Last updated April 20, 2008 7:43 p.m. PT

Bob Kelly, 1929-2008: Influential broadcaster bought KCPQ/13, even after retiring
By KATHY MULADY
SEATTLE P-I REPORTER

Bob Kelly, the former owner of KCPQ/13 (Fox), was one of the last of his kind, a broadcasting company owner who would greet employees by name in the lobby and was genuinely concerned about their well-being, say former staff members.

Kelly died April 14 after a long illness. He was 78.

He is remembered by friends and former co-workers as one of the most influential broadcasters in the country, embracing the advent of color television, using helicopters to cover the news, taking a chance on the fledging Fox network and, all along, keeping a firm commitment to the community.

"He was a genuinely kind human being who happened to own a broadcast business," said Keith Shipman, president of Horizon Broadcast Group in Central Oregon, who credits Kelly with encouraging him in his career.

"He hired good people and backed them up," Shipman said. "He gave me an opportunity to learn in his laboratory."

Three generations of the Kelly family worked in broadcasting, starting with his father, Ewing Kelly, who founded KCRA radio in Sacramento, Calif., in 1945. His sons Bob and Jon Kelly continued the company, becoming Kelly Broadcasting in 1961. Bob's son Christopher Kelly continued the family tradition at KCPQ.

Kelly was born in Oklahoma in 1929. He worked at his dad's radio station throughout high school, then went off to college, first at the University of California-Davis, then the University of California-Berkeley. He served in the Army from 1951 through 1953.

Two years later, Kelly, his father and his brother Jon started the NBC affiliate KCRA-TV in Sacramento.

Bob Kelly was station manager, and is credited with focusing attention on the news department. In 1957, the company started using the slogan "Where the News Comes First." In the 1960s, under Kelly, the station became one of the first to shoot color film, according to KCRA archives.

Kelly retired from the Sacramento station in 1975, but couldn't stay away from the broadcasting business for long.

In 1979, the Kelly brothers bought a station in Tacoma, KCPQ/13, where he continued as program director and general manager until he retired again in 1995.

In 1998, Kelly was inducted into the Silver Circle of the Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in recognition of his contributions.

P-I reporter Kathy Mulady can be reached at 206-448-8029 or kathymulady@seattlepi.com.