# George Knapp

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Investigative journalist & broadcaster

The Las Vegas journalist whose 1989 interviews brought Bob Lazar’s story to television. His work connects local investigative reporting, the accounts surrounding Skinwalker Ranch, and decades of broadcasting about UFOs and government secrecy.

![George Knapp in a suit holding a Peabody Award at a lectern.](<https://uap.fun/people/george-knapp.jpg>)

Anders Krusberg / Peabody Awards

[Photo source](<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Knapp_(8221331696)_(cropped).jpg>) · [CC BY 2.0](<https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/>)

**Known for:** Bob Lazar reporting · Skinwalker Ranch · WEAPONIZED

Sources reviewed September 16, 2026.

## An investigative reporter in Las Vegas

Knapp joined Las Vegas television station KLAS in 1981 and built a reporting career that extended well beyond UFOs. His work on Crossfire: Water, Power and Politics received a 2008 Peabody Award. That investigation examined a proposed Nevada water pipeline and its implications for rural communities, ranchers, and Native Americans. The award documents his standing in investigative journalism; it recognized the water reporting, rather than certifying any of his later or earlier conclusions about unexplained phenomena.

Sources: [George Knapp: journalism and broadcasting career](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Knapp_(television_journalist)>) · [Crossfire: Water, Power and Politics](<https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/crossfire/>)

## Bringing Bob Lazar’s account to television

Knapp’s 1989 KLAS reports introduced viewers to a man initially identified as “Dennis,” who alleged that recovered craft were being studied near Area 51. The source subsequently appeared as Bob Lazar. Knapp’s December interview pursued the details of Lazar’s claimed assignment, briefing materials, and propulsion system. These broadcasts helped turn an obscure Nevada installation into a familiar symbol of UFO secrecy. They also provide a record of the original claims against which later retellings can be compared.

Sources: [The 1989 Bob Lazar reporting](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UjqFaQq_7I>) · [George Knapp’s December 1989 interview with Bob Lazar](<https://disclosdex.com/documents/1989-12-09-knapp-lazar-interview>)

## The Skinwalker Ranch book

In 2005, Knapp and biochemist Colm A. Kelleher published Hunt for the Skinwalker, about reported disturbances at a ranch in northeastern Utah. The book brought together accounts of unusual lights, animals, apparent objects, and other experiences investigated by the National Institute for Discovery Science. It helped connect UFO discussion with a much broader paranormal tradition. Its accounts are best approached with attention to who witnessed each event, which records survive, and what was independently measured; publication alone does not resolve those questions.

Sources: [Hunt for the Skinwalker](<https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Hunt-for-the-Skinwalker/Colm-A-Kelleher/9781416505211>)

## Radio and long-form conversations

Knapp also became a familiar voice through Coast to Coast AM. His WEAPONIZED podcast with filmmaker Jeremy Corbell offers another format for interviews, historical cases, and discussion of military and government claims. Compared with a short television report, these conversations give sources more room to describe their experiences and theories. They also make Knapp’s interpretation part of the presentation. A guest’s account, the hosts’ assessment, and independently available documentation remain different kinds of information even when they appear in the same episode.

Sources: [George Knapp: journalism and broadcasting career](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Knapp_(television_journalist)>) · [About WEAPONIZED with Jeremy Corbell & George Knapp](<https://www.weaponizedpodcast.com/about>)

## His place in the public record

Knapp’s importance lies partly in continuity: the same reporter who interviewed Lazar became a coauthor of the Skinwalker account and a prominent host for later UFO discussion. His work offers a route through several decades of the subject’s public history. The most useful starting points are the dated broadcasts, complete interviews, and credited books themselves. They preserve the wording and context of an allegation more reliably than a brief quotation or a social-media summary detached from its original source.

Sources: [The 1989 Bob Lazar reporting](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UjqFaQq_7I>) · [George Knapp’s December 1989 interview with Bob Lazar](<https://disclosdex.com/documents/1989-12-09-knapp-lazar-interview>) · [Hunt for the Skinwalker](<https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Hunt-for-the-Skinwalker/Colm-A-Kelleher/9781416505211>) · [About WEAPONIZED with Jeremy Corbell & George Knapp](<https://www.weaponizedpodcast.com/about>)

## Sources & further reading

- [George Knapp: journalism and broadcasting career](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Knapp_(television_journalist)>) — Wikipedia · Secondary overview and references
- [Crossfire: Water, Power and Politics](<https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/crossfire/>) — Peabody Awards · 2008 winner
- [The 1989 Bob Lazar reporting](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UjqFaQq_7I>) — KLAS-TV / 8 News Now · Archival television coverage (video)
- [George Knapp’s December 1989 interview with Bob Lazar](<https://disclosdex.com/documents/1989-12-09-knapp-lazar-interview>) — KLAS-TV · Transcript reproduced by Disclosdex
- [Hunt for the Skinwalker](<https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Hunt-for-the-Skinwalker/Colm-A-Kelleher/9781416505211>) — Simon & Schuster · Book description and author biographies
- [About WEAPONIZED with Jeremy Corbell & George Knapp](<https://www.weaponizedpodcast.com/about>) — WEAPONIZED · Official podcast website

## Keep exploring

- [Bob Lazar](<https://uap.fun/people/bob-lazar/>)
- [Jeremy Corbell](<https://uap.fun/people/jeremy-corbell/>)
- [Robert Bigelow](<https://uap.fun/people/robert-bigelow/>)
- [Area 51](<https://uap.fun/lore/area-51/>)
- [Leslie Kean](<https://uap.fun/people/leslie-kean/>)

[All people](<https://uap.fun/people/>)

[Next profile: Steven Greer](<https://uap.fun/people/steven-greer/>)