Seattle Public Library

Opened 1891.

From the description of Seattle Public Library annual reports, 1894-1985. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70966318

The first commercial program to be broadcast in Seattle was on Thanksgiving Day 1948 on station KING-TV, which was the only television station in Seattle until 1952. Programs were produced locally during the early years of television (nationwide programming did not reach the West Coast until 1951), and were often produced by the sponsors. Such is the case with The Washington State Reporter , which was produced by the National Bank of Commerce (NB of C) from 1951 to circa 1956.

The Washington State Reporter is an early non-fiction television program that featured a reporter (first Charles Herring, then Richard Ross) on location in towns and other sites throughout Washington state, Alaska, and the Pacific Rim countries, interviewing local business people, leaders, and citizens about industries, economic growth, and other issues. The series apparently started as The Overseas Report, which was filmed in Europe in November 1951 and broadcast on KING-TV between November 1951 and February 1952. The series then became The Washington State Reporter in 1952 and focused on business and industry in Washington State. The series expanded its coverage to Alaska in 1953 and to Asia in 1954, but still continued its Washington programs in 1954 and 1955. Footage from The Washington State Reporter series was also reused and edited to create other programs for broadcast in the mid-1950s.

From the guide to the Seattle Public Library Moving Image Collection, 1931-1976, (Oregon Historical Society Research Library)