ETV and The State Newspaper Team Up to Provide Coverage of Congressional District Debates

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ETV and The State Newspaper Team Up to Provide Coverage of the Second and Sixth Congressional District Debates

Programs Airs LIVE Thursday, Oct. 26 beginning at 7 p.m.

For Immediate Release
October 25, 2006

Columbia, SC...On Thursday, Oct. 26, ETV and The State Newspaper present LIVE statewide coverage of two one-hour-long debates between the Second and Sixth Congressional District candidates.

The debates will be broadcast from ETV's South Carolina Channel, located at 18 N. Harvin St. in Sumter.

The Sixth Congressional District debate airs at 7 p.m. with Democratic incumbent James Clyburn and Republican challenger Gary McLeod. The Second Congressional District debate follows at 8 p.m. with Republican incumbent Joe Wilson and Democratic challenger Michael Ray Ellisor.

The debates will be hosted by ETV’s news and public affairs producer Andrew Gobeil and will be broadcast on all 11 ETV stations and seven ETV Radio stations (except for ETV’s all-jazz radio format in Rock Hill). Wayne Washington, senior political reporter for The State newspaper, will join Gobeil for coverage of the broadcasts.

The debates will take place at ETV’s Columbia studios, located at 1041 George Rogers Blvd.

Then on Friday, Oct. 27, from 9-10 a.m., ETV Radio presents an hour-long program called The Big Picture on the Radio. Gobeil will again serve as host and will be joined by a panel of guests to discuss the issues raised during the two Congressional District broadcasts.

ETV Radio listeners can join in the conversation by e-mailing questions and comments to election@scetv.org, either before or during the show. Gobeil and his guests will address as many of the e-mails as possible during the broadcast. For those who would like to see and hear the discussion, streaming video of the program can be viewed by logging onto ETV’s Web site, www.myetv.org.

The Big Picture on the Radio can be heard on ETV Radio’s four news formats: 88.1-WRJA Sumter, 89.1-WLJK Aiken, 89.9- WJWJ Beaufort, and 90.1-WHMC Conway.

Statewide Availability

In addition to the live broadcast, ETV will be providing a number of ways for electronic and print media to access and record the debate, including:

A satellite feed on Digicypher channels 313 and 314 for television stations. Special arrangements for a video copy of each debate can be made for electronic media who come to the station to interview candidates. To inquire about these arrangements, press should contact Rob Schaller at (803) 737-6556 by noon on Thursday, Oct. 26.
An audio bridge, allowing radio reporters to access clean audio of the debate by dialing (800) 438-5670. The phone line will be accessible 10 minutes prior to the start of each program.

ETV requests that news media adhere to the following guidelines:

Stations credit ETV for the footage used in their newscasts
Reporters will be allowed to sit inside the ETV studio during the live broadcast. Reservations are on a first-come, first-serve basis and news agencies must contact Rob Schaller at (803) 737-6556 to reserve a studio seat by noon on Thursday, Oct. 26
Print and electronic reporters who have reserved a seat must remain in the studio for the duration of each broadcast. There will be a very short break between the debates
Only ETV's television cameras will be allowed in the studio during the actual broadcast
A WiFi Hot Spot will be available in the studio for print media who would like to file stories from their laptops
Pool photography for both debates will be provided by the Associated Press
Reporters will have access to the candidates in ETV’s studio following the debates at the discretion of each candidate

South Carolina ETV is the state's public educational broadcasting network with 11 television and eight radio transmitters, and a multi-media educational system in more than 2,500 schools, colleges, businesses and government agencies. Using television, radio and the web, SCETV's mission is to enrich lives by educating children, informing and connecting citizens, celebrating our culture and environment and instilling the joy of learning.

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For more information, contact Rob Schaller at (803) 737-6556 or rschaller@scetv.org.