Monday, April 07, 2003

Wilmington, NC – The University of North Carolina at Wilmington today unveiled UNCW Community Link, a new interactive, public affairs television show. Produced by UNCW-TV, the program will reach beyond the television studio to allow citizens to sound off on compelling issues facing Southeastern North Carolina.

Hosts Betty Ann Sanders and H. E. “Hunter” Thompson, Jr. will engage and challenge the region’s newsmakers and opinion-shapers and then ask viewers to voice their opinions. Through collaboration with the Southeast Public Interest Network of North Carolina (www.SpinNC.org), citizens can use the latest Internet technologies to continue the dialog on show topics and community ideas.

The show also gives regional nonprofit organizations air time. Ms. Sanders explains, “There are so many not-for-profit agencies that have terrific stories to tell. UNCW Community Link provides a forum to tell the human interest side of their stories.”

At a news conference April 7, UNCW trustees, Franklin Block, chair, and Linda Upperman Smith, along with UNC Board of Governors member Hannah Gage and Division for Public Service and Continuing Studies Vice Chancellor Michelle Howard-Vital, launched the new show and demonstrated its interactive capabilities.

Through SpinNC, opinion polls, discussion forums, e-mail, and real-time chat empower viewers to continue the public discussions and voice their opinions.

“This year over 60,000 citizens will access one or more of the information services on SpinNC,” commented Mr. Thompson, co-host and director of UNCW’s Community Outreach Services in the Division for Public Service and Continuing Studies. “We are very excited about the growth and development because we can see how access to information services is making a difference in people’s lives. Integrating these services with UNCW Community Link will afford citizens an opportunity to be heard on issues important to them.”

UNCW-TV has won four Awards of Excellence from the Alliance for Community Media.

Tune into UNCW Community Link

Wilmington and

Brunswick County 7:30 p.m. Mondays

4:30 p.m. Wednesdays

1:30 p.m. Thursdays The Learning Network on Time Warner Ch 5 and Charter Communications Ch 12



Pender County 7:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays Government Channel



Carteret County/Havelock 8 p.m. Thursdays Channel 10



Jacksonville 7 p.m. Thursdays Channel 10

Note to media: For more information on UNCW Community Link, please contact Betty Ann Sanders at 910/367-1600 or bas_tv@hotmail.com or Hunter Thompson at 910/962-3138 or thompsonh@uncw.edu.