Springfield, Mass. (March 23, 2020) -- Since public radio station NEPR and public television station WGBY joined forces last year to form New England Public Media, there have been a number of exciting cross-platform collaborations. Now, in order to increase public service amid the ongoing coronavirus epidemic, those collaborations will be broadly and immediately expanded.
Starting today, Monday, March 23, Connecting Point, the magazine-format TV series that focuses on timely local subject matter will be added to the NEPR radio schedule at 6:00 p.m. It will continue to be broadcast on WGBY TV at 7:00 p.m., with nightly segments covering the local impact of the COVID-19 virus.
New England Public Media and WGBH (Boston) are collaborating on In It Together, a new live daily call-in show hosted by Arun Rath at WGBH. The NEPR News Department and Connecting Point teams will provide content resources as part of a commonwealth-wide initiative. The program considers how we're managing the impact of the coronavirus on our daily lives and will be heard weeknights on 88.5FM NEPR at 7:00 p.m. starting today, Monday, March 23.
Also beginning today, The NEPR News Network will begin airing The National Conversation with All Things Considered, a nightly special from NPR beginning at 9:00 p.m.. The show’s focus will be on the global coronavirus crisis and it will use social media sourcing and audience call-outs to discuss Covid-19.
And beginning Friday, March 27, both NEPR and the NEPR News Network will carry a weekly America Amplified Special on the Coronavirus beginning at 9:00 a.m. America Amplified, the national audience engagement effort funded by the Corporation For Public Broadcasting (CPB), and the New England News Collaborative (NENC), a partnership of 10 public media companies in six states, are working together on this series of call-in specials on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The March 27 show will be hosted by Lucy Nalpathanchil of Connecticut Public Radio’s Where We Live, and will focus on the impact of school closures and remote learning across the region.
In addition to these new programs, New England Public Media offers a wide variety of local, national and international news on New England Public Radio, The NEPR News Network and WGBY-TV, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, On Point, Here & Now, BBC NewsHour, PBS NewsHour, Frontline and more. Visit nepr.net and wgby.org for full program schedules and regular updates.
“The value of the thoughtful journalism that NEPM provides in these uncertain times has never been greater,” said Martin Miller, president of New England Public Media. “The new programs we and our national partners are producing put the day's events in perspective and complement the ongoing developments we cover for you throughout the day."
ABOUT NEW ENGLAND PUBLIC MEDIA
Based in Springfield, Massachusetts, New England Public Media is the new alliance of NEPR and WGBY-TV. Through a deep commitment to independent local journalism, trusted educational content, inspired cultural offerings, and civic engagement, NEPM endeavors to share new voices and inspire new conversations. It provides audiences with a broad array of local and national programs across all media -- TV, radio, online, and mobile, including PBS and NPR programs as well as locally produced series, podcasts and specials. Its four digital TV channels, and two radio networks present news, jazz and classical music, documentaries, talk, drama, plus cultural and educational programming. New England Public Media is a community-supported, independent non-profit organization. nepm.org
ABOUT WGBY
With four digital television channels, video on demand, and streaming video, WGBY brings quality public broadcasting programs to audiences across western New England. WGBY is available over the air on digital channel 57-1 and on cable throughout western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut and can be seen in high definition in western Massachusetts at Comcast 857, Time Warner 1221, Spectrum 782, and over the air on channel 57.
ABOUT NEPR
NEPR's flagship signal, 88.5FM WFCR (and 5 repeating stations in Berkshire County), presents news, jazz, and classical music, while the six stations of the NEPR News Network provide the region with news, talk and cultural programming 24/7. NEPR.net offers three streams including an all-classical selection, NEPR-produced podcasts, and other digital offerings.
ABOUT THE NEW ENGLAND NEWS COLLABORATIVE
The NENC is an eight-station consortium of public media newsrooms. Our multimedia coverage delves into energy usage, climate, transportation, infrastructure, and stories of people and immigration affecting the region. The NENC includes Connecticut Public, Maine Public, New England Public Media, New Hampshire Public Radio, Vermont Public Radio, WBUR, WCAI, WGBH, WSHU, The Public's Radio. The collaborative's executive editor is Vanessa de la Torre.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Vanessa Cerillo
Senior Director, Marketing, Communications and Events
New England Public Media
WGBY-TV and New England Public Radio
413-735-6605
vcerillo@nepr.net