other PBS market. KETC’s full-day ratings increased 8.1 percent over last year, and 39 percent in prime time.
A gross rating point is the total number of ratings points in a given period, in this case, during October. A single point represents 11,000 households. KETC had a total of 3,106.9 gross rating points. The cities with the next highest gross rating points were Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Portland, Oregon. There are 362 PBS stations in the United States. KETC is regularly ranked among the top three PBS stations in the country in both prime-time and full-day ratings.
“At Channel 9, we measure our success by the impact we have on the lives in our community,” said KETC President and CEO Jack Galmiche. “In turn, measuring our audience is an important indication that we are serving the needs of the community. These ratings show that we are successful, and that viewers in St. Louis are eager for and supportive of the quality programs broadcast on Channel 9.”
Channel 9’s 10 top-rated shows during that period were: Antiques Roadshow, Ask This Old House, This Old House, Donnybrook, Nature, Curious George, Living St. Louis, America’s Test Kitchen, Super WHY! and Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Always Cooking!
KETC/Channel 9 Earns Mid-America Emmy Award
Anne-Marie Berger and Scot Page Win for Stray Rescue Story Broadcast on Living St. Louis
St. Louis, MO—October 26, 2007—KETC/Channel 9, St. Louis’ public television station, earned an Emmy Award for its series Living St. Louis from the Mid-America Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), it was announced at ceremonies in St. Louis on Saturday, October 20.
Producer Anne-Marie Berger and videographer Scot Page won in the Human Interest-Program Story/Feature category for their account of the animal protection group Stray Rescue. In it, Berger and Page follow Stray Rescue founder Randy Grim through dicey areas of metropolitan St. Louis while he looks for, feeds and rescues dogs without homes. The 11-minute piece can be viewed online here.
This Emmy Award brings to 10 the number won by the series Living St. Louis since its debut in 2004. Living St. Louis airs on Mondays and Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. on Channel 9.
The Mid-America Chapter of NATAS includes all of Missouri and Arkansas, southern Illinois, and part of Iowa and Louisiana.
Berger and Page are both residents of Maplewood, Missouri.
Channel 9 Producer Wins History Award
Living St. Louis Producer Jim Kirchherr Wins 2007 William Barnaby Faherty, S.J. Award From The Historical Society of St. Louis County
St. Louis, MO—October 12, 2007—KETC/Channel 9 senior producer Jim Kirchherr won the annual William Barnaby Faherty, S.J. Award from The Historical Society of St. Louis County, it was announced recently. The award will be presented on October 18 in a ceremony on the campus of Missouri Baptist University. Presented for lifetime achievement for historical contributions, the Faherty award honors Kirchherr for the many historical documentaries he has created at KETC through the years.
Since joining Channel 9 in 1991, Kirchherr has produced many notable and award-winning documentaries about the history of St. Louis and the surrounding area. Among those are 1994’s St. Louis Chronicles: Ride of a Lifetime, which won an Emmy Award for its nostalgic look back at streetcars; 1995’s Magic Mirrors: American Daguerreotypes, which is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution; 1996’s Knickers & Knotholes: Memories of Sportsman’s Park; the eight-part Emmy Award-winning Decades series profiling St. Louis in the 20th century; 2003’s Emmy-winning Made in U.S.A.: The East St. Louis Story; and 2006’s Emmy-winning Living St. Louis: Butch O’Hare, about the local World War II hero.
The William Barnaby Faherty, S.J. Award is named for the 94-year-old St. Louis author who has written 29 books, including a history of NASA’s Apollo space missions, a history of the Catholic Church in St. Louis, and the novel A Wall for San Sebastian, which was made into a 1968 movie starring Anthony Quinn and Charles Bronson.
Beth Savage Joins KETC/Channel 9 as Vice President of Development
Veteran of Non-Profit Development Brings Expertise in Fundraising, Strategic Planning and Institutional Advancement to St. Louis Public Television Station
St. Louis, MO—August 6, 2007— KETC/Channel 9 announced today the appointment of Beth Savage to the position of vice president of development. She will be responsible for planning and directing all fundraising efforts, including those involving corporations, foundations and individual donors.
Savage comes to KETC from the Saint Louis Science Center where she was director, principal giving. While there she led efforts to raise annual funds through individual and corporate gifts, special events and grants; designed management processes to advance company objectives; and identified strategic opportunities for institutional advancement by fostering collaborative fundraising.
Prior to the Science Center, Savage served as director of institutional advancement at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri; as director of development and alumni affairs at Southern Illinois University School of Law; and as director of development at Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region. Savage also has previous experience in development at KETC; between 2001 and 2003 as director of development she oversaw all giving efforts, launched two key giving campaigns and raised the funds needed for the station to make the FCC-mandated conversion to digital technology.
“We are very happy to be able to welcome Beth Savage back to Channel 9,” said KETC President and CEO Jack Galmiche. “Her expertise, 14 years of experience in development and knowledge of public broadcasting are all valuable assets. Staff members who have worked with her before, as well as those of us who know her by reputation only, are very excited to have her on our team.”
Savage, a resident of Brentwood, has a law degree from Saint Louis University and is completing her M.B.A at Maryville University.
KETC/Channel 9 Announces the Election of Five New Members of the
Board of Directors
St. Louis’ Public Television Station Welcomes Robert J. Ciapciak, Edward J. Koplar, Ken Kranzberg, Jeffrey M. McDonnell and Teresa H. Vogt
St. Louis, MO—July 17, 2007— KETC/Channel 9, St. Louis’ public television station, announced this month the election of five new members of the board of directors and the election of four board officers. Each director will serve a three-year term beginning July 1. The new directors are:
Robert J. Ciapciak is the head of Marketing Research at Edward Jones. He is chairman of the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis as well as a board member of the United Way of Greater St. Louis and the St. Louis area chapter of the American Red Cross. He also serves as chair of the Regional Chamber and Growth Association’s committee on the arts.
Edward J. (Ted) Koplar is the owner of VEIL Interactive Technologies; the founder of World Events Productions, Ltd. and Koplar Properties; and the former CEO and president of KPLR television. He serves on the board of advisors to the dean of engineering management at the University of Missouri, Rolla and the board of directors for Junior Achievement of Mississippi Valley, the St. Louis Executive Council of Boy Scouts of America, Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation and the Municipal Theatre Association of St. Louis.
Ken Kranzberg is the chairman of Kranson Industries (TricorBraun) and of the Harris World Ecology Center at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. He is vice president of the Jewish Federation, the Jewish Community Relations Committee and the Missouri Historical Society. He is the past president of the National Association of Containers Distributors and past regional chairman of the ADL National Executive Committee. He is also the founding chairman of A World of Difference board. In addition to KETC, he serves on the boards of Grand Center, Opera Theatre, the National Conference for Community and Justice of Metropolitan St. Louis, the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, Dance St. Louis and the Chancellor’s Council at UMSL.
Jeffrey M. McDonnell is the vice president of J&J Management Services. He is a member of the board of directors of the Center for Emerging Technologies.
Teresa H. Vogt is the vice president of communications for Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. and a former partner at Fleishman-Hillard, Inc.
The four board members elected to officer positions are: Dan Burkhardt, chair; Jack Schreiber, vice chair; Jacquelyn Dezort, treasurer; and Eugene Mackey III, secretary.
St. Louis Student Wins National Reading Rainbow
Young Writers and Illustrators Contest
Second-Grader Henry Workman, Local Winner of KETC Contest, Receives First Place in Nationwide Writing and Drawing Competition
St. Louis, MO—July 3, 2007— KETC/Channel 9 announced today that Henry Workman, a 9-year-old student at Clayton Academy, won first place in the13th Annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest, a nationwide competition for children. Workman won the Grand Prize in the second-grade category for his story “Henry and Grace Go to the Museum.” His story was selected from among 579 entries in KETC/Channel 9’s local contest and was then submitted to the national contest. More than 40,000 children entered from across the country.
“Henry and Grace Go to the Museum” recounts the adventures of a bee named Henry and a moth named Grace on the lam from security guards at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Each time they’re spotted, they cleverly hide by blending into the scenery of famous paintings, such as American Gothic and A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. The story and illustrations can be viewed on www.ketc.org. In August, it will be posted to the national Reading Rainbow Web site www.pbskids.org/readingrainbow.
Channel 9 sponsors the contest to inspire a sense of confidence and pride in children, in addition to the national goal of encouraging children to use their imaginations. Two rounds of national judging culminated in a final judging by a distinguished panel that included children’s book publishers, a children’s author, teacher, librarian and university professor. Workman will receive a laptop computer, plus three Reading Rainbow library sets (10 DVDs and books) for his home, his school and his library.
Workman, the son of Necia Workman of South St. Louis, won an Illustrator Award last year in the KETC contest for his story “If I Were a Bee.” He plans to enter next year’s contest.
KETC Launches Your Stories: St. Louis Remembers World War II—
An Expansive Initiative to Collect Regional Stories of World War II
Station Invites St. Louisans to Preserve Memories of WWII Years as Part of Outreach Surrounding Upcoming Broadcast of Ken Burns Documentary The War
St. Louis, MO—June 26, 2007— Much of the history of World War II resides only in the memories of those people who lived through it. With the aging of America’s “greatest generation,” and the loss of over 1,000 World War II veterans each day, the need to discover and preserve individual accounts of life in the military and life on the home front becomes more urgent.
That is why KETC/Channel 9 has begun an extensive outreach project called Your Stories: St. Louis Remembers World War II, to collect the memories of area men and women who either served in the armed forces or saw the effects of the war as civilians. The Your Stories project, which launched on D-Day and runs through Veterans Day (June 6 to November 11), leads up to the September broadcast of The War, a 15 ½-hour epic documentary by renowned filmmaker Ken Burns (The Civil War). With Your Stories: St. Louis Remembers World War II, Channel 9 widens the scope and deepens the impact of the television broadcast.
Channel 9 is soliciting stories not only from people who lived through the war years, but from children, grandchildren and friends who can recall conversations about the war, or who can interview people they know who lived through that time. The station has established an interactive Web site, www.ketc.org/yourstories, where visitors can find more information about the project, read and submit stories, watch videotaped memories, and link to KETC’s YouTube and Facebook channels to upload their own videos and chat with others who are interested in World War II memories.
“KETC is the region’s storyteller, and with this project, we have the opportunity to connect everyone across the metro area around the imperative effort of preserving these stories. As we collect personal tales from World War II, we connect as a community. KETC is in a unique position as a trusted friend to facilitate and nourish these connections to our past, to each other and to future generations,” says KETC President and CEO Jack Galmiche.
Most of the written and videotaped personal accounts collected by Your Stories: St. Louis Remembers World War II will be available on Channel 9’s Web site. More than 40 video memories will be made into vignettes that will run on Channel 9. All of the reminiscences collected will become part of the KETC collection at the Missouri Historical Society.
In the weeks leading up to the broadcast of Ken Burns’ The War, Channel 9 will further enhance the local impact of the series with World War II-themed segments on Living St. Louis. Already produced or in production are pieces about the Tuskegee Airmen, World War II re-enactors, Battle of the Bulge veterans, Japanese-American internment camps, the St. Louis ordnance plant and the Pearl Harbor monument.
Three previous Channel 9 productions will be broadcast again: Home Front St. Louis, about life in the area during World War II; Butch O’Hare, a Living St. Louis special about the St. Louis war hero and namesake of Chicago’s airport; and Decades: 1940-1950, War and Peace, which tells how the war transformed St. Louis economically and socially. In the works is a televised honor roll of all military personnel who perished during the war.
Channel 9 is working with students at Cardinal Ritter College Prep and schools around the region to collect stories from people in the community. The station has also established a free speakers bureau; Channel 9 will send a speaker to community organizations, or organizations can come to Channel 9, to see a preview of The War and hear more about Your Stories.
KETC encourages everyone with a World War II story to submit it to the station via: regular mail (Your Stories, KETC, 3655 Olive St., St. Louis, MO 63108); e-mail (yourstories@ketc.org); KETC’s Web site (www.ketc.org/yourstories); Facebook (www.facebook.com); YouTube (www.youtube.com); or by making an appointment to come to KETC to record memories on camera at Channel 9’s studio (allow 1 hour; by appointment only; contact: Kate Shaw, (314) 512-9116 or kshaw@ketc.org).
John Lindsay Joins KETC as Vice President of National/International Productions
Award-Winning Production Executive Brings International Reputation in Factual Television to St. Louis Public TV Station
St. Louis, MO—April 13, 2007— KETC/Channel 9 President and CEO Jack Galmiche announced today the appointment of John Lindsay to the newly created position of vice president of national/international productions. Lindsay will be responsible for developing KETC productions for national and international distribution.
Lindsay comes to KETC, St. Louis’ public television station, from Towers Productions in Chicago, where, since 2004, he was vice president of international productions. While there he established co-production alliances with domestic and international partners in London, France, Germany, Singapore and Japan, and with The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, The Science Channel and National Geographic. He is the executive producer of the PBS documentary The 22nd Century, a science pilot broadcast in January 2007.
Prior to that, Lindsay was the executive vice president of Carlton Productions LLC in Princeton, New Jersey, where he developed and executive produced co-productions for PBS, HBO, Court TV, The History Channel and BBC2, among others.
Lindsay spent 14 years at Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), where he served as senior vice president/director, national/international productions. During his tenure, OPB became one of the first local public television stations to secure production commissions from HBO, TLC, Discovery, CNN and ABC Nightline. He helped OPB break into the international co-production market with companies based in the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Productions under Lindsay’s oversight garnered 33 national/international awards including three national Emmys.
Throughout his career, Lindsay has overseen program development and production management of 191 hours of prime-time programming distributed nationally on PBS, including History Detectives, Life 360, and Triumph of the Nerds, plus episodes of seven Frontlines, one Nova and one American Experience. Over the course of his career he’s received seven national Emmy Awards, three Peabody Awards, three Japan Prize International Educational Program Contest awards and two Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards.
“John Lindsay brings many years of seasoned experience. He is internationally recognized in the world of factual television,” said KETC President and CEO Jack Galmiche. “His extensive career covers both public and commercial production, and we look forward to the alliances he will establish between KETC and partners throughout the world. He is uniquely qualified to tap the enterprising, intellectual and artistic richness that abounds in our community and develop internationally significant stories rooted right here in St. Louis.”
KETC Announces Winners of Channel 9’s 13th Annual Reading Rainbow
Young Writers and Illustrators Contest
Four Local Children Will Advance to National Competition
St. Louis, MO — April 11, 2007 — Twelve children received recognition in Channel 9’s 13th Annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. Entries of the four first-place winners have automatically been entered in the national level of the contest and will compete with local winners from around the country. National winners will be announced later this summer.
The contest was divided by age into four categories, and from each category two winners were selected, one for writing and one for illustrating. Judges were impressed by the unusual variety of topics chosen by the 579 young authors and the level of sophistication demonstrated by the winners. Each child who entered received an invitation to a party sponsored by Channel 9 at The Magic House as well as a certificate signed by Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton. In addition, the four first-place winners’ stories will be posted on Channel 9’s Web site at http://www.ketc.org/readingrainbow/rrwinners.htm beginning May 7. The winners will also appear in promotional spots to be broadcast on Channel 9 this summer.
The winners are:
Kindergarten
Story Award John William and the New Cat by Katherine Marler, Fayetteville, IL
Honorable Mention The Bear and the Duck by Gregory Beard, Chesterfield, MO
Illustrator Awards John William and the New Cat by Katherine Marler, Fayetteville, IL
The Bear and the Duck by Gregory Beard, Chesterfield, MO
First Grade
Story Award Mackenzie the Wanna Be Fairy by Grace Costello, Webster Groves, MO
Honorable Mentions How to Take Care of Your Body by Adam Hollmann, St. Louis, MO
Max Goes to the Circus by Jamie Schwartz, St. Peters, MO
Illustrator Award Laura’s Secret Garden by Emma E. DeBoard, Imperial, MO
Second Grade
Story Award Henry and Grace Go to the Museum by Henry Workman, St. Louis, MO
Honorable Mention I Love You St. Louis Cardinals by Annie Pierce, Affton, MO
Illustrators Awards Henry and Grace Go to the Museum by Henry Workman, St. Louis, MO
The Ice Storm by Elisa Swanson, St. Peters, MO
Third Grade
Story Award Be Proud of What You Are by Rithikha Rajamohan, St. Louis, MO
Honorarble Mention A Very Special Person by David Hood, St. Charles, MO
Illustrators Award Be Proud of What You Are by Rithikha Rajamohan, St. Louis, MO
Catch That Prairie Dog by Micah Pinkley, Edwardsville, IL
KETC Presents Hour-Long Music Special Live From Grand Center
Station Teams With Grand Center and the Sheldon for Live Performance Special on May 17;
Stars Include Kim Massie, Denise Thimes, Billy Peek and More
St. Louis, MO—March 28, 2007—St. Louis public television station KETC/Channel 9 is joining forces with Grand Center, Inc. and the Sheldon Concert Hall to produce an hour-long musical variety special that will be broadcast live from the stage of the Sheldon. The program, Live From Grand Center, will feature a wide variety of local musical talents including Trebor Tichenor and the St. Louis Ragtimers; rhythm and blues guitarist/vocalist Billy Peek and his band; blues singer Kim Massie; jazz singer Denise Thimes; the gospel group Something Special; and The Flying Mules, a bluegrass group.
Live From Grand Center will be broadcast as it happens at the Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd., on Thursday, May 17 beginning at 8:00 p.m. KETC Vice President of Production Patrick Murphy will host the show, which will take place before a live audience.
“Live From Grand Center will underscore the role of Grand Center as the region’s entertainment center,” said host and producer Murphy. “This program will emphasize the rich musical heritage of St. Louis, and the role that music plays in uniting a diverse region.”
In order to rotate so many diverse musical acts on and off the small Sheldon stage while cameras are rolling and viewers at home are watching, the program’s logistics are being tightly orchestrated. Murphy will interview performers briefly between sets to give the stage crew time to arrange the next group’s instruments and microphones.
“As the public media organization connecting arts and culture with our community, KETC is proud to be part of the Grand Center area and excited to celebrate the significant contributions our neighbors make to St. Louis’ musical landscape,” said KETC President and CEO Jack Galmiche.
Tickets to Live From Grand Center go on sale April 2 and include an invitation to a pre-show reception at 6:00 p.m. Tickets are $75 and $55 and are available through MetroTix at (314) 531-1111 or www.metrotix.com.
KETC/Channel 9 Receives Award From Missouri Head Start Association
KETC Wins 2007 Outstanding Partnership Award for Work With Grace Hill Head Start
St. Louis, MO—March 7, 2007— In February, KETC/Channel 9 won a 2007 Outstanding Partnership Award from the Missouri Head Start Association. The award recognizes KETC for its joint effort with Grace Hill Head Start in St. Louis on the campaign It Only Takes One Step to a Healthy Mind, Body and Soul. The project, headed by KETC Manager of Education Services Dale Berenc, works with Grace Hill’s child-care providers to teach good health habits.
Every month, 120 participating child-care providers attend learning sessions where they learn from mental health workers, fitness specialists, nutritionists, representatives from the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association, and other speakers. Topics covered include making good food choices, reading nutrition labels and walking to increase their fitness level.
In separate monthly visits to each of the seven Head Start centers, Channel 9 staff provide healthy breakfasts and snacks. They also encourage the women to participate in a second aspect of the project: a walking club. Using pedometers supplied by the station, each participant has a personal goal to increase the number of daily steps she walks.
The overall goal of the entire project is to increase the child-care providers’ awareness of healthy lifestyles so that these positive behaviors will be passed on to the children they teach and to the children’s parents.
Twenty-seven Head Starts in Missouri each submitted multiple nominees for the 2007 Partnership Awards; in addition to KETC, 13 organizations throughout the state received the honor. The awards, according to the Head Start newsletter, salute “deserving partners for exceptional services to Head Start.”
Suzie Heimburger Joins KETC as Director of Corporate Support
Veteran Media Professional Will Develop New Corporate Partnerships
St. Louis, MO—January 16, 2007— KETC/Channel 9 President and CEO Jack Galmiche announced today the appointment of Suzie Heimburger as director of corporate support. Heimburger will be responsible for maintaining existing and developing new corporate partnerships for St. Louis’ public television station. She brings to the station an extensive background in sales, sales management, advertising and community volunteer work.
Heimburger has been associated with KETC in several capacities since 1987, most recently as a member of the board of trustees for Video Nine, KETC’s for-profit video production subsidiary. She also has served the station as an advertising, development and organizational consultant.
In addition to KETC, Heimburger has consulted for several St. Louis companies in corporate identity, media relations, new product development, event planning, advertising, sales management and organizational issues. An active community volunteer focused on children and education, Heimburger also has served as a trustee for the St. Louis Easter Seals Society, Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital’s development board and The College School of Webster Groves. She has held leadership positions in parent organizations at Saint Louis Priory School and Villa Duchesne/Oak Hill School.
Prior to forming her consultancy, Heimburger was vice president-sales manager for Interep, a national radio advertising sales and marketing company; and local sales manager for KDNL television in St. Louis.
KETC Documentary About Gateway Arch Is Chosen for National Distribution
Monumental Reflections Will Be Available for Broadcast by American Public Television to More Than 300 Public TV Stations
St. Louis, MO—January 5, 2007—Monumental Reflections, a KETC documentary exploring what the Gateway Arch in St. Louis means to the city and the world, has been accepted for national distribution to public television stations by American Public Television (APT). The half-hour program was shot and edited in high definition.
First broadcast on KETC/Channel 9 in June 2006, Monumental Reflections will be offered by APT as part of their April program selections. Already nearly 100 of more than 300 public television stations in the United States have accepted the St. Louis documentary for broadcast, including in every major media market.
“On the heels of St. Louis receiving international recognition for urban renewal in 2006 from the World Leadership Forum, the broadcast of Monumental Reflections in other markets will demonstrate to the rest of the country this city’s long history of renewal,” says KETC President and CEO Jack Galmiche. “As this program makes clear, the Arch is symbolic of so many things, not the least of which is revitalization and civic pride.”
Adds Patrick Murphy, producer and writer of Monumental Reflections, “There have been a number of programs produced on the Arch, but this is the first one to ask, What does this monument mean and how has that meaning changed over time?”
Monumental Reflections shows the Arch and its place in the landscape from many perspectives. Interviewed are architects, artists, activists, archivists, construction workers, tourists, writers and others who all relate unique opinions of what the Arch means personally, symbolically and historically. Included are Dr. Robert Archibald, president of the Missouri Historical Society; Mark Coir, archive director at the Cranbrook Art Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where Arch architect Eero Saarinen studied; Bob Moore, National Park Service historian; St. Louis architects Gene Mackey and Jamie Cannon; Brent Benjamin, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum; James Gray, principal chief of the Osage Nation; Percy Green, civil rights activist; Bill McClellan, columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Matthias Waschek, director of the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts.
Channel 9 Is Calling All Young Authors for the 13th Annual National Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest
Four Local Winners Will Be Chosen for a Chance at National Honors
St. Louis, MO—January 5, 2007—Children in kindergarten through third grade are invited to submit their own original stories for Channel 9’s 13th Annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. The popular contest supports children’s reading and communication skills by encouraging them to express their ideas through stories using words and pictures.
Last year, the contest attracted over 600 entries from the St. Louis area. Entries will be judged by local teachers and librarians; winner from each of the four grade levels will automatically advance to the national competition. As part of their prize package, the writing winners will be videotaped reading their stories for broadcast on Channel 9, and their stories will be posted on KETC’s Web site.
An additional winner from each grade category will also be chosen based on the quality of illustrations that must accompany all stories. Winning drawings will be posted on KETC’s Web site, too, and the illustrators will be awarded art supplies.
Because Channel 9’s goal is to encourage, challenge and reward effort, every child who enters the contest will receive a certificate and an invitation to a party on May 20 at The Magic House children’s museum in Kirkwood.
The contest begins January 29 and all entries must be postmarked no later than March 12. Entry forms are available online at www.ketc.org/readingrainbow; at local libraries and schools; and by calling Channel 9’s contest coordinator Sydney Meyer at (314) 512-9137. The contest is supported by the National PBS Reading Rainbow series and Educate Media Resources, with major funding provided by The Arthur Vining Davis Foundation.
KETC Teams With Missouri History Museum to Present Community Cinema Series
Monthly Films, Selected From Public TV Series Independent Lens, Include Post-Screening Discussion; Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes Kicks Off the Film Series on January 25
St. Louis, MO—January 5, 2007— KETC/Channel 9, in partnership with the Missouri History Museum, is screening five topical, thought-provoking films from the acclaimed PBS television series Independent Lens as part of a monthly series called Community Cinema Series. Each film will be followed by a panel discussion among local experts. The screenings, which are offered free of charge, will take place at the History Museum’s Lee Auditorium, located at Lindell Boulevard and DeBaliviere Avenue in Forest Park. The films themselves will be broadcast at later dates as part of Independent Lens on Channel 9.
Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes begins the series on Thursday, January 25 at 7:00 p.m. The hour-long film is a personal and heartfelt documentary that explores gender roles in hip-hop and rap music through the lens of filmmaker Byron Hurt, a former college quarterback-turned-activist. In this “loving critique” from a self-proclaimed “hip-hop head,” Hurt tackles issues of masculinity, sexism, violence and homophobia in today’s hip-hop culture by talking with rappers, moguls and fans. The film, which premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and is hosted by Terrence Howard, features revealing interviews with rappers, including Mos Def, Fat Joe, Chuck D, Jadakiss and Busta Rhymes, and hip-hop moguls Russell Simmons and Chris Lighty, along with commentary from Michael Eric Dyson, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Kevin Powell and Sarah Jones and interviews with young women at Spelman College, a historically black college and one of the nation’s leading liberal arts institutions.
Panelists who will lead a discussion after the program include: Montague Simmons, National Hip Hop Political Convention (St. Louis affiliate) and MK Stallings, Urban Artist’s Alliance for Child Development. Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes will air on Channel 9 Sunday, February 25 at midnight. For a full list of films in the Community Cinema Series, please visit www.ketc.org/teach/communitycinema.asp.
KETC/Channel 9 Earns Six Mid-America Emmy Awards
Living St. Louis Wins Five Emmys;
In Five-State Region, Only Three Stations Win More Than KETC
St. Louis — November 1, 2006 — KETC/Channel 9, St. Louis’ public television station, earned six Emmy Awards from the Mid-America Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), it was announced at ceremonies in St. Louis on Saturday, October 28.
The magazine series Living St. Louis won a total of five awards, including outstanding achievement in magazine programs for the production team of producers Anne-Marie Berger, Ruth Ezell, Jim Kirchherr and Patrick Murphy, videographer Scot Page and editor Greg Reinhart. Other Living St. Louis wins came from individual stories:
- “Happy Apples,” about a local company’s process to make candied apples and produced by Jim Kirchherr, won in the Business/Consumer category;
- “Special Skaters,” about two special-needs figure skaters and produced by Ruth Ezell, won in the Human Interest-Program Story/Feature category;
- “Butch O’Hare,” a half-hour Living St. Louis special produced by Jim Kirchherr about the World War II pilot from St. Louis who is the namesake of O’Hare Field, won in the Documentary-Historical category; and
- “Robot Tournament,” about a high-school robot-making competition and produced by Jim Kirchherr, won in the Public/Current/Community Affairs-Program/Special category.
East Village Opera Company, an hour-long concert special produced in high-definition, won an Emmy for editor Bill Nahlik in the Editor-Program/Program Feature category.
The Mid-America Chapter of NATAS includes all of Missouri and Arkansas, southern Illinois, and part of Iowa and Louisiana. With its six Emmys, KETC tied for the fourth-highest number of wins with WDAF, the Fox affiliate in Kansas City. Only St. Louis commercial stations KSDK (NBC), KMOV (CBS) and KTVI (Fox) won more awards.
John (Jack) Galmiche III Named President and CEO of KETC/Channel 9
Native St. Louisan Brings Experience at Statewide Network and in New Media Technology
St. Louis—September 28, 2006—The board of trustees of the St. Louis Regional Educational and Public Television Commission announced this week the selection of John (Jack) Galmiche III to be the new president and CEO of KETC/Channel 9. Galmiche will take the helm of the station in November.
“Over the past year, the board has executed an exhaustive national search and interview process to identify top candidates, and Jack Galmiche proved clearly to be the best person to lead Channel 9,” said Board of Trustees Chair Juanita Hinshaw. “His experience at one of the most progressive public television stations in the country, as well as his varied background in broadcasting, management, new technology, marketing and business development, all contribute to Jack’s incredibly well-rounded portfolio of skills.”
Galmiche, who was born in St. Louis and is a graduate of St. Louis University, returns to his hometown from Portland, Oregon, where he was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), a statewide network of public television and radio stations with an annual budget of over $25 million. It is among the top five producers of programs for public television and is the most-watched PBS station in the country. While there Galmiche successfully initiated an organization-wide plan to reverse consecutive years of operating losses and dramatically increased revenue from national television productions. During his time at OPB, he was responsible for departments including education, engineering, finance, marketing, online, and television and radio programming and production. He also serves on several public broadcasting boards and committees. He is the current board chair of the Northwest News Network, member of the board and executive committee of the Integrated Media Association and several working groups at PBS.
Throughout his career, Galmiche has been a leader in the innovation and development of cutting-edge media technology, such as high-definition radio and television, video on demand, on demand video streaming, and interactive educational television. As president and CEO of Broadcast Interactive Group, Inc., of Portland, he advised television and high technology companies, including Turner Entertainment, Koplar Interactive and PBS, in strategy and business case development for new digital content. As president and CEO of Interactive Systems, Inc., of Beaverton, Oregon, he oversaw industry-first television and technology products for clients in the U.S. and overseas, including for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
Galmiche also has an extensive background in sports management and marketing, having been the president of the Portland Breakers USFL Football Club, director of marketing for the St. Louis Blues Hockey Club, and executive vice president and general manager of the St. Louis Stars Soccer Club, where he was the youngest chief executive of a professional sports franchise at the time. He played professional and collegiate soccer, and was inducted into the St. Louis University Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
Preschoolers Love Lori Holton Nash
KETC’s New Daytime TV Host Boosts Ratings Across Station’s
Entire Kids’ Show Lineup
St. Louis — September 6, 2006 — Lori Holton Nash, the host of KETC/Channel 9’s new PBS Kids programming block, is a hit. The 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Monday through Friday group of programs that features “Miss Lori” in breaks between shows has proven to be a hit with viewers since its debut on September 4.
Ratings in that that time period had been averaging below 1. Since the PBS Kids block started, ratings are now hovering around 3. The success of Miss Lori has also improved ratings of the surrounding programs.
“KETC is not a ratings-driven television station,” said Channel 9 Vice President of Programming Patricia Kistler, “but we do take these higher numbers as an indication that we’re serving more children with high-quality, educational programming.”
Channel 9 revised its entire lineup of children’s programming with the advent of the PBS Kids block, which is comprised of the new series Curious George (3 rating), Clifford the Big Red Dog (4.1), Dragon Tales (3.3) and It’s a Big Big World (2.9). Each rating point represents 11,000 households as reported by Trac Media’s overnight evaluations from September 6.
KETC broadcasts 19 different children’s programs during weekday time slots. All programs are designed to provide the highest quality programming and learning environment for children to stimulate their curiosity, encourage interaction and foster their imagination.
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