2000 to Present KQED History

2000

Digital West premieres and explores the ongoing revolution in technology. In May, KQED-TV enters the digital age by broadcasting a high definition television (HDTV) signal on channel 30. KQED-FM launches Pacific Time with Nguyen Qui Duc and focuses on the connections between the Bay Area and the Pacific Rim. KQED receives the largest ever bequest in its history for $8 million from Dora Donner Ida. The top rated shows for the year are Antiques Roadshow, Moyers on Death and Dying, and American Experience: Eleanor Roosevelt.

2001

KQED launches its Campaign for the Future to fund conversion to digital technologies and support innovative TV and radio programming. The goal is $70 million. KQED-FM's Forum is carried nationwide on the Sirius satellite network. KQED-TV broadcasts the first locally produced HDTV show, Sin, Fire and Gold!, about the history of San Francisco. KQED-TV also produces Beautiful Bay Area III (HDTV), The Fillmore, Jacques Pepin Celebrates!, and The Making of Dead Man Walking. Digital West is morphed into Springboard. The top rated TV show is Jazz. KQED bids farewell to Jon Rice, one of its founders. Fred Rogers hangs up his sweater (and donates it to the Smithsonian). KQED-FM erects a repeating transmitter in Santa Rosa. KQED-FM is most listened to in the country with 568,000 listeners. The top-rated FM shows are Morning Edition, Car Talk and All Things Considered. KQED wins an Emmy for community service.

2002

Now with Bill Moyers premieres. KQED-TV goes satellite on DirecTV and Echostar. Julia Child turns 90. KQED-TV produces Lonely Island: Hidden Alcatraz. Belva Davis, host of This Week in Northern California, throws out the first pitch at a Giants game (the Giants lost). California Connected is launched by the major California PBS affiliates. KQED-FM starts sending its signal out over the Internet and is picked up in places like Seoul, Korea and Hamburg, Germany. FRONTLINE/World, produced jointly at KQED, premieres. The best-rated TV shows are Mark Twain, Mystery! Skywalkers, Frontier House and Nova: Why the Towers Fell. The highest rated FM shows are Morning Edition, Car Talk, and Weekend Edition. Mary Bitterman leaves after an eventful 8 years. In August, Jeff Clarke takes over the helm of KQED. KQED wins a prime time Emmy for Sweeney Todd.

2003

KQED-TV begins production of Spark, a series on the Bay Area arts scene. KQED's Web site becomes the third media platform for KQED. KQED-FM's Forum celebrates 15 years on the air. Michael Krasny has been behind the microphone for the last 10 years. KQED-TV produces Big Band Magic!, about the relationship between Big Band music and the Bay Area. In May, KQED-FM comes to the Sacramento valley and starts broadcasting over KQEI-FM 89.3. KQED produces Othello in conjunction with Dance in America and the San Francisco Ballet. Imagemakers, a KQED production about the independent filmmaking community, premieres. KQED hits a rough patch of road financially -- there are some staff reductions and working hours are trimmed. KQED-TV takes advantage of the latest HDTV technology and launches five new digital channels: KQED HD, KQED Encore, KQED World, KQED Life, and KQED Kids.

2004

KQED celebrates its 50th anniversary! KQED completes the largest fund-raising endeavor in its history, The Campaign for the Future, which surpasses its goal of raising $70 million in pledges, gifts and in-kind contributions. Launched in response to the unfunded federal mandate to convert television broadcast technology from analog to digital format, the Campaign supports three initiatives: the Program Venture Fund, the Infrastructure Fund and the Digital Conversion Fund, which enabled the creation of KQED's five new digital television channels in 2003. KQED Public Broadcasting produces Election 2004, a series of four live, one-hour multimedia specials that will explore key presidential election issues relevant to the lives of Northern Californians. For television, KQED produces two new national cooking series: Jacques Pepin: Fast Food My Way, and Joanne Weir's Weir Cooking in the City. Julia Child passes away. KQED also produces Coastal Clash, a Northern California Emmy Award-winning program on California's coastal conflicts.

2005

KQED Interactive receives three nominations for the 9th Annual Webby Awards. The nominations are for KQED.org's You Decide in the category of Politics, and FRONTLINE/World for both News and Best Practices categories. KQED Public Radio announces that it has begun transmitting its all news and information service in HD-Radio via its two new digital transmitters at 88.5 FM in San Francisco and 89.3 FM in Sacramento. KQED Public Television offers several new local specials. Taking a close look at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is a new documentary, Most Beautiful Building; Most Controversial Court. Not in Our Town, produced by KQED and The Working Group, profiles communities taking action against hate. KQED kicks off a new era of local production, representing the station's commitment to offering unique local content with two weekly series: The Josh Kornbluth Show, a lively, offbeat, interview program, and Check, Please! Bay Area, a new series featuring ordinary diners reviewing local restaurants. KQED Public Television, Bay Area Video Coalition and Film Arts Foundation form a partnership to support independent filmmakers through a new documentary series, TRULY CA: Our State, Our Stories.

2006

KQED, Inc and the KTEH Foundation merge to create Northern California Public Broadcasting (NCPB), in a significant move to consolidate the strengths of public broadcasting in the Bay Area. NCPB becomes the most-watched public television broadcaster and the second most-listened-to public radio broadcaster in the country. Through this merger, NCPB offers an integrated breadth of service to the communities of the Bay Area that have previously been underserved. Additionally, NCPB ensures viewers of high-quality public broadcasting choices that meet their particular needs. KQED launches the new initiative, Immigration in Focus, an 18 month-long multimedia collection of thought-provoking programs, special reports and events about the complex issues surrounding immigration in the Bay Area. Marking the return of the first family of underwater exploration to public television, Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Futures Society and KQED produce a new series, Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures. The first documentary in this series, Voyage to Kure, contributes to President Bush's decision to name the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a national monument.

2007

KQED starts the year with the national production China from the Inside. It quickly becomes one of the best-selling DVDs on PBS Home Video. The largest multiple-media content offering in KQED's history, QUEST premieres on KQED. The local science, environment, and nature project includes a half-hour weekly HD television program, weekly radio segments, an innovative website and unique education guides. With the production of QUEST, KQED completes its Local Strip. KQED celebrates a landmark achievement as the only local station to produce a different local series in stunning High-Definition television (HDTV) every weeknight. Beginning with the successful 19th season of This Week in Northern California to the more recent series Spark, The Josh Kornbluth Show, Check, Please! Bay Area, and this year's premiere of QUEST, KQED-produced content has achieved a milestone: 10% of its television schedule. KQED and KTEH also produce three new documentaries to accompany Ken Burns's series The War. KQED and Comcast launch V-me (pronounced veh-meh), a new network with dynamic programming that engages, entertains, and empowers Latino families throughout the Bay Area. Pacific Time, KQED Public Radio's long-running program on Asian and Asian American stories, hosted by Nguyen Qui Duc and Oanh Ha, goes off the air. KQED makes environmental history as the only public broadcaster in the country to be carbon neutral.