South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s new move into Rapid City’s supreme Art Deco icon, the old Parts Central Building at 415 Main Street, couldn’t have come at a better time. As Wikipedia reminds us, “During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress.”
Commercial television and radio programming has all but lost its historic audiences, leaving only a benumbed core from the ranks of the down and out. Middle-class people have already migrated to PBS’s noncommercial offerings like BBC’s Masterpiece Theater to sidestep incessant liberal bias (in programming) and ever-obnoxious sales exploitation (in commercials).
SDPB’s presence in Rapid City is the de facto opening next week, August 21-25, featuring In The Moment with USMC veteran Lori Walsh broadcasting live, though “The SDPB Black Hills Bureau will open officially in September, serving as a reporting and storytelling production center for original media content created in the Black Hills and a public gathering space for program tapings, premieres, and audience-participation events.
“The Black Hills are rich in South Dakota culture and history. SDPB’s Black Hills Bureau will be uniquely positioned to gather the facts and tell the stories of the region, while also expanding community and audience engagement in Rapid City and beyond.
“The station will permit broadcasts of SDPB’s statewide programs from Rapid City and will also support smaller-scale live and pre-recorded television programming and digital-first productions for SDPB.org.”
