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. The university appointed Omahan Jack McBride, a Creighton graduate who worked in the university’s public relations department, as general manager. He signed it on in 1954 as the nation’s seventh public television station.
From there, McBride started gathering legislative support for a statewide network. The Nebraska Legislature in 1962 authorized the acquisition of eight stations under the Nebraska Educational Television Act. By the decade’s end, the network had nine stations that broadcast statewide.
Included among his pioneering efforts are the Nebraska Public Radio Network, EduCable (Nebraska ETV’s cable television service), and a major public television and multimedia production center.
McBride served as general manager of the nine-station Nebraska ETV Network and secretary to the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission since they were created in 1963.
Jack McBride passed away in 2008.
