Tavis Smiley Moderates Live Broadcast from Howard University

    WASHINGTON, April 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Democratic presidential
 candidates Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Mike
 Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson will participate
 in the "All-American Presidential Forums on PBS," moderated by Tavis
 Smiley, on June 28, 2007, from 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET at Howard University in
 Washington, DC. Questions to the candidates will be posed by Smiley and
 journalists Michel Martin of National Public Radio, nationally syndicated
 columnist Ruben Navarrette Jr. and USA Today and Gannett News Service
 columnist DeWayne Wickham. The event will be televised live on PBS.
     "All-American Presidential Forums" on PBS, moderated by Tavis Smiley,
 marks the first time that a panel exclusively comprised of journalists of
 color will be represented in primetime. The candidates will be asked about
 issues ranging from healthcare and housing to Katrina relief, the economy
 and the environment, among others outlined in the #1 The New York Times
 best- seller, Covenant With Black America.
     A second forum for Republican presidential candidates will be held on
 September 27, 2007, on the campus of Morgan State University in Baltimore,
 Maryland.
     "We are encouraged by the enthusiasm of all parties for this historic
 event," said Smiley. "From the title to the format, the 'All-American
 Presidential Forums' was created to provide fresh perspectives and an
 unprecedented level of inclusion for all Americans in general, and people
 of color in particular, in these critical discussions about our country's
 future."
     "The Forums will give voice to vital questions the American public
 wants to have answered in this crucial election process," said John Boland,
 PBS chief content officer. "Kicking off an ambitious line-up of content on
 multiple platforms for PBS Election 2008, we are proud to help facilitate
 this important dialogue, which truly represents the mission of public
 broadcasting."
     Immediate public feedback on the performance of the candidates will be
 conducted by noted pollster Frank Luntz, who will also appear on "Tavis
 Smiley" on PBS the following evening to discuss his findings.
     The PBS Democratic Forum will be simultaneously webcast on PBS.org, and
 video of both events will be archived for download and viewing on the Web
 site. The Web site (http:/www.pbs.org/tavissmiley) will include additional
 coverage of the presidential candidates and their positions on key issues
 of the campaign, including past interviews, backgrounders, viewer polls and
 a forum blog and election resources. Visitors will be able to submit their
 own questions for the candidates, read commentary and share their own
 opinions.
     About Tavis Smiley
     TAVIS SMILEY is the host of "Tavis Smiley" on PBS and "The Tavis Smiley
 Show from PRI" and the author/editor of 11 books, including The New York
 Times best-sellers Covenant With Black America and What I Know for Sure: My
 Story of Growing Up in America. His latest book, THE COVENANT in Action is
 in stores now. For more information, visit http://www.tavistalks.com.
     About the Panelists
     MICHEL MARTIN is a host and reporter for National Public Radio. Prior
 to joining NPR, she was a correspondent for ABC News Nightline, a reporter
 for The Washington Post and a White House correspondent for The Wall Street
 Journal.
     RUBEN NAVARRETTE JR. is a member of the editorial board of The San
 Diego Union-Tribune and a nationally syndicated columnist with The
 Washington Post Writers Group. His twice-a-week column appears in nearly
 200 newspapers.
     DeWAYNE WICKHAM is a columnist for USA Today and the Gannett News
 Service. His syndicated column is distributed to more than 130 daily
 newspapers in the United States. Wickham also serves as director of the
 Institute for Advanced Journalism Studies at North Carolina Agricultural
 and Technical State University
     "All-American Presidential Forums on PBS" is produced by TS Media,
 Inc., and presented by KCET Los Angeles. Tavis Smiley is executive producer
 and Neal Kendall will serve as producer.
     About PBS
     PBS is a media enterprise that serves 355 public noncommercial
 television stations and reaches more than 75 million people each week
 through on-air and online content. Bringing diverse viewpoints to
 television and the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and
 dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious
 award competitions. PBS is a leading provider of educational materials for
 K-12 teachers, and offers a broad array of other educational services. PBS'
 premier kids' TV programming and Web site, PBS KIDS Online
 (http://www.pbskids.org), continue to be parents' and teachers' most
 trusted learning environments for children. More information about PBS is
 available at http://www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on
 the Internet.
     CONTACTS:
     Laurel Lambert, KCET Los Angeles, Tel.: 323/953-5246, Fax:
 323/662-2123; llambert@kcet.org
     Carrie Johnson, PBS, Tel.: 703/739-5129; Fax: 703/739-5777;
 cjohnson@pbs.org
 
 

SOURCE PBS

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