KCPT News .

April 2013 Letter from Kliff Kuehl, President & CEO

Learn more about KCPT as a leading provider of educational services in our community.

Every week some 95,000 area students bring their studies to life with KCPT’s digital learning services. Our PBS LearningMedia™ is a great resource for students and educators and brings together the best of pubic media digital content from award-winning programs like NOVA, Nature, FRONTLINE, American Experience, and Sid the Science Kid. KCPT acts as the connector between this outstanding innovative digital content service and the educators and students at area schools.

Gary Brock, KCPT’s Director of Education, represented KCPT at the PBS LearningMedia™ Summit at PBS in Arlington Virginia last month. Sarah Hayden, second grade teacher from the Longfellow Elementary School in the Kansas City Public School District accompanied Gary. Sarah will work with KCPT to create workshops throughout the metro to promote the service to other schools.

Another educational initiative of KCPT is Raising Readers. The Martha Speaks Reading Buddies program now includes six high needs elementary schools in the greater Kansas City Metropolitan area. Currently 700 children are involved with the mentoring program. Fourth and fifth graders become Big Buddies and kindergartners and first graders become Little Buddies. During the ten sessions the Big Buddies mentor their Little Buddies by watching special Martha Speaks programs, playing games, writing in journals, and reading books together. The Little Buddies get to take the 10 books home allowing these high needs children to begin building a library and a love of reading.

KCPT hosted an early childhood workshop for area teachers last month. The Family Conservancy trained the teachers in advanced skills to be used to address the high needs children they work with on a daily basis. KCPT hosts four of these workshops each year and has over 40 in attendance at each workshop.

As you can see, KCPT is more than just television. We have a broad reach in the community to help inside and outside of the classroom. Great content plus great teachers plus great training equals life long success!

If you would like more information about our educational services, please visit our website at kcpt.org.

Click here to join me as a proud member of KCPT.

Big 5: Progress Report on KC Chamber Initiatives

The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce launched its Big 5 initiatives to help reinvent Kansas City. We bring together some of the key decision makers to find out what progress has been made.

What began in the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Board room in July 2011 with 100 business, civic and elected leaders and 182 ideas for creating a greater Kansas City has become five initiatives which seek to to bring better health, improved education, more jobs, increased investment and a better quality of life to everyone in the region. The Local Show gathered key decision makers from each of the Big 5 initiatives to find out how much progress has been made.

Our Think Tank of Experts:

Jim Heeter, President & Chief Executive Officer, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce
Russ Welsh, Current KC Chamber Chair; Chairman & CEO, Polsinelli Shughart
Greg Graves, Past (2011) KC Chamber Chair; Chairman of the Board & CEO, Burns & McDonnell

Big 5 Representatives:

Moving UMKC’s World-Class Arts Programs to a New Downtown Location
Leo Morton: Champion; Chancellor, University of Missouri – Kansas City

Revitalizing Our Urban Neighborhoods Through the Urban Neighborhood Initiative
(Champions Brent Stewart and Terry Dunn were unavailable.)
Mark Jorgenson: Chairman, Urban Neighborhood Initiative Board; President & CEO, US Bank, Kansas City Market
Dianne Cleaver: Executive Director, Urban Neighborhood Initiative

Making Kansas City America’s Most Entrepreneurial City
Peter deSilva: Champion; Chairman & CEO, UMB Bank
Cliff Illig: Entrepreneurship Steering Committee; Co-founder, Cerner Corp.

Hosting the Global Symposium on Innovation in Animal Health
(Champion Gary Forsee was unavailable.)
Robert Marcusse: President & CEO, Kansas City Area Development Council

Growing Kansas City’s Medical Research, From Discovery to Cure
Dr. Patrick James: Champion; Senior Managing Director, Quest Diagnostics- Kansas Business Unit.

Keep the conversation going:

#Big5KC
#KCPT

Like us on Facebook: KCPT’S The Local Show

Tags: Arts, Big 5, Big 5 Ideas, Entrepreneurship, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, The Local Show, TLS320, UMKC

Board Member Highlight: Bradley Scott

Bradley Scott, US Bank and KCPT Board Member, talks about public television, its importance, and why it needs the community's support.

Favorite PBS/KCPT Program: While I can list my favorites, it is far too difficult to name THE favorite program. Here they are in no particular order:

Downton Abbey – I am a history buff and this series is remarkably accurate, well written and portrayed. Did I mention that it is also highly entertaining?
The Local Show – I always learn something new about what’s going on in Kansas City.
FRONTLINE – It is what a news documentary series should be, tough and often controversial but always thought provoking.
NOVA – Food for my inner science geek. NOVA gives me a much deeper dive than other, more commercial programming is able to do.

What do I enjoy most about being involved with KCPT? I enjoy working with an organization that does so much for the Kansas City Region. I have worked with many non-for-profit organizations over the years and I have yet to work with a more passionate, devoted and talented staff as what I have found at KCPT. Their passion for Public Television and the way they weave that mission into the fabric of the Kansas City community is amazing.

Why should someone support KCPT? In addition to all that was said above, I would like to remind everyone that the quality programming has a cost that is not supported by commercial advertising or cable subscription fees. The only way that we can continue to enjoy the independent high quality national and local programming is for us to vote with our wallets. It is incumbent upon me, as a viewer, to financially support this programming. To me, FRONTLINE is a perfect example of a program that began out of the void created when commercial networks began producing “more profitable content” and moved away from revealing, hard-hitting investigative reporting. Without our support, programming like FRONTLINE would disappear and I believe the public would be less informed because of it.

Click here to join Brad as a proud member of KCPT.

Bob Ross Remix!

The beloved, fro sporting, painting pro Bob Ross gets the auto-tune treatment.

PBS Digital Studios and John D. Boswell, also known by his Youtube moniker MelodySheep, have done it again! This time beloved, fro sporting, painting pro Bob Ross gets the auto-tune treatment.

If happy little clouds and trees make you happy, we encourage you to support KCPT!

Watch Happy Little Clouds: Bob Ross Remixed on PBS. See more from PBS Digital Studios.

Tags: KCPT Create

Forty-Eight Hour Event Produces Innovative Ideas

Two new service prototypes emerge from local Kansas City event.

On Sunday, March 3rd, the Kansas City Service Jam presented two services that were designed in just forty-eight hours at the Google Fiber Space in Westport. The local event launched on Friday evening at Red Nova Labs before moving over to Google Fiber for Saturday and Sunday sessions.

The event focuses on collaboration and designing services related to a shared theme, which was simply presented as “Grow ^”, or as interpreted by the participants, “Grow Up”. The Kansas City Service Jam divided into two smaller groups to design prototypes of two entirely new services.

One KC team tackled the problem of financial acumen among children. They decided to focus on parents who are fiscally responsible and have the desire to facilitate a conversation about finances with their 6-10 year old children.

“We see a lot of solutions that ‘gamify’ or abstract the use of money, our mission was to get these children involved in real world finances.” said David Rondeau, one of the group’s team members.

The group created a prototype application that allows children to utilize their parent’s device in the grocery store aisles for comparison shopping. The app, called “Eenie-Meenie”, centers around the use of cartoon monsters to guide the children by using a barcode scanner to gather information on quantity and price, enabling them to understand the financial aspects of a purchase.

The other KC team prototyped a service related to personal growth, with a particular focus on the problem of procrastination. Team member Rachel Lin said of their project, “Using a co-creative process, we developed the concept of a fun game to help a user break a negative behavior pattern (procrastination) and then guide them through the process of finishing their task.”

Near the final hours of the event, team member Justin Ruggieri said, “It’s pretty amazing that by Sunday we created a viable service which we had no awareness for on Friday.”

The Kansas City Service Jam was one of over one-hundred locations in roughly forty-eight different countries to participate in the 48-hour Global Service Jam.

2013 Local Service Jam team photo

Tags: Local, News

January 2013 Letter from Kliff Kuehl

Kliff talks about KCPT's continuing focus on the arts and our new member guide.

We are very pleased with all that we accomplished in partnership with Townsend Communications and KC Studio magazine. I want to thank Guy Townsend and his team for their wonderful work and support throughout this partnership. Starting this month, KCPT is returning to a simpler Member Guide. This guide will keep you informed of programming, events, member benefits, and will highlight local and national content.

Of course, KCPT remains focused on the arts with programs like Putting Down Roots, the story about the “tree” planted in the front lawn of the Nelson Atkins Museum; Celebration at the Station with the Kansas City Symphony; and Homecoming, The Kansas City Symphony Presents Joyce DiDonato. We are also excited to roll out a new program, Art Tasting with Julian (Julian Zugazagoitia, CEO of the Nelson Atkins Museum) beginning early this year.

Please also watch The Local Show for arts’ coverage, including coverage of this year’s PerformARTS organizations.

Folly Theater
Unicorn Theatre
American Jazz Museum
Kansas City Ballet
Jewish Community Center
Mid-America Arts Alliance

With PerformARTS coverage, we are helping Kansas Citians connect with the local arts’ scene and, in turn, helping these organizations enjoy greater success. Last year’s PerformARTS organizations were thrilled with the publicity and significant increases in ticket sales. KCPT is proud to shine a light on these very worthy artists. We want to thank the John W. and Effie E. Speas Memorial Trust, Bank of America, Trustee; and the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts, Commerce Bank Trustee in generous support of PerformARTS.

I hope you will stay connected to the arts through KCPT’s programming, concerts and events, website, and social media.

Click here to join me as a proud member of KCPT.

July-August 2012 Letter from Kliff Kuehl, President & CEO

Kliff talks about great upcoming PBS programming with a focus on women and their extraordinary stories.

I recently returned from the PBS annual meeting and came away very proud of the programming coming this fall and beyond.

PBS will help to tell more stories specifically about women. The campaign, Women and Girls Lead, will encompass short stories, mini-series, broadcasts, and web content featuring extraordinary stories about women through several of PBS’ regular series – Independent Lens, Global Voices, and Frontline. For more information and a full list of programs, visit http://www.itvs.org/women-and-girls-lead.

One of these programs, Half the Sky, will air in October on Independent Lens as a multi-part feature telling the stories of oppressed women in other countries who have escaped, healed, and gone on to do great things. The program is based on the best-selling book by Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. These stories are truly inspiring.

Several short stories will also be aired featuring amazing women right here in Kansas City. Peregrine Honig, a local artist; Monica Steiner, a breast cancer survivor who is raising money for breast cancer research through the organization “Ironteam;” Alice Piggee-Wallack, a pastor making a difference in an under-served Kansas City community; and Brionna Williams, a student-athlete who overcame a serious health problem to achieve her dream. Watch the schedule for these stories about groundbreaking Kansas City women.

MAKERS, is a documentary about national women figures and every day ground breakers. They are role models, front line activists, and first in their field. Just a few of the featured women – Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Ellen Degeneres, Dr. Susan Love (breast cancer pioneer), Maya Lin (artist and architect), and Gloria Steinem. This documentary will air in early 2013.

Beginning on Labor Day, another great new children’s show – Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. This is an animated children’s program from the Fred Rogers’ Company featuring the new generation of characters from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. It’s certain to be a hit with the kids!

Paula Kerger recently came to Kansas City to speak through the Chamber’s “Insight Kansas City” speaker series. Jim Heeter, the Chamber’s CEO, said this about Paula and KCPT, “Kerger had the highest praise for our local PBS station, KCPT. KCPT is serving as a trusted and constructive center stage for the region.” It’s always nice to hear these great comments.

As a reminder, mark your calendars for Homecoming on July 20 – airing to a national audience. The Kansas City Symphony and hometown soprano, Joyce DiDonato, perform as part of PBS’ Summer Arts Festival at Kansas City’s wonderful Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

As always, thank you for watching!

Kliff Kuehl

Tags: FRONTLINE, Homecoming: The Kansas City Symphony Presents Joyce DiDonato, Independent Lens, KCPT, Kids, Paula Kerger, Women and Girls Lead

KCPT Annual Meeting

KCPT honors its supporters, volunteers and community partners.

KCPT held its Annual Board Meeting on Tuesday, October 9. CEO Kliff Kuehl and the KCPT Board took time out to recognize Foundations, corporate supporters, volunteers and community partners for all they have done for the station this past year. Those honored were Bank of America, Californos, Country Club Bank, JoAnna Dale, Tom Dowling, Peggy Drabbenstott, Francis Family Foundation, Kansas City Symphony, Labconco, John Mertz, and Carol Wall. Also honored was Hunter Wolbach, our outgoing Chairman; and board members who have completed their terms – Julie Edge, Chris Fernandez, Lafayette Ford, Lan Strickland, and Peter Yelorda. Annual Meeting slideshow

Tags: Events

KCPT Earns Nine Emmy Nominations

KCPT received nine nominations for the 2012 National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Mid-America Regional Chapter EMMY® Awards. The nominations are based on outstanding cultural, educational, technological, entertainment, news and informational achievements in television.

“KCPT focuses on community issues and shines a light on what our city has to offer through our programming and special presentations,” says KCPT CEO and President, Kliff Kuehl. “We’re so proud that we are achieving our mission to explore our region and that our production team is being recognized for their talents.”

The Emmy Gala will take place Sept. 22 at Kansas City’s own Midland Theatre. The event is to be hosted by Weather Channel’s Mike Bettes.

The KCPT nominations are as follows:

• Health/Science – News Story/Program Feature Segment: THE LOCAL SHOW, Suicide Special-Segment 1, Sandy Woodson

• Photographer – Program: THE LOCAL SHOW, Suicide Special-Segment 2, Dave Burkhardt

• Documentary – Cultural: RAISE THE ROOF: Building the Kauffman Center for the Performing Art, Randy Mason, Sandy Woodson

• Information/Instructional – Program/Special: GENERATION XL, Angee Simmons, Sean Holmes

• Interview/Discussion – Program:
o CHECK, PLEASE! KC, Pamela James, Ashley Holcroft, Doug Frost
o MEET THE PAST with Crosby Kemper III, Pamela James, Crosby Kemper, Harry Fortunato

• Public/Current/Community Affairs – Program/Special: IMAGINE KC, Angee Simmons, Randy Mason, Sean Holmes

• Special Event Coverage (other than News or Sports) Live or Edited: CELEBRATION AT THE STATION, Part 1 and Part 2, Angee Simmons, Mark Stamm, Randy Mason

• Community/Public Service (PSAs) – Single Spots or Campaigns: LITTLE GREEN STEPS, Angee Simmons, Jim Button

IMAGINE KC is generously funded by: American Society of Civil Engineers, Garney Family Foundation Fund, Hall Family Foundation, Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, Kansas City Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), William T. Kemper Foundation-Commerce Bank, Trustee, Lafarge North America, Urban Land Institute (ULI) Kansas City, U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), WNET–Blueprint America

THE LOCAL SHOW is generously funded by: Francis Family Foundation, Frederick and Louise Hartwig Family Fund, Kauffman Foundation, Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, Hall Family Foundation, Johnson County Community College, John and Effie Speas Memorial Trust – Bank of America, Trustee and Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts – Commerce Bank, Trustee

GENERATION XL is generously funded by BCBS of Kansas City

CHECK, PLEASE! KANSAS CITY is generously funded by: Bank of America and 360 Vodka

About NATAS Mid-America Chapter: The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational and technical achievements within the television industry. It recognizes excellence in television with the coveted Emmy Award. For more information please visit www.emmymid-america.org.