Bronx MAN

By: Mehadi Hassan

Michael Knobbe is a person who loves the Bronx. His interests in the borough’s diverse music and cultures have allowed him to channel the voices of the people from his borough through Bronxnet-the non-profit community television station serving the Bronx.

Knobbe has lived in the Bronx all his life. He is a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science (Class of 1987) and completed his undergrad degree in an out of state college but earned his master’s degree at Lehman College. While earning his master’s, Knobbe stumbled upon the subbasement of Carman Hall, which forever changed his life. There, in the basement, he saw a flier advertising for graphic artist for a new TV station-Bronxnet. After applying for the job and becoming Bronxnet’s first graphic, Knobbe saw the station grow over the coming 14 years. Being such a dedicated worker for the station, Knobbe was appointed executive director for Bronxnet in 2002, which fits the love he has for the Bronx and offers him a way to express it.

Doing an on-air job was not Knobbe’s dream, as his passion since childhood had always been for music and art. “I loved art and music,” Knobbe says. “I wanted to do art one way or the other, even before I started working at Bronxnet.” So what changed Knobbe’s mind?

“An epiphany happened when I was asked to produce and edit this performing art series and that’s when I really started to know I loved this medium,” he says. “I came to love editing and shooting and producing.”

“Michael loves what he’s doing and likes for the public voice to be heard,” says Bharati S Kemraj, administrative assistant to Knobbe. “He is the guardian angel of Bronxnet.” Kemraj has worked closely with Knobbe for a couple of years and noted that Knobbe spends all of his time trying to keep Bronxnet on the air because he cares so much about the public voice. “What Michael is doing is giving back as much as he can to the people of the Bronx community,” says Kemraj. “His bad habit is spending every minute he has dedicated to this station.”

Why does Knobbe love the Bronx so much? “It’s a beautiful community,” he says. “I have a passion for this place. I have an affinity for the media in the Bronx. I love what we share in the borough.” Knobbe has been a Bronxite all his life and has been very successful in protecting the voice of his borough. “He’s been a busy, industrious person,” says Shawn Smith, Knobbe’s senior editor. “Since he’s industrious he’s so successful.”

Knobbe’s love for diverse cultures is not limited to the Bronx. “Whenever we get the chance, we connect to the world we shoot it,” says Knobbe. “We sent out cameras to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Sahara Desert, Morocco.” Knobbe even wears an armband he received from the Sahara desert to show how much he loves diverse cultures.

Knobbe has a passion for the Bronx and wants to keep the public voice of the borough alive. “Michael is the Bronx,” says Smith. “If you say the Bronx, you can say Michael synonymously.”