Wednesday, June 25, 2003

UNCW Community Link Features Lively Discussion with the Editors from Star-News; Recent Internet-based in Drug and Alcohol Treatments

Wilmington, NC – Programming for the week of July 7, UNCW Community Link, an interactive, public affairs television show, will discuss the growing trend that is moving health care out of the traditional doctor’s office and into offices that sometimes look more like bedrooms than a professional’s office space, as well as the threats that children in New Hanover County face everyday.

This week Betty Ann Sanders speaks with Allen Parsons, executive editor/associate publisher of the Wilmington Star-News, and Tim Griggs the new managing editor of the Star-News. The trio discusses some of the news worthy events in Wilmington as well as the ins and outs of working on a newspaper that serves a population as large as Wilmington and its surrounding areas. Griggs, 26, began working with the Star-News in 1999 as a copy editor and feature writer until he was promoted in April of 2003 to managing editor. Griggs considers his new title to be his “dream job” and is “very excited to work behind the scenes in a news-based atmosphere and see the news as it occurs.”

Parsons says, “People in authority often feel they have an obligation to keep information from the public and it is our job to give people that information accurately. People in power often have good intentions, and don’t realize they are containing news, but the public often is not made fully aware of the consequences or the positive effects possibly involved.”

H.E. “Hunter” Thompson, Jr. also speaks with Dr. Barry Karlin, chairman and CEO of CRC Health Corporation about new developments in treatment strategies for drugs and alcohol abuse. “Traditional strategies for treatment aren’t sufficient enough to encompass all needs,” Karlin says. For many consumers, the attraction of anytime access, lower costs, protection from stigma and ready availability has made online healthcare more appealing than traditional face-to-face care. While there are many benefits to online and non-traditional tactics, Karlin cautions that the Internet is not the best for everyone.

A new Guest Editorial segment has been added this week and Walter DeVries from the Institute of Political Leadership stopped in to share his thoughts. He spends his time training political candidates to run for public office and has trained 655 fellows at present count. Each year the Institute takes on 40 fellows, or students, 20 in the fall and 20 in the spring. The fellow must endure 10 weekend training sessions that are balanced by party affiliation, gender and ethnicity. DeVries said, “We work hard to find a statewide microcosm of people who want to run for office. We’re also cutting edge because we train more Spanish candidates than any other school like this and this is the first year that we have had more females than males.”

UNCW Community Link reaches beyond the television studio to allow citizens to sound off on compelling issues facing Southeastern North Carolina. Hosts Sanders and Thompson 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.

For more information on this show’s topics please visit:

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)

http://nccam.nih.gov/

NC Health Info

http://www.nchealthinfo.org

Alternative Health News Online

http://www.altmedicine.com/

The North Carolina Court System

http://www.nccourts.org

North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute

http://www.ncchild.org/

Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina

http://www.preventchildabusenc.org/



Tune into UNCW Community Link

Wilmington & Brunswick County 7:30 p.m. Mondays

4:30 p.m. Wednesdays

1:30 p.m. Thursdays

7:00 p.m. Fridays 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 8

Carteret County/Havelock 8 p.m. Thursdays

Time Warner Channel 10

Jacksonville 7 p.m. Thursdays

Time Warner Channel 10