WQED to move from 4802 Fifth Avenue? Say it isn’t so!

Having just responded to a “get off my lawn” comment in regard to Pittsburgh history, I must say I nearly spit out my coffee when I read Rob Owen’s Trib piece this morning.

Last July, Jason Jedlinski became president at WQED Multimedia. Six months later, Jedlinski tells Owen that the station will likely move out of its home since 1970 “sooner rather than later”. I, myself, have many memories there mostly focused on helping Warren Andrews in the CD library and hours of pledge drives… not to mention a friendship with the chief FM volunteer of volunteers, the late Bill Vetter. But that’s just me. How can you jettison the place where Mr. Rogers filmed his shows?

Before you go all Yinzer on me… first of all not every show was filmed there. WQED’s first home was down the street at what is now the University of Pittsburgh’s Music Building at 4337 Fifth Avenue. That would be where Rogers and Josie Carey taped “Children’s Corner”, and if I’m not mistaken that would be where the first couple of seasons of the Neighborhood would have been filmed too.

As Owen notes, the land on which that rather bizarre “Brutalist” architechture building sits is owned by Carnegie-Mellon University. WQED has paid nothing more than $1.00 (that’s ONE DOLLAR) per year in rent. To date that’s $54.00 of the $99.00 they prepaid in 1970. The design was done by a professor of architecture at CMU. And it’s CMU who rents out the studio space – particularly that of “Studio A” – the Fred Rogers Studio. And, if you’re worried about the *history* of tapings which happened there, might I remind you of Boston’s WGBH moving from it’s long-time home of 125 Western Avenue… “Boston Mass… OH-Twoooo-Onnnnne-Threeeee-Foooouuuuur” (as made famous by the children’s show it produced – “Zoom”). WGBH is now in zip code 02135!

This move would likely be to another rented space somewhere still in the eastern neighborhoods. Jedlinkski didn’t think a $50 million campus was in the cards. And I would think not. I mean who else would give you a $1.00/year rent?! 1970 this is not! Still though, the move – much like when WPXI came down off “Television Hill” would likely allow for technology upgrades which seems to be much needed if the issues with the current automated master control is any idication.

As to the signal which several PBRTV readers have asked about since it was reduced last summer. It appears they are awaiting word from the FCC and a religious TV station somewhere in Eastern or Central Ohio to agree to a variance for a very small risk of signal overlap.

WQED’s digital signal is broadcast over Channel 4 after giving up their digital allocation at Channel 13 a few years ago for a price that cleared the station of their long-standing debt. As short-lived as it was, prior to this change it was the only Pittsburgh station to have had the same digital channel as it did analog. When analog 13 was still on the air, the digital home was 38.

For more about what Owen and Jedlinski talked about, please click the hyperlink above.