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KQED’s Public Television Program Director of 20 Years, Scott Dwyer, to Retire

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Dwyer leaves KQED with ratings up more than 20% over last year and with the highest primetime rating for PBS affiliates in the top 10 national markets.

Assistant Program Director Susie Hernandez to be named KQED's new Program Director.

KQED’s Chief Content Officer and Senior Vice President, Michael Isip announced the retirement of Scott Dwyer, the KQED Public Television Program Director. The 2009 PBS Programmer of the Year Award recipient has been with KQED since 1985 and in his current role since 1995. He retires on August 1, and Assistant Program Director Susie Hernandez will be named KQED's new Program Director. Dwyer currently schedules five channels for KQED, including KQED 9 and KQED Plus, with coverage for more than 6 million people. He leaves KQED Public Television in a stellar position with KQED 9 ratings up 20.8% (Live+7) and KQED Plus ratings up 24.5% (Live+7) in the last year. KQED currently has the highest primetime ratings among the top 10 market public television stations, 16% higher than the PBS primetime average against the top 64 Nielsen-metered markets.

Isip said: “Maintaining our audience success in such a competitive environment and a period of audience fragmentation are proof that Scott not only knows great programming, but that he knows the Bay Area. Scott is so widely respected across public television. In fact, station programmers around the country and senior programming executives at PBS look to Scott’s creative and strategic approach to acquiring and scheduling programs.” He added: “As we celebrate Scott’s wonderful career, I am excited to turn over our lead TV programming role to Susie, who is committed to bringing quality and unique programming to our nine counties.”

“This has been a dream job serving such a worldly, open and supportive audience,” said Dwyer. “It’s thanks to the Bay Area viewership and the innovative spirit of KQED that I’ve gotten to explore subject matter and styles that other programmers around the country only wish they could.”

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Along with beloved PBS programming, Dwyer has been a champion of international content — dramas, comedies, mysteries and documentaries — on KQED Public Television. Another signature of his work at KQED has been his deep involvement with and advocacy for independent film. He is the executive producer for KQED’s national independent film series Film School Shorts and the local series ImageMakers and Truly CA. KQED Public Television currently schedules more independent film on air than any other station nationally.

Scott Dwyer has worked in public broadcasting for the past 34 years.  Prior to his work at KQED, he worked at WHA-TV in Madison, Wisconsin. He has served on national program funding/selection panels for Latino Public Broadcasting, Center for Asian American Media, Pacific Islanders in Communication, ITVS, and the two national PBS documentary series POV and Independent Lens.  Scott has also served on programmer panels for Jim Henson Studios, Sesame Street and Martha Stewart.  For the past 10 years, he has selected the classic movies that are offered in syndication by APT. He has also attended and served on numerous panels and juries at international short film festivals: Palm Springs (USA), Aspen (USA), Clermont Ferrand (France), Toronto Worldwide (Canada), Cinema Jove (Spain) and Hamburg (Germany).

Susie Hernandez has worked in public media for over 20 years and has been with KQED since May 2013. She was the TV Program Director at Arizona Public Media in Tucson and was the Executive Producer of the student-produced multi-platform series, UA+. Previously, she worked at the Independent Television Service (ITVS) as Director of Broadcast, working with independent producers and PBS on national series like Independent Lens and POV. Susie serves on PBS’s Programming Advisory Council (PAC) and The Arts Coalition, and is a panelist and reader for broadcast, internet first and mobile projects on behalf of public TV organizations.

ABOUT KQED PUBLIC TELEVISION
KQED Public Television, the PBS affiliate that serves Northern California, is one of the country’s most popular public television stations. It brings the values of public media to homes around the Bay Area with Emmy Award–winning programming that inspires, informs and entertains, including Downton Abbey and Sherlock Holmes from MASTERPIECE, Antiques Roadshow, American Masters, Great Performances, NOVA and Nature. KQED Public Television produces local series like Check, Please! Bay AreaKQED Newsroom, San Francisco Opera, Truly CA and ImageMakers as well as popular programs for national broadcast such as Jacques Pépin: Heart & Soul and Film School Shorts. For more information, please visit kqed.org/tv.

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