| A new local news program will
hit the Athens airwaves beginning April 8 at 4:30 p.m. Athens
News Matters, produced by local public radio station WUGA-FM
91.7/97.9, is a weekly program featuring media professionals discussing
issues important in and around Athens. The journalists will also
discuss how their publications choose to cover the news and what
news to cover.
Regular panelists include Jason Winders, executive editor of the
Athens Banner-Herald, and Brad Aaron, executive editor
and publisher of Athens Weekly News. Each week a third
journalist will rotate onto the panel from such publications as
The Red & Black, Oconee Enterprise, Eco Latino, Flagpole, Zebra
and others. Mary Kay Mitchell, news director at WUGA, is the show’s
host.
Davin Welter, WUGA station manager, expects a spirited but civil
debate on civic issues.
“Our local democracy relies on accurate information from several
different local sources,” says Welter. “I feel it’s
important that WUGA foster a discussion of ideas and opinions about
the issues that face our community. We need an engaged citizenry,
and I hope that Athens News Matters will play a key role
in that process.”
Topics will range widely from unfolding issues to examinations of
long-standing issues. Subjects up for discussion on the show’s
debut are the proposed toll and potential future development of
Ga. Hwy. 316 and local “quality-of-life” ordinances—issues
that affect a broad cross-section of citizens, including students,
residents and visitors. At the conclusion of the program, each panelist
will have a minute in which to discuss an issue of his or her choosing.
The show will be broadcast on Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. before National
Public Radio’s All Things Considered.
Show host Mitchell has been working in radio for 30 years and is
one of the original staff members who helped put WUGA on the air
in 1987. Since then, she has served as news and public affairs director
by managing the station’s local informational programs.
A team of volunteers will produce the show each week. Patricia Priest,
a local independent radio producer, is the executive producer; Mary
Whitehead serves as technical producer. Original music was written
for the show’s theme by Neal Priest, director of emergency
services at St. Mary’s Hospital and a local musician.
“Local news is crucial to our everyday lives and is the very
foundation of the future landscape and vitality of the Athens area,”
says Pat Priest. “We designed this show to foster spirited
discussions that highlight the relevance and importance of local
issues—and of the press coverage that conveys our sense of
community to ourselves.”
Broadcasting from the UGA campus, WUGA’s weekly listenership
numbers more than 25,000.
“This show is the result of our listeners expressing a desire
to hear more local news coverage and the station finding creative
and inexpensive ways to produce this type of program,” Welter
says. “Athens News Matters is the result of our panelists
and volunteers who believe in making our great community better.”
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