What is your favorite PBS or KCPT program and why?
I distinctly remember Robert MacNeil’s The Story of English in 1986. I was fascinated by it. I watched it as it aired, recorded it on a VCR, and watched it again. That series was a turning point in my interest in public television. I discovered that my eclectic interests in education and entertainment were met by the wide range of programming offered by PBS and KCPT. I love the serendipity of watching shows such as American Masters and Frontline, and learning about people, places, subjects and issues that are important to our world. From John Muir (the Sierra Club founder) to Jeff Bridges (the Dude), and from Money and March Madness to Facing Death, the programs are always of the highest quality, and they present, and often debate, many points of view. The locally-produced shows such as Ruckus and Kansas City Week in Review always prompt me to think and to laugh and to care about our wonderful metropolitan area.
What do you enjoy most about being involved with KCPT?
KCPT is in the center of everything that is changing in the ways that we communicate and learn. KCPT is one of the local institutions that has credibility. Along with the Kansas City Public Library, Mid-America Regional Council, and others, KCPT convenes our community to dig below the surface and to discuss, debate and determine who we are and who we want to be. I am honored to be a part of these changes and collaborations.
I really like the ways in which KCPT brings national programming to life locally. The annual KCPT Antique Appraisal Fair captures the same excitement and storytelling that we see on the PBS Antiques Roadshow. KCPT brings the researched-based Ready to Learn and Raising Readers programs from PBS KIDS into local schools and libraries to address literacy, one of the basic skills upon which we build education and democracy.
Why should people support KCPT?
As the current News Corporation scandal is unfolding, we have been reminded of the globalization, commercialization and/or politicizing of many media sources. While it is incredible that we have so many sources providing so much information, it is also exhausting to sort through all of it to find reliable sources and information. At the same time, the “new media” have limited financial budgets for news and programs that are focused on Kansas City metro. I believe that KCPT is addressing the increasing need for credibility in media, high quality services, and local production. I want KCPT to grow. KCPT deserves your and my support.
