WQED Senior Producer   Rick Sebak is an Emmy ® award-winning producer who makes unusual television programs. His slightly wacky documentaries celebrate various aspects of modern American life and the unexpected charms of Pittsburgh. Audiences have learned to recognize his friendly narrative style and the unusual topics that he obviously loves. He has a way of quickly capturing the essence of a place and its people. He has produced more than 20 individual programs about Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania. After his special on "Pennsylvania Diners & Other Roadside Restaurants" aired on PBS stations in 1994, earning great attention and high ratings he began to produce national documentaries on often overlooked aspects of American culture for PBS, incorporating the same friendly style Pittsburghers had learned to love. To date he has produced 11 national documentaries for PBS.   Rick is currently working on “Right Beside the River,” a documentary about Pittsburgh and the other cities in Western Pennsylvania that are located along rivers for the Pittsburgh History Series. His latest PBS documentary “Breakfast Special,” is a show about the places around the country we go to eat the day’s most important meal. Both are scheduled to premiere in 2009 on WQED-TV and nationwide respectively.   PBS stations around the country often rebroadcast Sebak’s programs because audiences respond so favorably to the quirky blend of Americana, places and personalities. Before coming to WQED Pittsburgh, Sebak worked for 11 years at the South Carolina Educational Television Network in Columbia, South Carolina. His work there included the award-winning documentaries “Shag,” about the official state dance of South Carolina, and “The Slightly Wacky Aussie Doco,” a travelogue about Australia.                 In 2007, Sebak received an honorary doctorate from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. He has also received numerous other awards including recognition from the Media Association of Pittsburgh and the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh. In addition to Rick’s productions, he also writes a monthly column for WQED’s PITTSBURGH MAGAZINE.   PBS National Programs:   2008 A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway 2007 To Market To Market To Buy A Fat Pig 2005 A Cemetery Special 2004 A Program About Unusual Buildings & Other Roadside Stuff 2003 Fred Rogers: America’s Favorite Neighbor 2002 Sandwiches That You Will Like 2001 A Flea Market Documentary 1999 A Hot Dog Program 1999 Great Old Amusement Parks 1996 Shore Things 1996 An Ice Cream Show     WQED Pittsburgh History Series:   2008 Invented, Engineered & Pioneered in Pittsburgh 2007 Underground Pittsburgh 2006 What Makes Pittsburgh Pittsburgh? 2004 It’s The Neighborhoods… 2003 Things We’ve Made 2002 Happy Holidays in Pittsburgh 2001 Pittsburgh A To Z 2000 Something About Oakland 1999 Things That Are Still Here 1998 South Side 1997 North Side Story 1996 The Strip Show 1994 Houses Around Here 1994 Stuff That’s Gone 1993 Pennsylvania Diners & Other Roadside Restaurants 1992 Downtown Pittsburgh 1992 The Pennsylvania Road Show 1990 Flying Off The Bridge To Nowhere! 1990 Things That Aren’t There Anymore 1989 Holy Pittsburgh! 1988 Kennywood Memories 1988 The Mon, The Al & The O              

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