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| This Week in Northern California: New Website Press Release |
KQED PUBLIC TELEVISION INAUGURATES NEW LOOK, WEB SITE FOR "THIS WEEK IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA"
KQED's Highest-Rated Original Production Gets Make-Over after 10 Years
San Francisco, CA, November 8, 2000 -- This Week in Northern California will give Bay Area viewers a new look on Friday, November 10 at 8:30 p.m., fortifying the series' position as a trusted and quality source of news and analysis for the week's major events. The veteran series from KQED -- hosted by seasoned journalist Belva Davis -- is in its 11th season and will debut a new logo, new on-air graphics, a new set, new music and a new Web site. The program's format will be enhanced to incorporate features such as satellite feeds and expanded field packages. This Week in Northern California attracts over 170,000 viewers per week.
Friday evening's episode of This Week in Northern California will be a special post-election wrap-up focusing on local and national elections, and will feature a live satellite interview with Dan Walters, a political analyst and columnist for the Sacramento Bee.
This Week in Northern California's new logo and graphics package reflects the series' transition to a new century of news, issues and politics that affect and enrich the lives of the people of Northern California. The graphics package -- which features images from all reaches of Northern California, including Sacramento, Sonoma County, San Jose, the East Bay and San Francisco -- was designed by KQED's Caroline Hendriks. This Week in Northern California's new set was designed and constructed by Acme Scenery Company and replaces the older version that has been used since 1991. Mark Adler, who created the original music for the series, composed the new music.
The Web site for This Week in Northern California -- thisweek.kqed.org -- will re-launch as well. New features of the site will include transcripts; links to related resources; guest biographies; a searchable archive of past topics; a feedback area for viewers; a discussion area for viewers to continue the conversation beyond the show; and a free weekly email bulletin for advance notice of the week’s topics, previews of upcoming show topics and an opportunity for viewers to ask questions to prior to the program's broadcast.
This Week in Northern California offers insightful, thought-provoking roundtable discussions and news analysis of the latest political topics. Local reporters from diverse media outlets throughout the region open their notebooks for an inside look at the stories behind the headlines every Friday night. This Week in Northern California debuted on KQED in February 1990 with journalist Ginger Casey as host. In 1993, award-winning broadcast journalist Belva Davis became the host. Occasionally, Spencer Michels, West Coast correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, or John Roszak, producer of This Week in Northern California, fills in for Davis.
Since becoming the first African-American, female television reporter on the West Coast in 1966, Belva Davis has been an inspiration for professional and aspiring journalists. She advocates community awareness through poignant reports, and demonstrates her involvement by being a board member for community organizations, a labor activist, and a supporter of African-American culture. Davis has over three decades of television experience, having worked first for KPIX-TV, then KQED Public Television 9, then KRON-TV and now with This Week in Northern California. She has received several dozen awards for her journalism, including national recognition from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Ohio State, San Francisco State and the National Education Writers Association. She has won six local Emmys, a Certificate of Excellence from the California Associated Press Television and Radio Association.
This Week in Northern California is produced by John Roszak, with new This Week staffers Jon Fromer coordinating field production, and Robin Epstein and Scheraz Sadiq as associate producers; Katherine Russell as director; and Sue Ellen McCann and Tamara Gould as co-executive producers.
KQED operates KQED Public Television 9, the nation's most-watched public television station (in prime-time), and Digital Television 30, Northern California's only public television digital signal; KQED Public Radio 88.5 FM, the most listened-to public radio station in the nation; the KQED Education Network, which brings the impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents and media professionals through workshops, seminars and resources; and kqed.org, which harnesses the power of the Internet to bring KQED to communities across the Web.
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