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Papers of
Bill Reed
Processed by: Hsiu-Ling Ho
April 1995
16.0 lin. ft.
Biography | Scope and Content | Provenance | Series Descriptions
Bill Reed was born in Los Angeles, California in 1938. He received his B.A. in History and his General Secondary Teaching Credential from the University of Pacific in Stockton, California.
After serving in the United States Army in Vietnam for two years, followed by two years teaching in Northern California, Reed joined public station KIXE Redding, California in 1967. He was KIXE's general manager for six years and was elected to the PBS Board of Directors from 1972 to 1974.
Reed came to PBS in 1974 as director of station relations, becoming that division's senior vice president in 1978. During his tenure as PBS's principal liaison with member stations, Reed was also instrumental in PBS efforts to foster improvements in UHF broadcasting, participated in the planning of public television's satellite system, and was on a task force tagged with developing the Station Program Cooperative which was a program exchange mechanism formed by PBS in 1972 in response to financial, governmental and operational pressures.
In 1980, after heading up a planning team, namely PTV-3, which looked at educational activities and opportunities, Reed became senior vice president of education services. In just under a decade, Reed led the creation of the PBS Elementary/Secondary Service, the PBS Adult Learning Service, the PBS Adult Learning Satellite Service, the PBS National Narrowcast Service and PBS VIDEO. He also served as a consultant to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). PBS VIDEO's success in the audiovisual arena, coupled with public television's interest in tapping into the expanding business of home video, led to creation of a video marketing division at PBS with Reed as its senior vice president.
In 1991, the Pacific Mountain Network Board honored Reed with its Governor's Award for Distinguished Service to Public Television. He also served as a private sector representative in Telecommunications for the U.S. Department of State to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (1989); Chair, Broadcast Panel for U.S.-U.S.S.R. Bilateral Information Talks; President, Western Educational Network (1972).
On February 22, 1991, Reed announced he was leaving PBS to pursue home video and other program distribution business projects. Reed became president and general manager of KCPT, Kansas City, Missouri in October 1992.
The Papers of Bill Reed cover the years 1969 to 1991 with the bulk of material dating from 1977 to 1991. The collection consists of materials regarding the financial status of PBS with an emphasis on the development and funding of educational service programs at PBS. It also contains papers related to the marketing of PBS video and home video which brought PBS great success in the audiovisual area. Types of documents included are: correspondence, reports, memoranda, agenda, minutes, directory. The collection also contains audiovisual cassettes, tape recordings and a small box of slides. The collection consists of six series:
- Series 1: Public Broadcasting--General
- Series 2: Public Broadcasting Service Budgets
- Series 3: Public Broadcasting Service Reports
- Series 4: Public Broadcasting Service--Education Services Division
- Series 5: PBS Video & Home Video
- Series 6: Other Educational/Broadcasting Organizations
The Papers of Bill Reed were donated to the National Public Broadcasting Archives, University of Maryland Libraries by Bill Reed in December of 1992..
Series l: Public Broadcasting--General, 1969-1991 (5.5 lin. ft.)
The bulk of this series documents Bill Reed's involvement in Public Broadcasting Service. It consists of a Public Broadcasting Service--Administrative subseries and a Corporation for Public Broadcasting subseries. Many documents are PBS administrative materials, such as strategic plans, personnel handbook, mission and goal. Also included are CPB's cooperative project with the Annenberg Foundation, a directory and report on the study of public broadcasting. The materials are arranged alphabetically
Series 2: Public Broadcasting Service Budgets, 1973-1991 (2.0 lin. ft.)
This series documents Bill Reed's involvement in the PBS's budgeting process. Besides fiscal year planning budgets, there are audit reports, office correspondence and related memoranda. The materials are arranged chronologically.
Series 3: Public Broadcasting Service Reports, 1971-1991 (1.5 lin. ft.)
This series consists of station visit reports and board reports. The station visit reports are arranged by alphabetic list of state and the board reports are arranged chronologically. Also included are PAV weekly reports which date from November 8, 1990 to April 19, 1991 and emphasize the PBS home video market.
Series 4: Public Broadcasting Service--Educational Services Division, 1978-1990 (3.75 lin. ft.)
This series documents Bill Reed's involvement in the establishment of the PBS Educational Services Division. The series is divided into the following subseries: Adult Learning Service, Elementary/Secondary Service, National Narrowcast Service and Educational Telecommunications Program Service. Besides administrative materials, there are also reports, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, catalogs and video cassettes. The materials within each subseries are arranged alphabetically.
Series 5: PBS Video & Home Video, 1982-1991 (2.25 lin. ft.)
This series includes PBS video and home video materials. The series is divided into the following subseries: PBS Video and PBS Home Video. Documents included are PBS video and home video marketing materials, pamphlets and catalogs of video and home video. Also included are newspaper clippings, correspondence, and reports. The materials within each subseries are arranged alphabetically.
Series 6: Other Educational/Broadcasting Organizations, 1971-1991 (0.75 lin. ft.)
This series consists of non-PBS-related publications which are arranged alphabetically by organization name.
A complete guide in Adobe Acrobat (*.pdf) format can be found here.
