Alaska Public Broadcasting Executive Director Jamie Waste
and APTS President & CEO Patrick Butler
WASHINGTON - February 23, 2016 - America's Public Television Stations (APTS) today presented the 2016 National Advocacy Award to Jamie Waste, Executive Director, Alaska Public Broadcasting, for his exceptional efforts in furthering public television's legislative goals and marshalling grassroots support for public broadcasting.
"Jamie Waste is a tireless advocate for public broadcasting, helping to advance the ever-growing bipartisan support of public broadcasting in Congress," said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of APTS. "Jamie has done an extraordinary job working with the Alaska Congressional delegation to ensure that public broadcasting's essential services to the people of Alaska continue to be funded and enhanced. Jamie's outreach over the last year was particularly important in ensuring Senator Murkowski's strong support for the reauthorization of Ready To Learn, public television's successful program for early learners,especially those from low-income families. We are honored to present Jamie with this most well-deserved National Advocacy Award."
"On behalf of Alaska, thank you for this award," said Waste. "The need for quality journalism, educational children's programming, civic engagement, and access to local media only increases in the digital age. Alaskans know this first hand. Their engagement as listeners, viewers, participants and advocates is reflected in supportive positions taken by our Congressional delegation members."
Jamie Waste is in his 12th year of service as the Executive Director of Alaska Public Broadcasting, Inc. (APBI) a statewide office that provides leadership, coordination, representation, administrative and technical support to the Alaska public broadcasting system. He is also in his 12th year of service as the Executive Director of the Alaska Public Broadcasting Commission. Prior to APBI, Mr. Waste served six years as the first Executive Director of Coast Alaska, Inc., a network of five radio station community licensees serving the residents to Southeast Alaska.
Mr. Waste's media career began in 1980 as a student deejay at Cal. In 1983, he moved to Juneau and worked at KTOO FM & TV as Radio Operations Director and then Program Director. In 1987, Mr. Waste joined the staff at KUSP, Santa Cruz, first in development and then as Program Director. In 1992, he returned to Juneau and resumed work at KTOO as Radio Station Manager, followed by Assistant General Manager for radio and television. In the mid-1990s, Mr. Waste helped establish the regional radio network CoastAlaska and a statewide public television network called Alaska One. These organizations were created in response to significant losses in state funding.
Mr. Waste served five terms on the Alaska Public Radio Network board of directors and has served on numerous Corporation for Public Broadcasting panels. He was recently inducted into the Alaska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.
The National Advocacy Award was presented to Jamie Waste during The APTS Public Media Summit on Tuesday, February 23, 2016.
About APTS
America's Public Television Stations (APTS) is a nonprofit membership organization established in 1979. The mission of APTS is to conduct - in concert with member stations - strategic planning, research, communications, advocacy and other activities that foster a strong and financially sound public television system providing essential public services to all Americans. Its affiliate APTS Action, Inc. promotes the legislative and regulatory interests of noncommercial television stations at the national level through direct advocacy and through grasstops and grassroots campaigns designed to garner bipartisan political support. For more information, visit www.apts.org.
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