about us

WQED MULTIMEDIA:
A LOCAL COMMUNITY ASSET SINCE 1954

WQED Multimedia creates, produces and distributes quality programs, products and services to engage, inform, educate and entertain the public within its community and around the world. It is the parent company of WQED-TV (PBS); WQED: The Neighborhood Channel; WQED: The Create Channel; WQED: Showcase Channel; Classical WQED-FM 89.3/Pittsburgh; WQEJ-FM 89.7/Johnstown; local and national television and radio productions; WQED Interactive (www.wqed.org); and the WQED Education Department.

Over the years, WQED has been honored with 60 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards (including 2 for Station Excellence); 61 national Emmy Awards; an Academy Award; 10 Peabody Awards; 5 Dupont/Columbia batons; 10 Gabriel Awards; 27 CINE Golden Eagle awards; an Edward R. Murrow Award; 81 Golden Quill Awards; 22 PAB (Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters) Awards; and 11 Telly Awards.

WQED was the nation's first community-supported television station and went on the air on April 1, 1954. WQEX-TV signed on in 1959 to provide televised classroom instruction to the region's schools. In 1973, Classical WQED-FM 89.3 was founded as the region's only 24-hour classical radio station and Pittsburgh Magazine evolved from a program guide called QED Renaissance to a full-fledged city magazine. Pittsburgh Magazine was sold to Weisner Media in May 2009 so that WQED could concentrate on its core educational mission through television, radio, and the Internet.

Throughout its history, WQED has partnered with hundreds of local community organizations toward improvements in education; arts and culture; community health; economics; and important local issues through its form of civic journalism. These partnerships are a hallmark of WQED's mission and are an important part of its daily activities. As the only community-owned media in the region, WQED is a convener, a central gathering place, and an amplifier for other local non-profit organizations.

From local and national programming that exports Pittsburgh to the world to teacher training sessions and school visits to promote literacy, WQED reaches every facet of life in southwestern Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, and western Maryland. No other local media can match WQED's footprint or impact.

WQED exports the region nationally with projects like The War That Made America, a four part historical documentary on the French and Indian War that aired nationwide on PBS in 2006; national cooking shows with Chris Fennimore; the Doo Wop music franchise; weekly national radio broadcasts of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and a continuing series of local and national documentaries by Emmy Award-winning producer Rick Sebak.

Classical WQED-FM 89.3 has been celebrating the region's rich cultural life since 1973. WQED-FM broadcasts from the Carolyn M. Byham Studio in Pittsburgh's Cultural District and from the Bayer Center for the Arts in Oakland with classical music, hourly NPR news updates, Pittsburgh weather forecasts, and over 200 Bayer Arts Magazine feature interviews annually, as well as Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion.

WQED Interactive at www.wqed.org is WQED's media portal to the world. From this portal, members, viewers, listeners, educators and the whole community can access all things WQED.

WQED Interactive is a two-way conversation between WQED and its audience and is much more than just a website. The site is rich with content and includes television schedules and radio play lists; live streaming of WQED-FM; a community arts and culture calendar; blogs from WQED personalities; an On Demand feature with more than 1,500 hours of local and national programming; community pages; the WQED Press Room; WQED affinity clubs; education initiatives; surveys; and a site for audience suggestions for programming and stories. WQED Interactive is a source for WQED programming with links to PBS, NPR, BBC World News, Twitter, Facebook and You Tube.

WQED's Service to the Community

WQED's services are free to the people. All people. Just like libraries. No admission is required, no dues are collected, no tickets are sold.

Imagine a world without twelve hours a day of free educational programming for kids. These are programs that teach children instead of peddling merchandise. Imagine Pittsburgh without Nova or Frontline, or without Mister Rogers or Elmo. Imagine Pittsburgh without classical music or performances from local arts and culture organizations.

The brilliance of the public service media model is that WQED does much more than air programming – we leverage the educational value of that programming and take it out to the community to educate, engage and inform through real world learning.

iQ: smartmedia is our strategy for education to capitalize on what kids have inside of them and to capture that potential. Around it revolves all of WQED's educational goals and objectives: to provide new tools and models, thought leadership, research, and training on the intersection of media and learning to prepare our children for a competitive world. We provide content for science and technology; literacy; global cultures and connections; expression; social and community responsibility; numeracy; and behavioral wellness.

For children and teens, WQED offers more than 60 hours a week of programming and online resources free of charge to the entire community regardless of socio-economic status. We offer media literacy and digital fluency through our "Ready to Learn" initiative that speaks to early childhood science, literacy and arts.

For parents, we offer the Raising Readers initiative to impart the magic of the printed word, PBS Kids Island to teach reading skills, the PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest to enhance creativity through writing and illustration, and Library Corners for an interactive learning experience in area libraries.

Through WQED, educators have access to PBS Teachers' Domain online with free digital media for the classroom and professional development; Design Lives Here to promote learning about engineering through interactive teaching, mentoring and challenging activities; social media for teachers on WQED Interactive; and an online resource through Get Curious Pittsburgh.

WQED and public broadcasting stations nationwide are America's largest classroom, providing educational content that is available to all of America's children, including those who can't attend preschool. Research shows children gain valuable skills through our programs, including measurable improvement in literacy scores, and children who watch Sesame Street obtain higher grades in English, math, and science.

There is a difference between WQED and commercial media. In commercial broadcasting, the relationship is between the broadcaster and the advertisers, with the deliverable being the audience (number of eyeballs to the screen). In public broadcasting, the relationship is between the broadcaster and the audience. We represent the community and air programs that educate, inform, and engage our audience.

Public broadcasting is a public/private partnership that has served the community well. Non-commercial public service media started in Pittsburgh with Fred Rogers and WQED in 1954, and it continues and flourishes as an educational service to this city and the four-state area we serve – free of commercial influence and as an educational voice for our community.

Some WQED Initiatives

WQED Productions
In 2010, WQED launched a new local programming lineup beginning November 1. The lineup includes a series of five new programs each weeknight at 7:30pm and the kick off to the second season of Filmmakers Corner Saturday evenings at 10pm. The new programs are the result of extensive research and feedback from our audience, the community at large, Community Advisory Board; WQED producers and staff; funders; and Board of Directors.
Below is WQED's new local programming lineup:

EXPERIENCE – MONDAYS AT 7:30 PM
Visit online at:www.wqed.org/experience
Find Experience on Facebook
Experience is a documentary style program with a regional focus on a single subject each week. It is shot on location and produced to tell a story. Topics might include—a focus on a particular neighborhood (what's unique about it, businesses, people and amenities that distinguish the community), a story of medical advances told through the experience of a patient and his/her personal relationship with the physician, or stories detailing the experiences of mountain climbers and why they do it.

HORIZONS – TUESDAYS AT 7:30 PM
Visit us online at: www.wqed.org/horizons
Find Horizons on Facebook
Following in the longstanding tradition of Black Horizons which focused on the African American community, Horizons is a more contemporary offering. The show recognizes and celebrates the many facets of our diverse community. Through studio interviews and on-location stories, we will share many ethnic customs, challenges and celebrations. Horizons will talk about new immigrants, matters of diversity and inclusion for all ethnicities, genders and lifestyles. Hosted by Chris Moore.

IT'S PITTSBURGH…AND A LOT OF OTHER STUFF – WEDNESDAYS AT 7:30 PM
Visit us online at: www.wqed.org/its-pittsburgh
Find It's Pittsburgh on Facebook
On Wednesdays Rick Sebak brings his fans a new weekly program for the first time. It's Pittsburgh…and a lot of other stuff will feature a variety of stories about the history and charms of the Pittsburgh area and the tri-state region. It will include new stories about our city's surprises, as well as Rick's take on aspects of local culture, organizations, individuals and quirky details that distinguish this part of the world. It will highlight some of the joys of living around here, focusing on factors that make this an endlessly fascinating and surprising place to live.

PITTSBURGH 360°- THURSDAYS AT 7:30 PM
Visit us online at: www.wqed.org/pittsburgh360
Find Pittsburgh 360° on Facebook
Pittsburgh 360 is a full circle look at our region and the stories that capture who we are as a community. With a focus on arts and entertainment, education, health, technology and civic issues, Pittsburgh 360 will create an interactive dialogue with viewers. 360 will have an active online presence where viewers may find a survey or a chat space. This show will be shot both on location and in the WQED studios. Hosted by Michael Bartley and Tonia Caruso.

4802 – FRIDAYS AT 7:30 PM
Visit us online at: www.wqed.org/4802
Find 4802 on Facebook
4802 makes WQED's Fifth Avenue address the central point for a lively conversation about the events making the news of the week. Hosts will moderate a panel of guest journalists to talk about what's in the news. Each week, guests will be different: perhaps a writer from a local or regional newspaper, a reporter from television, a news manager from radio, or a local blogger. 4802 will feature their photographs and video clips along with their opinions on the stories making news in our region and around the world. Hosted in rotation by Chris Moore, Michael Bartley and Tonia Caruso.

FILMMAKERS CORNER – SATURDAYS AT 10:00PM
Visit us online at: www.wqed.org/filmmakers
Find Filmmakers Corner on Facebook
Returning for a second season and rounding out WQED's local programming lineup is Filmmakers Corner, an hour-long showcase of independent films by local producers. Each week, a new independent film will be showcased that include interviews with the producers to provide background on each documentary. Hosted by Minette Seate.

Programming for Children and Families
WQED continues its long commitment to children and families, providing nine hours every weekday and six hours every weekend, of high quality children's programs and series.

Pittsburgh History Series Programs With Rick Sebak
For 20 years now, WQED and Senior Producer Rick Sebak have been reminding people in and around Pittsburgh (as well as across the country) about how historic, fascinating, beautiful, unique and fun Southwestern Pennsylvania is, with high impact documentaries that celebrate the region, pointing out enticing places, historic sites, wonderful architecture, and good food, all the while talking to the people who live and work here. PBS has been broadcasting selected programs from this series to national audiences since 1999.

Telling America's Stories
Based on its tradition of telling Pittsburgh's stories, WQED has developed a set of national production initiatives under the umbrella of Telling America's Stories. Within this initiative are: Chris Fennimore's America's Home Cooking; The American Soundtrack Concert Series; and Rick Sebak's All-American scrapbook documentaries. And now, with The War That Made America, our growing local production capability has taken us one step toward regaining the prominence WQED and Pittsburgh once enjoyed as a national programming force.

QED Cooks
WQED's local cooking marathons and spin-off weekly series over the last five years have generated more than 48,000 new members for WQED and contributed well over $3,000,000 in pledge dollars. The program's whole process of transforming participation into programming is an invaluable paradigm of public television's role in the local community. PBS has also seen the national impact of these programs and has been broadcasting them to a national audience since 2001.

Mission Statement:
WQED Multimedia creates and distributes quality products and services to engage, inform, educate and entertain the public within its community and around the world.