NCET Biz Tips: Entertain Your Curiosity with PBS Reno

Public broadcasting is a service that has been existence for more than a century with the first public broadcast occurring on January 13, 1910. Back then, almost all programs were impartial and unbiased. It was important that the public had access to programming that had educational and social value. Yet today’s world has evolved to a commercial-centric programming model. Content that served the worthy aims of educational and social programming to the public faded over the years.

Enter PBS Reno in 1983 with an afternoon broadcast of Sesame Street. Since that day, PBS Reno (originally known as KNPB) has provided 40 years of quality programming on the air which includes award-winning local storytelling. They are grateful for the fortunate challenge of having an endless number of stories to tell especially through their local programs, Wild Nevada and ARTEFFECTS!  The station also provides education outreach to thousands of classrooms in northern Nevada and northeastern California with their Ready to Learn Workshops.

Any PBS Reno employee will tell you that it’s the people they work with each and every day at the station who make the work rewarding. The station’s day-in and day-out programming is handled by only 35 people. Each person brings to the station a rich background in specific professions. That expertise spans broadcast television and radio, new production, education, engineering, development, underwriting, and marketing.

Reno is at the heart of PBS Reno’s reach in northern Nevada. Through technological upgrades, PBS Reno provides a broadcast signal to dozens of communities large and small throughout the region. You can access programming from Truckee Meadows south to Carson City to Lake Tahoe and beyond to smaller, tight-knit communities including Gardnerville, Yerington, Elko, and so many more locations.

Yet like all businesses, PBS Reno faces challenges in its business. Kurt Mische, PBS Reno CEO, notes that while 124,000 people in the region tune in each week, only 12,000 people make donations to fund station programming. While that is a good percentage from a PBS perspective, many people watch without contributing. Some believe that PBS Reno is fully government-funded. It is not. Others believe the station gets money from cable TV and satellite payments. It does not.

What many don’t know is that PBS Reno is an independent not-for-profit public television station raising 76% of its 4.88 million operating budget from the very communities it serves. Generous financial support is always needed, encouraged, and greatly appreciated regardless of the size of the donation.

What are the three things that PBS Reno is most proud of?

First, their team and the consistently high-quality work they do especially under the many challenges brought by COVID.

Second, the amazing work they do off the air in education. Touched on earlier, PBS Reno facilitators serve nearly 50,000 students in seven counties in northern Nevada. The demand for their work continues to expand!  PBS Reno’s work supplements classroom teaching meeting a real need in public, private, parochial, home, charter schools, and Head Starts.

Third, the productions that the station has in circulation around the country that tell the story of this region including Classical Tahoe.

PBS Reno is an oversized performer in the PBS system and has an extraordinary grasp on the needs of our community. It is at the forefront of the changing face of public broadcasting television. Set some time aside for you and your family to watch the station’s outstanding programming. You will be surprised and satisfied that our region indeed has a trusted source for News and Public Affairs right here in northern Nevada.

Want to learn more about PBS Reno and tour their state-of-the-art broadcast studio?  Sign up for NCET’s Tech Wednesday on October 13 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. for an onsite presentation and tour with networking from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. More information at www.NCETwed.org.

Bill Leonard is NCET’s VP of Communications and a freelance copywriter. He writes SEO optimized B2B white papers, case studies, and blogs for lead generation at www.CopyUnlocked.com. NCET produces educational and networking events to help people explore business and technology. (www.NCET.org)