As it begins its 20th season, Living St. Louis is expanding across multiple platforms to reinforce Nine PBS's role as the place to find stories made by, for, and about our region.
On January 9, you will notice some fresh takes during the 20th season premiere. Portions of the show will be recorded at Nine PBS and will include one-on-one conversations with community members and regular segments focusing on history or early learning one week and programming or pop culture the next.
The show's longevity says a lot about the people of St. Louis, says Anne-Marie Berger, Living St. Louis producer and senior director of content at Nine PBS. "Stories about St. Louis, its history, and what makes it interesting and unique, but also about the challenges it faces, are so popular and continue to endure," she says.
The goal of Living St. Louis is for viewers to gain new perspectives that help strengthen our community and, ultimately, to connect us to one another. Plus, you will see plenty of content that celebrates what makes St. Louis unique.
"I think hearing someone's story is what connects people. Hearing different backgrounds and different challenges. It really strengthens the understanding and the importance of being in a community," says Brooke Butler, the show's newest producer.
The multicolored line running through the new Living St. Louis logo is meant to represent the diverse spectrum of content that Living St. Louis covers and the myriad stories that make up the region.
Story leads can come from anywhere; people call, email, or stop producers on the street with ideas. "We will only run out of stories when we have knocked on the last door," says Jim Kirchherr, executive producer.
"A woman came up to me and said, 'I just moved here from Omaha, and I've learned so much about my new city. I watch every week and I've gone back into your archives on your website and watched all the old shows,'" he says. The archives can be found at ninepbs.org/livingstlouis and on YouTube.
"I like doing stories about everyday things that you otherwise wouldn't know were happening or about people out there making our community go round," says Anne-Marie. "I want people to trust their stories with us. We don't take that for granted."
Jim is motivated by this same kind of curiosity, as are all the show's producers. Like Anne-Marie, he has been with the show since day one. Living St. Louis is "about people who are still curious, no matter what age they are, about the place they live."
Ruth Ezell, senior producer, echoes the impact the show has had. "The fact that we're beginning our 20th astounds me. Very often I'll get stopped by a fan and they'll say, 'That was so interesting. I've lived here my whole life and I didn't know about that,'" she says.
What began as a traditional television magazine program has evolved into the local anchor program at Nine PBS for sharing insights into our community through a number of platforms, including short videos, blogs, social media, and, of course, the weekly television program.
The digital spaces enhance our responsiveness to the community and provide engaging, and sometimes viral, digital-first content. You can consume Living St. Louis content on Facebook, YouTube, ninepbs.org, the PBS app, and our latest platform entry—TikTok, which has 12,000 followers as of December 2022.
Since launching in 2004, Living St. Louis has captured the stories of the people, places, and organizations that make our region consequential and complex, receiving numerous Mid-America Emmy Awards along the way. It will continue to profile personalities, the arts community, the environment, and the region's past, present, and future, but it will also dive into more challenging topics in Living St. Louis specials.
"St. Louis doesn't always give itself credit for being interesting, but it has a rich history," says Jim. "It has a rich presence…and I think when people see the stories we do, they get that."
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This article appeared in the January/February 2023 issue of Nine PBS Magazine.
