Rick Sebak Celebrates 25 Year Anniversary

RICK SEBAK CELEBRATES 25 YEARS AT WQED PITTSBURGH
Specials, contests and an app to honor Pittsburgh's favorite documentarian this November

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
 November 12, 2012

CONTACT:
 George Hazimanolis
 412-622-1366
 ghazimanolis@wqed.org

RICK SEBAK CELEBRATES 25 YEARS AT WQED PITTSBURGH
 Specials, contests and an app to honor Pittsburgh’s favorite documentarian this November

PITTSBURGH --WQED will honor popular producer Rick Sebak with special programming, contests and an app this November for 25 years of documenting all things Pittsburgh.

 “Rick Sebak is Pittsburgh. His ability to show us the best our region has to offer makes everyone proud to call this place home,” said Deborah L. Acklin, WQED’s President and CEO. “WQED is truly fortunate to have someone who loves and appreciates this city as much as our viewers do.”

WQED will air the following programs by and about Rick Sebak in November:

On Sunday, November 18 at noon on WQED-TV watch It’s Pittsburgh & A Lot of Other Stuff: Best of Season One and revisit the people, places and things Rick covered during the show’s first season in 2010.

On Monday, November 26 at 7:30 p.m. on WQED-TV producer Pierina Morelli profiles Rick with a new EXPERIENCE episode.

• What Makes Rick Tick?
Rick Sebak’s award-winning documentaries have entertained and educated local and national viewers for 25 years. Take a look at Rick’s history, his memorable programs and some of the stories behind them, hear about what inspires him, and hear from his colleagues and fans as they share their thoughts on his appealing and timeless body of work.

Sebak himself also produced a new documentary for the occasion called, 25 Things I Like About Pittsburgh that premieres Thursday, November 29 at 8 p.m. on WQED-TV.

• 25 Things I Like About Pittsburgh
 Rick’s newest documentary to celebrate his 25th anniversary at WQED looks at 25 things he likes about Pittsburgh – not his top 25, just 25 aspects of living here that surprise and delight him and make him happy to be a Pittsburgher. “Because the word ‘I’ is in the title, I’m allowing myself to be a bit more personal,” said Rick recently. “I’m trying to cover an assortment of stuff from retaining walls and short cuts to the love that people feel for their houses and neighborhoods. Of course, we’ll also celebrate fish sandwiches at Emil’s in Rankin and other tasty treats.” This program was underwritten in part by The Buhl Foundation and PNC.

The program will also be streamed LIVE from 8-9 p.m. at www.wqed.org and encore Friday, November 30 at 1 a.m. and Sunday, December 2 at noon on WQED-TV. Viewers are invited to let WQED know what they think of the specials, share what their favorite Sebak programs or congratulate Rick by using hashtag #SEBAK25 with posts and tweets on Facebook® and Twitter®. Those with mobile phones can participate in register-to-win DVD giveaways and receive special messages regarding the anniversary by texting SEBAK25 to 94253.

This past summer Rick’s image became a local icon of sorts when it went viral with an iPhone application called Yinztagram that took iconic Pittsburgh images like a Primanti’s sandwich, the Duquesne Incline and Rick’s torso and made it possible to “add a little Pittsburgh to your photos.” For a limited time, WQED is partnering with Matt Pegula (who developed the app) to offer new images of Rick for Yinztagram users. The new images include one of Rick donning a Santa suit and picture of Rick eating a plate of breakfast food while shooting his latest PBS special called Breakfast Special 2: Revenge of the Omelets, which premieres on stations nationwide (and on WQED-TV) Tuesday, December 25 (Christmas Day) at 8 p.m.

Since 1987, Rick has produced more than 50 local and national television programs about Pittsburgh, the surrounding area and numerous All-American subjects like amusement parks, cemeteries, farmers markets, hot dogs, and ice cream. A native of Bethel Park, Rick was nominated for two prime-time Emmy® Awards for his work on Fred Rogers: America’s Favorite Neighbor. He has received numerous local awards and recognitions, including ten regional Emmy® Awards and an honorary doctorate from Seton Hill University.

All the programs in the Pittsburgh History Series, It’s Pittsburgh & A Lot Of Other Stuff: Best of Season One, and 25 Things I Like About Pittsburgh are available on DVD from SHOP WQED by calling 1-800-274-1307 or online at www.shopwqed.org.

WQED Pittsburgh has a proud history of honors, including 134 National and Mid-Atlantic Emmy® Awards, an Academy Award, and many, many others, including two Emmy® Awards for Station Excellence. WQED was founded in 1954 as the nation’s first community-supported broadcaster. The people of WQED create, produce and distribute quality programs, products and services to engage, inform, educate and entertain the public within their community and around the world. WQED Pittsburgh is one of the first broadcasters in the country to be fully high-definition (HD) in its studio and field production capabilities. It is the parent company of WQED-TV (PBS); WQED: The Neighborhood Channel; WQED: The Create Channel; WQED Showcase; Classical WQED-FM 89.3/Pittsburgh; Classical WQEJ-FM 89.7/Johnstown; the Pittsburgh Concert Channel at WQED-HD2 (89.3-2FM) and online at www.wqed.org/fm; local and national television and radio productions; WQED Interactive (www.wqed.org) and iQ: smartmedia, WQED’s Educational initiative (www.wqed.org/edu).

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh