Great Coverage of Our Great Lakes
Detroit Public TV Debuts “Great Lakes Now,”
A New Monthly Series for Viewers across the Region
A network of PBS stations work together to cover
crucial issues affecting the well-being and future of the Lakes
crucial issues affecting the well-being and future of the Lakes
Local Premiere on Tuesday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m. on DPTV (56.1)
The massive body of freshwater we call the Great Lakes – all 6 quadrillion gallons of it – is a critical link to the health and future of our region. It provides a common heritage and perhaps shapes our character and culture more than any other factor. It is what gives us our identity.
Starting this Tuesday, we are partnering with public television stations across the region on a new monthly, magazine-style series, “Great Lakes Now,” which will provide in-depth coverage of the environmental, economic and political issues that impact the lakes and the people who use, cherish and protect them.
“Great Lakes Now” is recorded on location around the Great Lakes basin, and segments and stories focus on issues that matter to the people of the region including: water quality, government policy, economic vitality, environmental justice, resource conservation, recreation and tourism.
In its debut episode, “Great Lakes Now” travels across the region to learn what life is like on a Lake Erie island – especially without tourists -- and how a Chicago port helps get a favorite candy made. With help from reporting partner MLive Media Group, it looks at how Ann Arbor is dealing with industrial chemicals in the city water supply and answers viewer questions about drinking water safety.
The series is a production by DPTV’s Great Lakes Now bureau, which was formed three years ago to serve as a regional hub of news and information on matters of importance to the region. In addition to DPTV’s own team of correspondents, “Great Lakes Now” represents a unique partnership with other regional PBS stations that contribute coverage to the TV program and to the Great Lakes Now website, newsletters and social media platforms. Partner stations will also broadcast the show on their own TV channels.
The producers of the series are Sandra Svoboda, the program director of the Great Lakes Now initiative, and Rob Green. New 30-minute episodes of “Great Lakes Now” will be broadcast on the last Tuesday of every month. They can also be viewed on-demand on DPTV’s multiple online platforms including GreatLakesNow.org and YouTube. The program is hosted by Detroit-area native and Great Lakes aficionado, Ward Detwiler.
The series is the next step in a DPTV’s commitment to provide coverage of a range of issues affecting the Great Lakes and to promote a basin-wide identity that helps create a shared sense of stewardship and responsibility for the health of its freshwater resources.
So please join us this and every month for “Great Lakes Now” and let us know what you think on GreatLakesNow.org, Facebook or Twitter.
Rich Homberg
President and CEO
Detroit Public Television - 1 Clover Court, Wixom, MI 48393
248-640-4169 - rhomberg@dptv.org - @RichHomberg
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Find out more: http://www.dptv.org/programs/media-that-matters/
