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Peter Barrett

Peter Barrett is the founder and President of Peter Barrett Communications (PBCommunications) in Kansas City. Pete Barrett Communications is a video production company providing video, marketing, webinar, and PR production work as primary contracts for KCTV 5, ….and others. Peter Barrett has received four Grammy awards and other recognition with in the television and video production industry. He is also a regular performer in local theater productions and active pilot with an instrument rating.

Early years
Peter Barrett was born in Kansas City, MO

Peter Barrett was born in West Palm Beach, Florida. His family moved to Chicago in 1955, where he was raised. His father, Peter F. Barrett, was a engineer with the City of Chicago. He attended two Catholic schools (St. Catherine of Siena and St. Patrick's High School), then attended Northern Illinois University, graduating in 1979. He held a number of jobs during this period, including cashier at McDonald's, car washer at Whalen Lincoln-Mercury, fork lift driver at Cotter and Company (serving True-Value), conveyor belt washer atDel Monte, and butcher shop delivery boy.

WIFR-TV: His first job in the media after college was at the CBS affiliate in Rockford, Illinois, WIFR-TV. While there he moved through the ranks, beginning as a part time teleprompter operator and leaving the station in 1981 as Promotion Director.

WDCA-TV: Pete went to Washington DC's WDCA-TV in 1981, a full independent station under new ownership (Taft Broadcasting) as Promotion Director. The station invested heavily in syndicated programming, local programming, and secured the broadcasting rights to local professional sports teams like the Washington Bullets and Capitals. Pete produced and managed all marketing efforts for the station, which quickly became a major profit center for the Taft Corporation.

WKRC-TV: In 1985, Taft Broadcasting transferred Pete to the home office city as Promotion Director of WKRC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Cincinnati. Again he built ratings and revenue by introducing and promoting local news, news personalities, and overall programming efforts. His anchorman for much of his tenure there was Nick Clooney, father of movie star George Clooney.

KCTV5
Between 1992 and 2001, Pete was Director of Marketing for KCTV5, the CBS affiliate in Kansas City. While there he guided brand initiatives and promotion for the station, including all station, anchor, and newscast promotional campaigns. He also directed all public relations efforts for the station, including the annual "Project Warmth" efforts.

He launched a number of initiatives and promotional campaigns while at KCTV5, including those supporting on-air personalities likeWendall Anschutz, Anne Peterson, and Katie Horner. He also headed up the station's local programming efforts, adding the duties of Program Director in 1998. He greatly expanded local news and entertainment programming, including many news specials and unique programs like “The Chiefs Locker Room Show", “Speakers Corner", “Kansas City Short Film Festival,” and “KC-B2B with Wendall Anschutz.” Pete also launched initiatives leveraging new technology like “CityCam,” “Live Power Doppler,” “Neighborhood Weather Network,” and many others.

KCTV5.com
In 1995, Pete launched Kansas City television’s first Website, KCTV5.com, and grew it to 13 million page views a year. He also served on the Interactive Media Committee for the parent company of KCTV5, Des Moines-based Fortune 500 firm The Meredith Corporation. This committee devised all Internet initiatives for the 12 TV stations and many magazines owned by the company, including “Better Homes and Gardens,” and “Ladies Home Journal.”

Multiple Awards
He is the winner of multiple Emmy Awards from NATAS (the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences), including two for “Best Image Campaign;” and two for “Best Promotional Announcement.” He also is the recipient of various Addy Awards from the Ad Clubs of Washington DC and Cincinnati, as well as many Missouri Broadcasters Awards. He also served on the Promotion and Marketing Caucus Boards for the ABC and CBS Television Networks, capping this off with three years as President of the CBS Television Network Marketing and Promotion Caucus.

MEDICAL IMAGING
In 2003 Pete began his four year tenure as Director of Client Services for Medical Imaging, a KC-based radiology provider with locations around the Kansas City area. While serving there the company experienced massive growth, and Pete introduced "InLobbyTV," Kansas City's first locally produced medical network. The company pioneered VoIP scheduling, streaming media, and celebrity endorsements, all a first for the radiology business in the area. Medical Imaging was ultimately sold off to local hospital concerns.

PETER BARRETT COMMUNICATIONS
In 2007, Pete launched his own marketing / PR / video production firm, Peter Barrett Communications. The company was a pioneer in video over the web, producing multiple talk shows, commercials, and PR videos for webpages, cable channels, and over the air applications. Amongst their larger clients are SureWest Cable, HeadStart of Shawnee Mission, The Food Processors Association, Overland Park Regional Hospital, KU Med, GeoLearn, and many others. He has also shot and edited a reality show pilot.

PERFORMING:
He has an extensive background as an on-camera performer, having appeared on national cable twice; The Travel Channel ("Ghost Adventures / Union Station") and MTV2 ("High School Stories"), as well as in many regional and local commercials. His stage career spans over a decade, with many appearances at the country's largest outdoor community theatre, Shawnee Mission Theatre in the Park, as well as on stages across the KC metro.

AVIATION:
Pete has been a private pilot since 1983, with endorsements for complex aircraft as well as tail-dragger aircraft, and secured an Instrument Rating in 2000. He served as Public Relations Director for the Airline History Museum in Kansas City (formerly "Save-A-Connie") all during the 90's, and secured an agreement with TWA allowing the Museum to use all the airline's historical footage in promoting the Museum. With that access to footage, Pete hosted, produced and distributed 4 hour-long videos promoting the organization on cable channels nationwide.

VOLUNTEER WORK:
In the Kansas City community, Pete currently serves on the Board of New Landings, a not-for-profit group dedicated to helping the middle class unemployed find work as well as on the Board of The Mid-Life Players, a regional theatre organization. In the past he served as a member of the Johnson County Cultural Advisory Committee, as well as President of “The Barn Players,” a local not-for-profit theater organization. While there he was instrumental in securing their new performing facility in Shawnee, KS. He also served for years as the Public Relations Director for “The Airline History Museum at Kansas City,” as well as on the Advisory Council for Shawnee Mission’s “Theater In The Park."