KNPB Channel 5 Public Broadcasting Service

I’m a Member of KNPB and I’m proud to say I’ve been watching and enjoying the programs provided by this great station since it started in 1983. KNPB was the first TV station in Northern Nevada to begin broadcasting a digital signal, as well as the first to broadcast in HD. Additionally, KNPB was among the first to begin offering online video and audio content free of charge (via their website) to the broader Internet audience.
KNPB’s local programming is remarkably good for a PBS station in a market of Reno’s size. Their comprehensive coverage of the recent Nevada legislative session (on both TV and via the
website) ran circles around the network affiliates. In fact, on more than one occasion the other local «journalists» quoted and copied content from KNPB/​KUNR resources!
In addition to the television programming, KNPB partners with a lot of great educational & community outreach programs, as well as working to help sponsor local arts & cultural events. The station’s current tagline, «Connecting Our Community,» does a good job of summing up all the positive things this non-​profit organization does for Northern Nevada.
Unlike some reviewers, I really appreciate all that KNPB does for our community. The GED and other adult education programs that are run late at night are part of a partnership program with local adult education services, helping the disadvantaged working poor gain the tools they need to better their station in life. KNPB’s broadcast facility includes a «Community Room» that is home to public screenings of shows & films, as well as being available for public use. Service organizations like the Lion’s Club make use of this facility for its youth-​oriented programs.
KNPB carries all the best of PBS programming; it’s really the only reason I still have an antenna hooked up to my television (I weaned myself from cable TV a few years ago). If you have a functioning brain and want real news, thought-​provoking educational content and the best children’s programming available, KNPB is a win-​win-​win. KNPB’s signal is now seen throughout Northern Nevada, parts of California, and even extends a bit into Idaho, providing rural communities with unparalleled access to programming they wouldn’t otherwise be able to view.
Now, as a PBS affiliate, KNPB does have to do the usual rounds of fundraising throughout the year. It does no more (or less) of this than any other PBS station, so when I see someone complain about fund raising on a public television station … clearly they aren’t a Member. Or maybe they just don’t understand how important public financial support is for public television! Less than 25% of KNPB’s operating budget comes from Federal funds; all the rest is raised from business/​non-​profit underwriters and the community viewership.
I can understand how some pledge programs may not be to everyone’s liking; there are a few that aren’t my cup of tea, but I understand why they’re shown. Pledge programs are chosen based on viewer response., i.e., if a certain number of viewers pledge support and become Members by donating to KNPB during a particular program, that program (and others like it) will be scheduled more often in order to reflect that «popular vote». Not everyone’s going to like the pledge programming, but those that do are the folks that help pay for everything else KNPB provides.
I, for one, am thankful that Reno has such a great resource available to the public.

Our local PBS deserves a 3.5, so I’m reluctantly rounding up.
In no particular order I’m a fan of:
Charlie Rose,
Frontline,
Masterpiece theater,
Nova,
Nature
The Jim Lehr Newshour
The Business Report
Washington Week
& Wall Street Week In Review
I like some of the concerts, operas and unusual performances, such as those of Victor Borge. However, as the years roll on, there’s less classical music than ever. Classical music performances are hard to find in Reno. PBS should deliver more of these.
Now we get all kinds of self-​help, «love thyself» programs. WTF? It’s like a damn infomercial. And certain talk show hosts are just lame.
The Lawrence Welk hour can take a hike too.
I watch The World News sometimes, but what ever happened to the BBC News?
This station seems to fund raise every month or two. During the fundraising the station becomes nearly unwatchable. Don’t my cable fees contribute anything to running PBS? Must fundraising efforts be so prevalent and obnoxious? Also, why not have more auctions, which can at least be fun.
I have bought things from their auctions and would be inclined to buy more, except that during the past decade PBS has been undergoing a long process of dumbing down.
Somewhere along the line, our PBS station determined it should cater to highschool drop out moms and gangbangers who never learned the 3-​Rs. Perhaps I’m coldhearted, but I’m sick and tired of the growing number of PBS programs aimed at this group.
I don’t watch PBS to learn how to apply for a job, make a resume, or other rudimentary skills such as basic math skills we all should have learned by the 6^th grade. Besides, you can find all of this and more on YouTube.
According to PBS, all welfare recipients are just the swellest people on earth. None of them have done anything wrong or made any bad decisions, like getting addicted to crack or meth, that were responsible for their current situation!
For obnoxious fundraising, dumbed down programming, and for refusing to acknowledge that I and everyone else don’t owe a living to the area’s crackheads, PBS has lost a significant portion of it’s former luster.