An Interview with Jim Zerwekh, Vice President/General Manager, KWGN-TV Denver, Colorado
How did you get involved in public service advertising?
Commitment to our viewers and community has always
been a major focus for our station. Public service spots are
a large part of what we feel we should be doing.
What do you like best about being involved in public service advertising?
Public service advertising gives us as a station the opportunity to provide airtime to non-profits
that are trying to increase awareness about themselves and at the same time address issues that
are pertinent to our community.
What issues do you think deserve national focus?
Quality education for all children, and then drug abuse among young people.
Are you involved in any unique public service projects?
We do a number of major community projects each year providing airtime and fundraising.
A couple of examples of agencies we work with: Boys & Girls Clubs, Volunteers of America and Big
Brothers Big Sisters. We do a great project with Girl Scouts and a program they have called “Girls
In Crisis.” This past year through WB2 Gives, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, we
were able to raise and grant back $3 million to our community.
Why do you support the Ad Council?
The Ad Council provides top-quality spots and the creative is excellent. They provide us with spots
that address major issues, which we as a station also want to address. They make the spots easy
to localize for our individual markets. Ad Council listens to the TV stations they provide spots to
and they have good customer service.
What is your favorite Ad Council campaign?
I have two—High School Dropout Prevention and the Wildfire Prevention campaign.
What would you like to share with others about public service advertising?
As broadcasters we have a mandate to do public service broadcasting, but beyond that mandate
it is the right thing to do. It is not only the right thing to do, it is good business. We need to take
an active role in the communities that we serve.
