• Photo courtesy of KEET
• Educators Pam Halstead and Kevin Yokoyama in the KEET Studios

Scattered in among non-local answers like “Comedy Central” and “AMC” and wiseass answers like “Kill Your TV!” and “Go ride a bike!” a few sincere individuals confessed their love for the local appendage of the Public Broadcasting System and voted for KEET-TV Ch. 13. An excited Claire Reynolds told us the station’s recipe for success.

“We’ve got Elmo. We’ve Bert and Ernie. You throw Bill Moyers and Neil Degrasse Tyson in the mix and you’re going to have some quality programming,” Reynolds said.

Sure, KEET’s the place you get your BBC World News and your Antiques Roadshow viewing in. But no doubt what endears it to the community is its commitment to providing local programming. Reynolds noted that she’s finishing up a documentary on big bands in Japanese-American internment camps. Over the last several years, the spotlight has been turned on North Coast notables through programs such as Lost Coast Sessions, which features local bands in the more intimate KEET studios, or North Coast Cuisine, which highlights local chefs and food producers. Having trouble with your algebra, student? Tune on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. to the Homework Hotline where you can call in with your math and science conundrums.

“It’s our mission to engage our local audience,” Reynolds says. So tune on in!

The Breakdown: KEET 37.5%, KIEM 22.4%, Wiseass 14.3%, National 8.4%, Access Humboldt 2.5%. Category popularity: 37th.