George Knapp

George T. Knapp is an American journalist, news anchor and talk radio host. Much of his work has focused on the paranormal, particularly UFOs. Knapp is noted for bringing to prominence UFO conspiracy theorist Bob Lazar in 1989. He is also known for his work as a television presenter and investigative journalist on non-paranormal subjects, for which he has been recognized with Edward R. Murrow Awards, Peabody Awards, and Pacific Southwest Regional Emmy Awards.

A longtime fixture in Las Vegas media, he works at KLAS-TV (Channel 8) and is also a frequent host of Coast to Coast AM, a syndicated paranormal radio show on which UFOs are a frequent topic.

Early life Born in Woodbury, New Jersey, Knapp grew up in northern California and graduated from Franklin High School in Stockton,

He moved to Las Vegas in 1979, working first as a cab driver before being hired as an intern at KLVX-TV Channel 10.

In programmes aired in January 1987 and January 1988, Knapp interviewed aviator and UFO claimant John Lear, who claimed that the United States government had alien spacecraft and bodies. Lear introduced Knapp to another UFO claimant, originally anonymously known as "Dennis", which KLAS-TV interviewed in a program aired in May 1989, and who was later interviewed in a program which aired in November 1989 which revealed his real name to be Bob Lazar. Lazar claimed to have worked on UFOs at the secretive Area 51. Knapp's interviews of Lazar attracted international attention, Knapp's willingness to listen to the testimony of UFO claimants caused him to be mocked by some of his fellow Las Vegas journalists. Knapp was rehired by KLAS-TV in 1995 when he left the public relations firm.

In 2009, Knapp was courted by KVBC-TV (Channel 3) who offered him a significantly larger salary than KLAS-TV. Knapp declined the offer, deciding to stay with KLAS-TV.

Knapp has been credited for introducing Nevada senator Harry Reid to Robert Bigelow because of their shared interest in unidentified aerial phenomena.

Knapp co-hosts the UFO-focused "Weaponized" podcast alongside fellow UFO investigator Jeremy Corbell.

In July 2023, Knapp attended a hearing on UFOs at the United States Congress. According to skeptical writer Mick West, "George Knapp was (and still is) very much a believer in aliens, having built a considerable segment of his career in promoting the claims of Area 51 confabulator Bob Lazar as factual".

He hosted the Netflix docuseries Investigation Alien in November 2024, which investigated UFO sightings and alien claims.

Awards

Knapp has won five regional and two national Edward R. Murrow Awards, twenty-four Pacific Southwest Regional Emmy Awards (Regional Emmys), and nine Associated Press Mark Twain Awards. He has also won a DuPont Award from Columbia University and two Peabody Awards.

Personal life Knapp married his longtime girlfriend Anne "The Viking" Fechner in 2010.