Inside OPB
Helping You — And All Our Communities — Make the Digital TV Switch
As you may have heard, television is going digital. And we're committed to ensuring that everyone in our community has access to all the programs and resources available from digital OPB TV.
OPB is a window on the world to people who live here in the Northwest. We're thrilled about the many new ways we'll be able to serve Oregonians in the digital television age — from better pictures and sound to more channels and programming choices. And it's all still free when you watch over the air with rabbit ears or an antenna.
Though the switch to digital television involves just a few easy and inexpensive steps, some of our viewers may be unsure about what to do. That's why our Member Center staff is here to help. Call us with your questions at 1.800.241.8123. E-mail us through our online form. Sign up for our digital help list to receive updates and tip sheets. Or simply click here to access all of our digital TV resources online.
And please help us spread the word about digital TV. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Tell your neighbors. Make sure everyone you know continues to enjoy the benefits of OPB TV.
Steven M. Bass
President and CEO
Sign up for OPB's digital TV help list
Call the OPB Member Center with your questions at 1.800.241.8123.
Our Mission
Oregon Public Broadcasting: giving voice to the community, connecting Oregon and its neighbors, illuminating a wider world.
OPB Management
- Steve Bass
- President & CEO —
- Jeff Douglas
- Senior VP & Station Manager —
- Dan Metziga
- Senior VP, Development —
- Lynne Clendenin
- VP, Radio Programming —
- Dave Davis
- VP, National TV Production —
- Tom Doggett
- VP, TV Programming —
- Jan Heskiss
- Chief Financial Officer —
- Morgan Holm
- VP, News and Public Affairs —
- Don McKay
- VP, Engineering —
- Lynne Pollard
- VP, Interactive Services —
- Debbie Rotich
- VP, HR and Administration —
- Tara Taylor
- VP, Marketing & Planning —
OPB Board of Directors
- Chair
- Sherwin Davidson
- Vice Chair
- Andrew Franklin
- Secretary/Treasurer
- Linda Hoffman
- Board Members
- Mary Bryant
- Julie Strasser Dixon
- Leda Garside
- Geoff Guilfoy
- Tinker Hatfield
- Dian Hilliard
- Jim Huston
- Jodie Hueske
- Mary Jaffe
- Sydney Joyner
- Henry Lorenzen
- Keith Mobley
- Mary Ann Moore
- Mitchell Moore
- Peter Schenck
- Elizabeth Schwartz
- Kay Toran
- Douglas Tunnell
- Tony Van Vliet
- Ex-Officio
- Steven M. Bass
- CAB Chair
- Tom Hampson
- OPB Board Liaison
- Brenda Barton —
Board of Directors Meeting Schedule
All meetings are open to the public and held at OPB unless otherwise noted. The schedule below is subject to change. Please to confirm meeting times and dates or to get more information.
- March 2007
- March 6, Tuesday: Board Meeting, 1:30-3:30pm (Appy Room)
- June 2007
- June 5, Tuesday: Board Meeting, 1:30-3:30pm (Appy Room)
- September 2007
- September 11-12, Tuesday-Wednesday: Board Retreat, TBD
- December 2007
- December 4, Tuesday: Board Meeting, 1:30-3:30pm (Appy Room)
- March 2008
- March 4, Tuesday: Board Meeting, 1:30-3:30pm(Appy Room)
- June 2008
- June 3, Tuesday: Board Meeting, 1:30-3:30pm (Appy Room)
- September 2008
- September 9-10, Tuesday-Wednesday: Board Retreat, TBD
- December 2008
- December 2, Tuesday: Board Meeting, 1:30-3:30pm (Appy Room)
Milestones in OPB History
- 1922
- KFDJ-AM radio is created as part of a physics experiment at Oregon Agricultural College, now Oregon State University, in Corvallis.
- 1930s
- KFDJ becomes KOAC, with studios in Covell Hall at Oregon State University. Studios at Covell are still used.
- 1957
- OPB’s first television station, KOAC-TV, goes on the air.
- Early 1960s
- Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. transfers ownership of its FM frequency to OPB and KOAP-FM (now KOPB) begins broadcasting.
- 1979
- The Oregon Commission on Public Broadcasting is established. In 1981 OPB leaves the Department of Higher Education and becomes an independent state agency.
- 1988
- Oregon Field Guide begins production.
- 1989
- OPB moves into its new facility on SW Macadam Avenue after its successful building campaign.
- Oregon Considered, OPB's own Pacific Northwest news magazine, is first broadcast.
- Early 1990s
- Membership exceeds 100,000.
- 1993
- OPB becomes a private, nonprofit corporation with ongoing financial support from the State of Oregon.
- 1997
- OPB Radio's program format is refined to include more news and information.
- OPB installs Oregon’s first digital transmitter, taking a critical first step in the digital television transition.
- 2000
- Oregon Art Beat begins production.
- OPB loses all state funding.
- 2002
- OPB's World of Learning Digital Campaign raises $22 million.
- 2003
- History Detectives season 1 premiered for PBS.
- 2005
- OPB brings StoryCorps -- a national project inspiring Americans to record one another's stories in sound -- to Portland. Local residents visit the mobile StoryBooth to share their stories for broadcast on OPB Radio and preservation at the Library of Congress.
- 2006
- Oregon Experience, OPB's local television series exploring key people, places and events in our state's history, premieres.
- OPB, FRONTLINE and the Oregonian join forces to examine the methamphetamine epidemic through television specials (FRONTLINE: The Meth Epidemic, Meth: The Oregon Front), radio programs and online resources.
- 2007
- OPB TV celebrates its 50th anniversary.
- OPBnews.org -- an expanded news and information Web site -- launches.
- OPB invites community members from around the Northwest to help cover the news by signing up for the Public Insight Network.
- 2008
- opbmusic.org, an online music service encouraging conversation and connection between OPB and our community of local music fans, launches.
- Think Out Loud, OPB's local online and daily radio broadcast, premieres.
- KOPB-AM (1600) Eugene begins providing OPB Radio's news and information service.
- OPB and its community partners begin a statewide, multiplatform campaign to increase awareness about the impact of invasive species, featuring The Silent Invasion: An Oregon Field Guide Special, an invasive species online hotline and numerous outreach opportunities.
- Time Team USA, a new archaeology program for PBS, begins production.
More information about OPB
- PDF downloads
- OPB Member Report (PDF)
- DTV Consumer Education Quarterly Activity Report (PDF)
- Annual EEO Report, 2007 (PDF)
- Prong 3: Outreach Activities, 2007 (PDF)
- Form 990 — FY07
- Independent Auditor's Report and Financial Statements — FY07
- Emergency Alert System
- OPB has been designated the “State Primary” for the Emergency Alert System, initiating messages informing other broadcasters, viewers and listeners of a wide variety of emergencies including tsunamis, floods and Amber Alerts.
- Oregon Public Broadcasting:
- 7140 SW Macadam Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97219-3099 - Business Hours:
8am-5pm Mon-Fri - 503.244.9900
- Map & Directions


