KPBS has received a gift of $2.5 million from Joan and Irwin Jacobs.

This generous donation will fund an extensive remodel of the KPBS newsroom to create an interactive space for the future – with an emphasis on multimedia convergence and multiple platforms.

Long-time supporters

“Joan and I have been longterm supporters of KPBS. We are enthusiastic about this project to further enhance the ability of its staff to cover local news,” said Irwin Jacobs, co-founder and former chairman of Qualcomm.

“KPBS plays a key role in journalism in San Diego and we applaud its commitment to quality and to the expanded application of multimedia to inform our community.”

Growing news team

When KPBS moved into the Copley Telecommunications Center in 1995, the station had a small radio news staff. But over the past 14 years, KPBS has added TV and online news and content teams. Currently, the reporters, writers, producers and support staff are scattered throughout the building.

“It was time we created a physical environment where all news and content producers can work collaboratively,” said Tom Karlo, KPBS general manager.

“KPBS is honored to receive such a generous contribution that truly endorses our commitment to local journalism. Over the past few years we’ve converged our TV, radio and web areas – but this gift helps us create a dynamic workspace that will allow the unified news team to flourish and produce exceptional journalism for the San Diego community.”

More about KPBS

KPBS is currently working on selecting a design firm who will help transform the existing upstairs space within the KPBS building. The goal is to begin construction after the first of the year with a targeted completion date in the fall of 2010 – around the same time KPBS will celebrate its 50th anniversary.

KPBS is a public service of San Diego State University, serving the region with TV, radio and internet content that is educational as well as entertaining — and free of commercial interruption.