 |
PRESSROOM MATERIALS
|
KQED Public Radio Press Kit
KQED radio overview, productions, awards and management information
|
KQED Press Kit
KQED overview, history, division and management information
|
Media Usage Policy
photo & document rights,
uses, permissions
|
PRESS CONTACTS
|
Contacts for journalists and reporters only. For information about contacting KQED, please visit the Contact Us page. Please send press releases or news story ideas directly to KQED Radio Programs contacts.
Scott Walton, Executive Director of Communications
415.553.2145
swalton@ncpb.com
Meredith Gandy, Publicist
415.553.2116
mgandy@kqed.org
|
|
|
| Understanding America After 9/11 |
Public Radio Stations Across the Country to Collaborate on
National Six-Hour Documentary Series That Gives Diverse Voices a Perspective
in "Understanding America After 9/11"
KQED Public Radio 88.5 FM is Anchor Station in First Grassroots Collaboration of Public Radio Stations Nationwide That Will Create and Share Special Programming That Reflects on Where We Are and Where We're Going a Year After 9/11
San Francisco, California, August 1, 2002 -- For the first time in broadcast history, public radio stations across the country are working together to use locally-produced programming to spark a coordinated national conversation on one of the most critical events of the last year -- Understanding America After 9/11. Anchor station KQED Public Radio 88.5 FM in San Francisco is producing an hour-long documentary, several short features, weekly segments for its statewide service The California Report, and commentary that bring the unique perspectives of the Bay Area to listeners nationwide through this collaboration. From September 3-10, individual stations across the country will combine these collaborative pieces with their own local stories, talk shows, town forums and call-in programs to deliver special coverage that is national in relevance, yet tuned to their local audiences. The collaborative programming will be available free of charge to all public radio stations.
The concept is simple: to tackle an issue of national importance by letting public radio stations do what they do best -- create local community conversations; and when those conversations happen on the same subject over the same week, they can create a national dialogue that touches people in a way no national show ever can.
KQED Public Radio will broadcast the opening documentary of the national collaborative with "A Need to Belong: Citizenship in a Post-9/11 America" on Tuesday, September 3 at 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. "A Need to Belong" is a one-hour documentary that explores patriotism and the place of loyalty and dissent in our changed world. The program probes the by-products of fear in our society, including a new sense of vulnerability among immigrants and strained relations between longtime citizens and recent arrivals. In reporting from abroad, the program examines how the image of America and the ideal of American citizenship have shifted in other parts of the world.
KQED Public Radio is among 11 anchor stations that have been working since last November to organize the collaboration and create a set of documentaries and features to serve as core programming. Several dozen other public radio stations and independent producers are also contributing local area stories for broadcast on stations nationwide. NPR, PRI and the BBC have joined in the collaboration as well, offering resources and shows.
"Our colleagues in public radio and at KQED are taking an alternative approach to covering the anniversary of the events of September 11," noted Jo Anne Wallace, vice president and general manager of KQED Public Radio. "By bringing a variety of perspectives to topics such as citizenship, we hope to bring public radio listeners a broadcasting experience that will give them pause to consider 9/11 in a new way."
At a special public radio summit in November 2001, KQED's news and public affairs director Raúl Ramirez, along with some 60 news and programming directors from around the country agreed that 9/11 was the only topic that made sense for this first collaboration. But the group insisted that public radio had to approach the subject in a distinctive way. Instead of using the anniversary to simply look back and remember, the collaboration would use the one-year mark as a prism through which to look at where America is today and where we are headed.
Understanding America After 9/11 will present a montage of unforgettable stories exploring today's political, social, economic and psychological climate from communities across America, and will look ahead at the impact on our lives moving forward. In addition, the collaboration will host two special events -- a live worldwide call-in show in cooperation with the BBC World Service and a national Town Hall meeting connecting live audiences across the country. Both shows will air on the BBC World Service, as well as on U.S. public radio and both will allow people to talk and compare views on what it means to live with terror after 9/11. Additional information regarding specific programming will be released in the coming weeks. The public can visit kqed.org to get more information.
CPB (The Corporation for Public Broadcasting) a private, nonprofit corporation created and funded by Congress, develops public radio, television and online services for the American people. The corporation is the industry's largest single source of funds for national public television and radio program development and production. CPB, a grant making organization, funds more than 1,000 public radio and television stations.
Funding for Understanding America After 9/11 was provided by Ambassador James C. Hormel and Mr. Timothy C. Wu, the Koret Foundation and the KQED Campaign for the Future Program Venture Fund.
|
|
|
