Jack McBride
CLASS OF 1997 Jack McBride guided the growth and development of Nebraska educational television. For 43 years, he was a pioneer in television, cable, satellite and interactive computer technologies and also helped other states and countries launch educational broadcasts. He retired in 1996. It began with the donation of KUON to the University of Nebraska. […]
George Haskel
CLASS OF 1997 George Haskell spent his entire career in Nebraska broadcasting from age 16 until retirement in 1980. A Lincoln native, Haskell was a piano player in local and traveling dance orchestras during the Depression, earning $1 a day. In 1937 he took a part-time job in radio as a mail boy at KFOR […]
Ray Lockhart
CLASS OF 1998 Born in North Platte, Ray Lockhart started his broadcast career in his hometown at KNOP-TV in 1959. In 1967, Ray was named General Manager of KOGA AM in Ogallala. Two years later he bought into the company, Ogallala Broadcasting Company, Inc. By 1974, Ray purchased control of KOGA. Lockhart then slowly but […]
Mal Hansen
CLASS OF 1998 Mal Hansen, a native Iowan, graduated from high school in Davenport. While attending the University of Iowa in the late 1930s, Mal was assistant farm editor at WHO Radio in Des Moines. In 1943, prior to a three-year stint in the U.S. Navy, he was farm editor at KSO/KRNT Des Moines. Returning […]
Charlie Tuna
CLASS OF 1999 Art Ferguson, better known as Charlie Tuna, started in radio at the age of 16 in his hometown of Kearney at KGFW. His passion for radio drove him to enjoy one of the most successful DJ careers in the country. From KGFW, Art left small-market radio for clear-channel KOMA Oklahoma City where he […]
Ken Headrick
CLASS OF 1999 During his 35 years at KFAB, Ken Headrick was a major force in developing the station into a ratings leader. He started out studying at Midland College in his hometown of Fremont and at the University of Nebraska seeking majors in music and journalism. As a young man, he played the trombone […]
Don Meier
CLASS OF 2000 Don Meier was the driving force behind one of the most successful series in television, Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. He created, directed, and produced the show hosted by Marlin Perkins. “Growing up in Nebraska, I liked the outdoors, but this was beyond my wildest dreams,” Don said. Don ran the library […]
John McDonald
CLASS OF 2000 John McDonald was general manager of KGFW Kearney and managed its affiliated stations for more than 40 years. Born in Kansas, John graduated from Abilene High School in 1964 and immediately joined the Navy. Serving on the USS Guam based in Norfolk, Virginia, he visited with staff members of a local radio […]
John Webster
CLASS OF 2001 An Omaha native, John Wallace Webster attended high school at a military academy and graduated from Menlo College in California, with a degree in business administration. He and his father went into real estate and investments. John Webster’s entry into broadcasting began with an opportunity to file for the KOIL/KEFM licenses that […]
Lew Hunter
CLASS OF 2001 Lew Hunter was a writer, producer, and executive at Columbia, Lorimar, Paramount, Disney, NBC, and CBS. He taught at UCLA starting in 1979, becoming Chair of the Screenwriting Department, and is one of the premier screenwriting teachers in the world. Born in Guide Rock, Lew was a disc jockey and floor manager […]