The California Museum Announces the 2010 California Hall of Fame Red Carpet & Induction Ceremony to Air Live on Comcast Hometown Network on December 14

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Museum, home of The California Hall of Fame, announced today that the 2010 California Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be broadcast live on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010, from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. on Comcast Hometown Network, digital cable channel 104. Co-hosted by Lisa Ling and Jason Kennedy, this is the first time that the ceremony will be televised live. 

"We are thrilled to share the excitement and weight of this historic moment with Comcast's viewing audience of over 2 million subscribers," said Claudia French, The California Museum's Executive Director. "To witness the collective wisdom, creativity and innovation of these individuals is to truly be an inspired and proud American."

The live broadcast will begin at 6:00p.m., when co-hosts Lisa Ling, and Jason Kennedy conduct interviews live from the red carpet with this year's California Hall of Fame star-studded list of inductees and attendees.

As correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC News' Nightline and National Geographic's Explorer, Lisa Ling has reported from countries around the globe. A Sacramento native, Lisa started her career in journalism as a host on KXTV 10's Scratch in 1990, before moving on to co-anchor Channel One News with CNN's Anderson Cooper at 18. From 1999-2002, she co-hosted the ABC Daytime's The View, which won its first daytime Emmy during her tenure on the show. Currently, Lisa is a contributing editor for USA Today's USA Weekend magazine, as well as the co-author of Mother, Sister. Daughter, Bride: Rituals of Womanhood and Somewhere Inside: One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and The Other's Fight to Bring Her Home. As of Oct. 20, 2010, Lisa was elected to The California Museum's Board of Trustees, and starting Jan. 30, 2011, her series Our America with Lisa Ling will debut on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

Jason Kennedy joined E! in 2005 as a correspondent handling a variety of stories and events for E! News. A native of Fort Lauderdale, Jason's love for reporting began in the fifth grade and his on-air experience began at the age of 15. While attending the University of Miami, Kennedy received numerous awards, including the coveted Associated Press Award for Best News Feature in the state of Florida. In 2004, Kennedy moved to Los Angeles to anchor segments for Open Call on the TV Guide Channel. His experience and talent has led him to report on subjects as diverse as President Bill Clinton to Paris Hilton.

"As the exclusive multi-media partner of The California Hall of Fame, it only made sense to expand our television coverage of this terrific event to a live telecast of this year's ceremony, as well as live arrivals on the red carpet," said Jeff Giles, Director of Comcast Hometown Network. "Lisa Ling and Jason Kennedy will do an excellent job of capturing the excitement and entertainment of the red carpet with dynamic celebrity interviews; and our top-notch production staff will bring viewers the speeches, humor and remembrances of these legendary Californians during their induction ceremony."

The red carpet event will be followed by the 2010 California Hall of Fame induction ceremony live broadcast at 7:00p.m. Continuing the tradition of honoring legendary trailblazers who embody the Golden State's innovative spirit, The California Hall of Fame highlights a broad range of California achievements by honoring those who have broken barriers in not just one field or talent, but have impacted the world with courage, determination and creativity in the fields of science, philanthropy, sports, business, entertainment, literature, fitness, technology, activism and politics.

The extraordinary recipients scheduled to be honored by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver with the Spirit of California medal during this year's live broadcast include:

• Governor-Elect Jerry Brown accepting on behalf of his father, inductee Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown
• Blockbuster film-maker James Cameron
• Silicon Valley visionary investor John Doerr
• The family of father of modern banking A. P. Giannini of Bank of America
• Country music legend Merle Haggard
• Author and activist Anne Lamott
• Historian Kevin Starr
• The family of businessman and philanthropist Levi Strauss
• Screen and music icon Barbra Streisand
• Former Secretary of State George Shultz
• Celebrated artist Wayne Thiebaud
• Comedienne Betty White
• International tennis champion Serena Williams
• Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg

Comcast Hometown Network is offering an audio/video feed, as well as satellite coordinates to any media organization interested in carrying the event or capturing segments for news programming. For questions regarding technical aspects, satellite uplink, news footage or audio feeds, please contact: Jason Holmes, Comcast Hometown Network at (510) 266-3305 or [email protected]

In addition to the live broadcast, The 2010 California Hall of Fame will be replayed on Comcast Hometown Network (Channel 104), and will also be available shortly after the event via Comcast's popular ON DEMAND platform, which is free to Comcast digital customers any time of the day or night. To view via ON DEMAND, Comcast Digital Cable customers can tune to Channel 1 on their Digital Cable lineup or press the ON DEMAND button on their remote control.

The 2010 California Hall of Fame sponsors include The Women's Conference and the California Travel and Tourism Commission. Comcast is the exclusive multi-media sponsor of the 2010 California Hall of Fame.

For more information and to access the press kit including images and biographies of each inductee, please visit: http://www.californiamuseum.org/exhibits/halloffame.

ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA MUSEUM:

The California Museum -- home of The California Hall of Fame and California Legacy Trails -- engages, educates and enlightens people about California's rich history and unique contributions to the world through ideas, innovation, art and culture. Through interactive and innovative experiences, the museum inspires men, women and children to dream the California dream and dare to make their mark on history. Open Monday through Saturday from 10:00a.m. to 5:00p.m.; Sunday from noon to 5:00p.m. Admission: Adults $8.50; Students/Seniors $7.00 with valid ID; Children 6-13 $6.00; Children 5 and younger free. For more information, visit: http://www.CaliforniaMuseum.org

About Comcast Hometown Network :

Comcast Hometown Network (CHN) is a regional cable network produced by Comcast and available in the San Francisco Bay Area and Central California on Digital Channel 104.  Available to more than 2 million homes in Northern and Central California as a part of Comcast's commitment to the communities that it serves, Comcast Hometown Network is a 24/7 channel that includes original regional programming, Comcast Hometown Sports (CHS), and unique local content that you can't get anywhere else. For more information, visit: http://comcasthometown.com/

SOURCE The California Museum