Annual Report 2019

The Great American Read, which premiered in September, was an interactive PBS television and web series designed to spark conversation about books. Participants from all across the country came together online to read, discuss, and vote for their favorites. In support of this exciting initiative, KCTS 9 invited community members to Novels & Notables, a special event featuring iconic librarian Nancy Pearl, who led a lively conversation about books with three local celebrities. Approximately 300 guests came to enjoy the evening with Pearl and chef Tom Douglas, Seattle Mariners’ announcer Dave Sims, and Like a Mother author Angela Garbes.

This year, during Native American Heritage Month in November, KCTS 9 premiered Native America, a four-part documentary series from PBS focused on the lives and culture of America’s First Peoples. Reaching back 15,000 years, the series explored massive cities aligned to the stars, unique systems of science and spirituality, and 100 million people connected by social networks spanning two continents.

In conjunction with the release of this fascinating series, KCTS 9 and Crosscut produced a series of short films focused on Native Americans in our region. Our local series included stories about a young Native actor grappling with racial stereotypes; descendants of people who fought on both sides of the Yakama War; a Seattle preschool program that integrates Indigenous knowledge and practices; a local performing arts program for Native teens; and a summary of resources for learning more about the many unique Native tribes in Washington state.

Crosscut Now is a series of short news segments that highlight some of the in-depth stories published by Crosscut each week. Broadcast on KCTS 9 between regular programming, Crosscut Now provides an additional platform for our growing newsroom, encouraging KCTS 9 viewers to engage with the exceptional local and regional journalism available on Crosscut.com.

Mossback’s Northwest is one of our most popular local series, and the audience continues to grow as people in our region discover Knute “Mossback” Berger and his fascinating stories about the history and culture of Seattle. In each episode, Berger mines a particular historical nugget, sharing its hidden backstory and revealing why it’s still relevant today. This year, Mossback explored everything from shipwrecks to hockey teams, confederate spies, transgender cowboys, coal miners, mayors, Dutch babies, dinosaurs and more.

During the 2018 elections, Crosscut provided live coverage of congressional debates, as well as interviews and stories about the candidates and issues. Throughout the election season, Crosscut covered issues like homelessness, the head tax, police use of force, carbon fees, gun initiatives, LGBTQ rights, and much more. We also produced an election newsletter that provided clear, unbiased information to help readers make informed choices. Crosscut pollster Stuart Elway conducted several polls of Washington state voters, revealing our attitudes about the candidates, political parties and the economy.

Kuya Geo, also known as George Quibuyen, is the host of this KCTS 9 video series, in which Geo offers his unique take on identity, music, food and urban culture — often from a Filipino American point of view. Raised largely in the Puget Sound area, Geo is co-founder of the hip hop duo Blue Scholars, a writer, musician, rhymer and restaurateur, and a first-generation Filipino American. As explained in the series premiere, “Kuya” is a Filipino term of respect for a brother or cousin from whom one is likely to receive wisdom. This year’s program topics included everything from the “zigs and zags” of immigrant identity to Geo’s “rhymes and rants” about driving in Seattle.