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KQED, Inc. was a public broadcasting company based in San Francisco, California. On May 1, 2006, KQED and the KTEH Foundation merged to form Northern California Public Broadcasting. The KQED assets were brought into that new organization— a TV station, KQED-TV, and an FM radio station, KQED-FM. Both are members of PBS and NPR, respectively. KQED's broadcasts reach all of Northern California via over-the-air broadcast, cable and satellite. KQED produces some TV and radio programming for local and national distribution.
Television
KQED-TV is an NTSC television signal on VHF channel 9. This channel is also carried on Comcast cable TV and via satellite TV from DirecTV and Dish Network. Its transmitter is on Sutro Tower in San Francisco.
Noteworthy TV productions have included the first of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, Tongues Untied, and a series of programs focusing on San Francisco's historic neighborhoods, such as The Castro and The Fillmore District. Ongoing productions include "The Josh Kornbluth Show", California Connected "Check, Please! Bay Area", and This Week in Northern California,[http://thisweek.kqed.org/among others.
Digital television
KQED-DT is an ATSC digital television signal broadcast over channel 30 from Sutro Tower. There are five sub-channels available:HDTV:
- KQED HD on DT9.1 / 30.1
- KQED Encore on DT9.2 / 30.2
- KQED World on DT9.3 / 30.3
- KQED Life on DT9.4 / 30.4
- KQED Kids on DT9.5 / 30.5
KQED-DT is available over the air with a digital tuner, or on Comcast's digital cable service.
Radio
Founded in 1969, KQED-FM is a FM radio signal broadcast from several locations in northern California. It carries content from NPR, Minnesota Public Radio, Public Radio International, and BBC World Service in addition to local content. KQED radio produces shows such as Forum (hosted by Michael Krasny), The California Report Pacific Time[http://www.kqed.org/programs/program-landing.jsp?progID=RD37" target="_blank" >*, among others.
KQED-FM is the most-listened to public radio station in the United States, and is typically rated at #3 in the Arbitron ratings, though the break-out of ratings shown to commercial advertisers do not include the ratings for non-commercial stations.
- KQED-FM 88.5 MHz in San Francisco
- via translator: 88.3 MHz in Santa Rosa
- via translator: 88.1 MHz in Martinez and Benicia
- KQEI-FM 89.3 MHz in Sacramento
In addition, KQED-FM is webcast with live streaming audio available. Audio archives are available on the web site as well.
Forum, hosted by Michael Krasny, as well as Pacific Time* are also carried on Sirius Satellite Radio with nationwide coverage.
One of the most famous programs to have been broadcast on KQED was An Hour with Pink Floyd, which was a 60 minute performance by Pink Floyd recorded without an audience at the Fillmore West in 1970. The program was broadcast only twice : once in 1970, and again in 1984. The setlist was "Atom Heart Mother", "Cymbaline", "Grantchester Meadows", "Green is the Colour", "Careful with that Axe, Eugene", and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun".
History
The KQED organization was the sixth "public broadcasting" station, making its debut on April 5, 1954, shortly after Pittsburgh's WQED. Its call letters come from the phrase "quod erat demonstrandum," or "Q.E.D." The station was created by Jim Day and Jon Rice, both veteran broadcasters with extensive news experience.
KQED Television, for a time, had a sister station, "KQEC," which broadcast on Channel 32. KQED had inherited the station (as KNEW-TV) from Metromedia Inc., when they found they could not profitably operate it. Various PBS and locally produced programs from KQED would air at different times of the day on KQEC. However, KQED found that they could not operate channel 32 either, and took the station off the air for a couple months. The FCC threatened to withdraw the license. A legal battle ensued between KQED and the Minority Television Project resulting in KQED suddenly abandoning channel 32 to MTP in 1991. The station was re-branded as KMTP.
Controversy
Televising executions
During the early 1990s, when the State of California reinstituted the death penalty, the KQED organization waged a highly controversial legal battle for the right to televise the forthcoming execution of Robert Alton Harris at San Quentin State Prison.The decision to pursue the videotaping of executions was controversial amongst those on both sides of the capital punishment debate; contemporary reports noted that a number of KQED's members (primarily families throughout the Bay Area) dropped their financial support for the station, intending for their charitable contributions to KQED to support programs such as Sesame Street rather than legal fees.
"Tales of the City"
KQED was co-producer of the television adaptaion of Armistead Maupin's novel, Tales of the City, which aired on PBS stations nationwide in January of 1994. The six-part miniseries stirred controversy because of the homosexual themes, nudity and illicit drug use in this fictional portrayal of life in 1970's San Francisco. The controversy led to calls from the public to cancel the series, a bomb threat at the Chattanooga, TN PBS Station, WTCI (the station pulled the program an hour before airtime) and threats from state and federal governments to cut funding for the network and its stations. Although the program gave PBS its highest ratings ever for a dramatic program, the network decided not to participate in the television production of the second book of the series, More Tales of the City.Purchase of neighboring station
In 2003, KQED Radio expanded to the Sacramento area by purchasing KEBR-FM in North Highlands from Family Stations, a religious broadcaster based in Oakland. Some residents and management at KXJZ, the NPR station already serving the Sacramento area, criticized the move, saying that KQED would only duplicate KXJZ programming. (Note: KXJZ's parent company - Capital Public Radio - also had plans to purchase KEBR. CPR's plan was to broadcast jazz on KEBR and convert KXJZ into an all-news station.) Indeed, KQED and KXJZ carry Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation, and All Things Considered at the same times opposite each other. KQED argues that it carries more regional news programming during the middle of the day, and news programs at night, while KXJZ has a smaller news bureau and music programming overnight. Capital Public Radio and community residents argued that duplication of the exact same NPR programming serves no one, and that it is very unusual for one NPR station to move in on the territory of a successful existing station. KXJZ has also increased its local midday programming with the addition of Insight, a daily interview program. Note: KQED-FM has done something similar before. When they converted to an all news and information format by dropping classical music during the day, management and listeners of KALW (another San Francisco public radio station) cried foul, claiming that KQED had stolen KALW's format. KALW had run news and information programs during the day.References
- Witness to an execution:KQED sues to videotape capital punishment. Indiana University School of Journalism.
- Smolowe, Jill (6-3-1991). The Ultimate Horror Show: A court hearing pits First Amendment rights against the fear of an electronic return to the rite of public execution.-TIME Magazine.
- The band Glassjaw mentions KQED along with the slogan "It's a tune that equals you" in their song "Two Tabs of Mescaline," from their 2002 release, Worship and Tribute.
External links
Radio stations in California | PBS member stations | NPR member stations | Channel 9 TV stations in the United States
"KQED"