After 23 years with SDPB, Bob Bosse is retiring.
Bob joined SDPB in late 1998 as an Associate Producer. From that starting point, he became Producer and in 2002 was named Director of Television.
Bob reflects on how SDPB has changed throughout his tenure. “I’ve seen incredible expansion throughout the network, especially in production capability, video systems, on-air playback systems, channel capacity and audience connection. When I started, we had one analog signal on TV and one analog signal on Radio, which meant we programmed, promoted and produced content for only those channels. In Television, our production staff shot and edited video on tape, and we played our on-air content on videotape. While we experimented with some early versions of web streaming, the digital revolution was still a few years off. Over the years, we have expanded to four Television channels, each serving a different audience, two radio channels and we have developed numerous new content streams on numerous online platforms. We now shoot and edit digitally. We produce video content for all of our platforms digitally. Another dramatic change is the audiences we serve and how we serve them. Instead of our audience seeking out our content on TV and hearing it on Radio, we now strive to be part of our audiences’ lives wherever they are, including people on computers, tablets and cell phones.”
Bob also shares his most memorable moments from SDPB:
• “Winning an Emmy® for Lost Bird of Wounded Knee, one of the first documentaries I every wrote and produced when I first started here. We did not enter awards competitions regularly at the time, and although I had worked in TV for 12 years at the time, I had never known anyone who had won one of those. It doesn’t seem like much now as we have a whole trophy case full of them, but at the time, it was quite an attention grabber.”
• “The time we had an electrical fire in the Production truck while on-the-air broadcasting the State Basketball Tournament at the Rapid City Civic Center. It was amazing that we managed to keep a broadcast going during the chaos. I was just thankful nobody was injured.”
• “The first time I looked at a screen and saw three basketball tournaments airing on three channels from three remote locations simultaneously. We had dreamed of this for years and had worked so hard to make it happen that it was a very dramatic thing to see come to fruition.”
“When I came to SDPB, I figured I would be here for a couple years, like most people in most media jobs. During all my years with the network, I enjoyed opportunities that had been beyond my wildest dreams. I have met some of the most interesting people across our state, listened to their stories and shared them. Famous people like Joe Foss, George McGovern, Tom Brokaw, all of our state governors, our government leaders, authors, speakers, celebrities, and too many inspiring people to name. I have also been friends with some of the most creative and talented co-workers anyone could ever ask for. “
“I have been very blessed with an incredibly interesting career and am thankful to SDPB for allowing me that unique and special privilege.”
SDPB is grateful to Bob for all his hard work, humor, creativity and leadership. We wish him a wonderful, well-earned retirement and muchas felicidades!