Happy Birthday, Nine PBS!
Thanks to St. Louisans, our members, donors, and viewers, Nine PBS has served our region over the last 70 years as a storyteller and trusted partner. We connect our community through compelling national programs, inspiring local stories, and engaging initiatives that help our region flourish. And we look forward to serving St. Louis and continuing to play a key role in building our community’s future for all.
We approach this 70th year with a lot of excitement planned, all in celebration of our essential role in moving the region forward. Join us!
VIDEOS
Nine PBS Photo Gallery
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At 9:00 pm on September 20, 1954, KETC goes on the air for the very first time.
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The founders of KETC in 1954.
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1961 – Henry F. Chadeayne (L), Channel 9’s sixth executive director, and Bill James, president of Bill James Chevrolet and a member of the St. Louis Educational Television Commission, launch KETC’s first fundraising drive.
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1960s - Volunteers at an early pledge event.
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1971 – Sesame Street’s Bob McGrath visited letters K, E, T, and C from Channel 9’s series The Letter People when he taped a segment for another KETC series, Get Together.
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1970s – Muppet creator Jim Henson (L) visits King Hall, the head puppeteer and set designer of Channel 9’s series The Letter People.
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1976 – Comedian Steve Martin hosts Happy New Year Extravaganza live from Channel 9’s studio.
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1984 - Channel 9 celebrated its 30th anniversary with a 24-foot-long cake in the studio decorated with St. Louis scenes.
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1984 – First Lady Nancy Reagan meets Michael Hardgrove, Channel 9’s 11th general manager, on a visit to the station to personally congratulate staff members on their success with The Chemical People outreach project.
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1988 – Staff in front of the Millbrook studio, where Channel 9 lived from 1954-1997.
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1990s – Donnybrook cast members (L-R) Ray Hartmann, Mark Vittert, Martin Duggan, Bill McClellan, and Anne Keefe.
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1990s – Bob Zanweh (L) and Wade Hewitt pick their way across what will become the roadbed of the Clark Bridge at Alton. They were on location for The Making of NOVA’s Super Bridge, a nationally distributed production originally broadcast in November 1997.
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In 1998, Channel 9 moved into its new building at 3655 Olive Street.
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2001 - St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner and Sesame Street’s Ernie kick off Channel 9’s KETC Cares for Kids awareness and fundraising campaign.
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2002- (L-R) Jim Kircherr, Anne-Marie Berger, and Alvin Reid with their Emmy Award for the series In the Loop.
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2004 – Living St. Louis producers (L-R) Patrick Murphy, Anne-Marie Berger, Margie Newman, Jim Kirchherr, Jennifer Roller, and Ruth Ezell.
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Pledge host Will Shaw shares the spotlight with a vintage Cadillac Eldorado in a break during a doo wop music special in September 2006
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2007 - Mr. McFeely from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood entertains some of the 30,000 attendees at Arthur’s Picnic in the Park at Forest Park.
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At the seventh Donnybash in August 2009, the Donnybrook panelists make “polite conversation” onstage at The Sheldon Concert Hall during a special, hour-long live broadcast of the program.
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September 13, 2014 – Attendees at the grand opening of the Public Media Commons mingle while live footage of the band The Reverbs is fed directly from the stage to the screens.
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In June 2016, Channel 9 hosted the first Storytime in the Commons, featuring special guest Clifford.
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Nine PBS celebrated their 63-year anniversary as well as the 50-year anniversary of the Public Broadcasting Act with a Pioneer Spirit gala on September 9, 2017. Special guests included Tastemakers host Cat Neville and filmmaker Ken Burns.
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Nature Cat interacts with a young guest at the St. Louis Arch for Kids to Parks Day, May 18, 2019.
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Nine PBS staff and volunteers distribute educational Playtime Pads to families at Hancock Place Elementary School May 27, 2020.
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Nine PBS volunteers at a Midsummer Celebration in the Public Media Commons on June 24, 2022.
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Paula Kerger, PBS president and CEO (R), with Amy Shaw, Nine PBS president and CEO, on a visit to St. Louis in October 2022.
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2023 – Living St. Louis producer Brooke Butler with guests Tatum Polk (L) and Young Dip (R), founders of the St. Louis holiday 314 Day.
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2024 – The Community Gospel Choir of St. Louis performs live at Nine PBS for the screening of Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s docuseries GOSPEL.
