Kansas City PBS CEO, Kliff Kuehl
Kliff Kuehl graduated with honors from the University of Texas. He worked as a film and video producer, becoming a production supervisor and operations manager before becoming president and chief executive officer of KWBU-TV and KWBU-FM.
From December 2004 through March 2009, Kuehl served as the president and CEO of KNPB-TV, public television for northern Nevada. In that time, he helped the KNPB team wrap up a $6.25 million capital campaign, assisted in tripling the number of major donors, and helped to secure a $1 million in-kind donation.
Kuehl joined Kansas City PBS in April 2009. His vision for the station is to transform public media as a better and more sustainable service. In an era of declining local coverage by newspapers and commercial television, he wants Kansas City PBS to bridge the gap by growing its local content services. The Hale Center for Journalism at Kansas City PBS opened November 2013 and is a multimedia center for journalism that distributes local content through a variety of “channels,” including public television, public radio, social media and Kansas City PBS's digital magazine flatlandkc.org. Its goal is to cover the issues and stories of the Kansas City region in a comprehensive, in-depth and innovative way. The Hale Center was an effort between Kuehl and the PBS Foundation to secure $3 million for local news content creation, and $1 million for the PBS Foundation.
In December 2013, the University of Central Missouri transferred ownership of KTBG 90.9 FM (The Bridge) to Kansas City PBS. Kuehl’s vision for radio is to connect listeners to the local arts scene and inspire them to become more involved in the community, as well as to serve as a platform for local musicians.
Kuehl stays engaged on the national level with his membership on several boards — PBS National Board, APTS (America's Public Television Stations) and NETA (National Educational Telecommunications Association).
Episode 3--Kliff Kuehl by Kansas City's Advertising Podcast
Kliff is the CEO of KCPT in Kansas City. For the last 9 years he has been on the forefront of all that KCPT has done. From developing new, innovative ways to reach views to growing listenership on all of their formats, Kliff is there.
Kliff Kuehl | Board of Directors | PBS About
Kuehl stays engaged on the national level with his membership on several boards - PBS National Board, Greater Public, APTS, and NETA. Mr. Kuehl is Vice Chair of the PBS National Policy Advisory Committee and serves on the Station Services and Corporate Support Advisory committees and on the Working Group on Unserved Areas.
KCPT CEO Kliff Kuehl: Public broadcasting enriches and unifies our culture
In its proposed 2018 budget, the White House eliminates funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Naturally, this is disheartening to those of us at KCPT, Kansas City PBS, which relies in part on money from the 50-year-old, federally chartered nonprofit corporation.
PBS Shifts Tactics to Reach Wider Audience
This fall, PBS embarked on a marketing blitz to promote Ken Burns's "Prohibition" documentary miniseries, including a joint round-table discussion with Mr. Burns and the creators of HBO's drama "Boardwalk Empire," which takes place during the Prohibition era. An aggressive promotional campaign helped "Downton Abbey" win six Emmy Awards, including best mini-series or movie, away from competitors on HBO and Starz.
Asset Manager
Kliff Kuehl is one fired-up CEO. As head of KCPT, Kansas City Public Television, he's responsible for engaging not just the loyal audience that tunes in to watch quality programming each week but also the community at large.
