George
Knapp (born April 18, 1952 in Woodbury, New Jersey) is
an award-winning American investigative journalist.
A
longtime fixture in Las Vegas media, he works at KLAS-TV
and is also a frequent host of the Sunday night/Monday
morning Coast To Coast AM
syndicated radio show. He is known for his work on anomalous
phenomena, which is a frequent topic of the Coast to Coast
show.
Biography
Born
in Woodbury, New Jersey, Knapp grew up in northern California
and graduated from Franklin High School in Stockton, where
he was the senior class president. He earned
a Bachelor's degree in Communication from West Georgia
College and a
Master's degree in the same field from University of the
Pacific. He taught debate and forensics at
both the University of the Pacific and University of California,
Berkeley.
He
moved to Las Vegas in the early 1980s, working first as
a cab driver before being hired as an intern, and then,
a news reporter at a PBS station. From there, Knapp was
hired as a reporter and news anchor for KLAS. He also
wrote regular columns for the Las
Vegas Sun newspaper and LV
Magazine. He also produces free-lance news
series for KTNV-TV (ABC), Las Vegas and WTVF-TV (CBS)
Nashville, Tennessee.
Knapp
became known nationally in the late 1980s by reporting
the story of Bob
Lazar, who claimed to have worked on extraterrestrial
UFOs at the secretive Area
51. Due in part to Knapp's discovery of
evidence corroborating some of Lazar's claims, Knapp's
stories on Lazar were taken more seriously than typical
UFO fare. In 1990, Knapp's stories on Lazar earned
an Individual Achievement
by a Journalist award from the United Press International.
However, to Knapp's "eternal shame", he also,
during this era, publicized the claims of conspiracy theorist
Bill Cooper, whom Knapp came to regard as far less credible
than Lazar.
From
1981 to 1991, Mr. Knapp was anchorman
and chief investigative reporter for KLAS TV,
the Las Vegas, Nevada CBS affiliate. During that period,
he won dozens of regional and
national awards for reporting,
newswriting,
and documentaries on such diverse topics as
organized crime, political corruption, and the illegal
drug trade. In 1989, Knapp produced a ten-part news series
which was compiled into a documentary, UFOs:
The Best Evidence. The program was honored
by both Associated Press and United Press international,
capturing UPI's national award
for Best Individual Achievement. It was also
nominated for a regional Emmy. A follow-up
project, six months later, was also a critical and popular
success. Both projects were honored
with the Donald Keyhoe Award, presented by
the Fund
for UFO Research.
In
1991, Knapp left KLAS to accept a position as Senior Vice
President with Altamira Communications
Group, a public relations firm whose clients
included advocates of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste
repository 90 miles (140 km) north of Las Vegas. Knapp
was rehired by KLAS-TV in the mid-1990s when he left the
public relations firm. He is currently working on a comprehensive
series of UFO-related documentaries, including a project
based on his March 1993 visit to Russia.
He
wrote a regular column titled "Knappster" for
the now-defunct alternative newsweekly Las
Vegas Mercury. The "Knappster" column
now appears in Las Vegas CityLife,
an alternative newsweekly published by Stephens Media
LLC, the same company that formerly published the Mercury.
In
the late 1990s and early 2000s, Knapp worked with the
now-defunct group National
Institute of Discovery Science (NIDS).
Founded by Las Vegas businessman Robert Bigelow, NIDS
was charged with scientifically studying unusual phenomenon
with top-shelf scientists and funding. Based on his work
with NIDS
and biochemist Colm
Kelleher, Knapp publicized the so-called
Skinwalker Ranch in northeast Utah, where strange events
are alleged to have occurred.
In
2004, Knapp won a national Edward
R. Murrow Award for a story about vote fraud
in Clark County, Nevada. He has also won over a
dozen Emmy Awards and several writing awards from the
Associated Press.
Knapp
and photojournalist Matt Adams were recognized for their
work on the investigative series Crossfire:
Water,
Power and Politics that received
a 2008 Peabody Award.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Knapp_%28journalist%29
MUFON 1993 International UFO Symposium
Proceedings
