Kentucky Afield
Kentucky Afield is a magazine, radio show and television program, and is the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The magazine is a quarterly periodical while the television and radio programs are a 30-minute broadcast, all of which is devoted to the fish and wildlife resources of Kentucky and covers a broad range of outdoor topics, including angling, hunting, conservation and land management.[1][2]
The television show is the longest continuously-running outdoors television show in the United States and the fourth oldest in the nation for all television shows.[2]
Magazine
| Editor/Writer | Dave Baker |
|---|---|
| Associate Editor/Writer | Lee McClellan, Associate Editor/Writer |
| Frequency | 4 times per year |
| Publisher | Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife |
| Founder | Harry Towles |
| Year founded | December 1952 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Website | fw.ky.gov/Kentucky-Afield/Pages/Magazine.aspx |
Kentucky Afield magazine began as Kentucky Happy Hunting Ground under the leadership of Editor Harry Towles in December 1945 as a bi-monthly publication.[3] The initial press run was 15,000 copies, with the subscription price set at 50 cents a year. The first issue featured a hunting dog on the cover and a drawing of pioneer Daniel Boone in the upper left hand corner. The League of Kentucky Sportsmen (Kentucky's oldest conservation group) took over the magazine from May 1947 to June 1948, before giving it back to the Department.
In 1992, the magazine's name changed to Kentucky Afield. The name change not only mirrored the names of the department's television and radio shows, but it emphasized all the outdoors, not just hunting Since 2000, staff artist Rick Hill has painted the covers of the magazine. The exception was 2004, when the magazine switched to photo covers while Hill painted "Kentucky Fish", a department poster featuring 27 of the state's most recognized fish.
Radio
| Running time | 30 minutes |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Executive producer(s) | Charlie Baglan |
| Original release | 1952 – present |
| Website | fw.ky.gov/Kentucky-Afield/Pages/Radio.aspx |
A radio program was added in 1952.[2]
Television
| Kentucky Afield | |
|---|---|
| Presented by | Ron Rhody (1953–1957) Hope Carleton (1957–1980) Jeremy Dreier (1980–1988) Tim Michaels (1988–1989) Dave Shuffett (1989–1995) Tim Farmer (1995–2016) Chad Miles (2016–present) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Nathan Brooks |
| Production locations | Lexington, Kentucky |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Kentucky Educational Television |
| Original release | 1953 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The radio program was followed by a television show in 1953 when it debuted on WAVE TV.[2] Ron Rhody delivered a weekly fishing report on Saturday mornings. In 1957, Hope Carleton, who was a Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources conservation officer, was named host and remained so until his retirement in 1980.[4] He was replaced with Jeremy Dreier.
In 1985, Dreier forged a deal with Kentucky Educational Television to air the show statewide.[2] Dreier was replaced as host by Tim Michaels in 1988 and then Dave Shuffett from 1989 until 1995.[2][5] Under Dave, the format of the show changed into a magazine-styled format.[2] Tim Farmer took over from Dave from 1995[6] until December 2015.[7]
See also
References
- "Television Show". Television Show. Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources. Retrieved 2015-02-06.
- "About Kentucky Afield". Kentucky Afield. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Archived from the original on 2018-06-04. Retrieved 2015-02-06.
- Happy Hunting Grounds, 1945
- "Remembering Hope Carleton". Kentucky Educational Technical. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
- "Dave Shuffett". Kentucky Life. Kentucky Educational Television. Retrieved 2015-02-06.
- "About Kentucky Afield Host, Tim Farmer". Kentucky Afield. Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources. Retrieved 2015-02-06.
- "Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer says farewell". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2015-12-13.