1990 This Week in Northern California, KQED's weekly current affairs
program, debuts on Channel 9 with Ginger Casey as host. Mister Rogers'
Neighborhood celebrates its 35th anniversary. KQED 88.5FM's Forum
debuts-taking an in-depth look at issues of importance to the Bay Area;
Kevin Pursglove hosts. Ken Burns' nine-part documentary, The Civil
War, debuts on Channel 9 in September. KQED Auction is retired due
to declining revenue.
1991
KQED 88.5FM wins a prestigious Peabody Award for HEAT, the late-night
program that ran for most of 1990 but was discontinued for lack of funding.
Channel 9's award-winning 1991 television productions include Rap City
Rhapsody, Julia Morgan: A Life by Design, Out! A San Francisco to New York Town Meeting on Gay & Lesbian Pride, The Race Against
Crack, and Maxine Hong Kingston: Talking Story. KQED produces
The Creative Mind, a 15-part series featuring conversations with
outstanding local artists. KQED's Cooking at the Academy debuts.
By the close of 1991, all of KQED's operations are consolidated under
one roof with the move to 2601 Mariposa Street. The new building is made
possible through the support of KQED members and the more than 17,000
contributors to the Capital Campaign, which raised $9 million in cash
and pledges. KQED completes strategic planning that results in the establishment
of the Center for Education & Lifelong Learning (CELL) department.
CELL's new activities include Sesame Street Preschool Educational
Program, offering innovative training for child care providers, and the
Parents Project, a research study funded by the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting.
1992
KQED hosts a series of national videoconferences, Opening All Doors,
which familiarizes more than 600 architects and industry professionals
with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Living Room Festival
and Viewpoints debut as KQED presentations. KQED produces Green
Means, a series of short programs about ordinary people across the
country doing extraordinary things for the environment. A major outreach
effort for the 1992 election complements more than 100 hours of public
television and radio programming. KQED teams up with Project Vote Smart,
to connect members with important information on candidates and campaigns.
KQED 88.5FM provides live coverage of statewide election issues in its
new weekly series, The 1992 California Election Report. KQED wins
a CPB Silver Medal for its Current Affairs production of Thanh's
War. Charlene Harvey becomes KQED Board chairperson.
1993
KQED's weekly public affairs program Face to Face debuts.
Belva Davis becomes host of KQED's This Week in Northern California.
KQED 88.5FM becomes the most-listened-to public radio station in
the country. KQED's School Services Department launches Learning
Link, a computer-based information network that provides opportunities
for educators to share resources in an interactive on-line community.
In April, KQED begins the CPB-funded Family Membership, which includes
a subscription to KQED's Family Learning Guide, a publication
designed to help parents extend the lessons of quality television
with activities and suggestions. KQED begins participation in Family
Literacy Alliance, a national educational outreach project helping
families in need make reading a shared experience. Mary Bitterman
starts as President and CEO of KQED on November 1.
1994
KQED TV9 is the most-watched public television station in the country
for the second year in a row. San Francisco Focus magazine wins
a Gold Medal for General Excellence for magazines with a circulation above
50,000, the most prestigious award given by the City and Regional Magazine
Association; Best City and Regional Magazine Award from Western Publications
Association; and a National Headliner Award for feature writing in 1993.
KQED's School Services continues to operate the largest instructional
TV service in California and the nation, reaching more than 3000 schools,
80,000 teachers, and 1.7 million students. For the third year in a row,
KQED is the first television station nationwide to schedule a film as
part of its Viewpoints series -- Defending Our Lives --
which would later win an Academy Award for Best Documentary. Fog City
Radio, an arts and cultural live radio program, debuts in February
on KQED 88.5FM. KQED and MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour correspondent
Spencer Michels co-produce If You Build It, Will They Come? - a
documentary about San Francisco's Yerba Buena Gardens. By May, 2300 educators
are hooked up to CELL's Learning Link service. KQED's Green Means
series wins a Silver Apple Award at the National Educational Film &
Video Festival. KQED collaborates with American Playhouse to bring
Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City to PBS affiliates across the
country. There are now 250,000 KQED members.
1995
KQED goes online with its own Web site, featuring program listings, press
releases and content from San Francisco Focus magazine. In March
the House Appropriations Committee approves a cut in federal funding for
Public Broadcasting. KQED produces The Way it Was, a look back
at historic spots in the city including Sutro Baths, City of Paris department
store, Fleishhacker Pool, Fox Theater, Seal Stadium and PlayLand at the
Beach. In August the amendment to eliminate funding for Public Broadcasting
is brought to the House floor where it fails by a vote of 286 to 136!
In October The California Report, a radio program designed to fill
a void in regional news programming, premieres. Robert MacNeil steps down
as co-host of The MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour.
1996
This year marks an important time of transition at KQED. The station determined
that KQED's future depended upon greater focus and support for TV, FM
and CELL (Center for Education and Lifelong Learning). This strategy was
designed to address a range of fiscal issues that had affected KQED for
several years. While belt-tightening, KQED drew record audiences and accelerated
its local and national production activity. TV9 highlights include Chinatown,
the second in the Neighborhoods: The Hidden Cities of San Francisco
series. On radio The California Report is now carried by most public
radio stations in the state, providing coverage of issues, trends and
public policy decisions affecting Californians. Throughout the year CELL
staff train 1,500 teachers and 400 daycare providers in the use of instructional
television materials.
1997 The Castro marks the third installment of the Neighborhoods
series and is met with community acclaim. Cost cutting pays off as KQED
bounces back after years of operating mostly in the red. San Francisco
Focus magazine is sold to Diablo Publications, but continues to be
a KQED member benefit. The Newshour with Jim Lehrer opens a West
Coast office at KQED with correspondent Elizabeth Farnsworth reporting.
KQED 88.5FM's Forum celebrates its tenth anniversary. The KQED
Legacy Society begins—offering an opportunity to recognize those
individuals who will be including KQED in their estate plan. In April,
the FCC mandates that all TV broadcasters shall convert their signals
to digital transmission by 2003.
1998
KQED launches the Television Race Initiative to use P.O.V.
documentary programs as a springboard for community dialogue around
race and diversity issues. KQED TV9's new production, Bay Window,
debuts with local programs to complement national programming such
as Africans in America. Youth Radio on KQED 88.5FM
premieres in September. The radio station also broadcasts gavel-to-gavel
coverage of House of Representatives impeachment hearings. KQED
88.5FM surpasses WNYC FM to become the most-listened-to public radio
station in the nation.
1999
The James Irvine Foundation gives KQED $1 million to fund the production of Bay Windows, an eclectic series of shows from panel discussions to local documentaries. The Teletubbies are at the center of controversy over its apparent content. Belva Davis, host of This Week in Northern California, retires from KRON but keeps working at KQED. KQED produces Evelyn Cisneros: Moving On!, a profile of the San Francisco Ballet's prima ballerina. KQED-FM celebrates 30 years of serving the Bay Area. KQED-TV produces The Fillmore, another in its series on hidden neighborhoods of San Francisco. KQED launches Independent View, a weekly guide to independent film and video. Suzi Orman's The Courage To Be Rich is one of KQED's biggest pledge fundraisers. KQED receives a $3 million bequest from Henry H. and Sally E Riklin. The Center for Education and Lifelong Learning (CELL) changes its name to KQED Education Network (Ednet).
The most-watched television shows in the '90s were The Civil War (1991), Tales of the City (1994), and Lewis and Clark (1997).
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