GLIN==> NEWS: Detroit Public Television to Deliver Unprecendeted Access to Great Lakes Week

On behalf of the organizations collaborating on Great Lakes week in Detroit Oct. 11-14, I wanted to share the following news.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Matt Friedman (248) 626-0006/ mfriedman at tannerfriedman.com<mailto:mfriedman at tannerfriedman.com>

DETROIT PUBLIC TELEVISION COLLABORATION TO DELIVER ON-AIR, ONLINE AND ON-DEMAND ACCESS TO "GREAT LAKES WEEK"

Unprecedented Great Lakes Summit Will Help Chart The Future

DETROIT (September 21, 2011) -Detroit Public Television (DPTV) announces a high level of access to the public for a first-of-its-kind summit discussing the future of The Great Lakes in Detroit October 11-14, 2011.

"Great Lakes Week" encompasses significant conferences hosted by the International Joint Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Areas of Concern Program, the Great Lakes Commission, The Healing Our Waters(r) - Great Lakes Coalition (representing 115 organizations) and Environment Canada - the leading organizations that deal with Great Lakes issues.  For the first time, these events are being hosted in the same city in the same week.  30 million people in North America live in the Great Lakes Basin.

With coverage entitled Great Lakes Now, DPTV will broadcast, webcast and produce other content from the conferences and make it all accessible via its television channels and Web platforms, so the public can experience the significant discussion of the most important issues.  All content, live and/or recorded, will also be offered, at no cost, to any public or commercial news organization in North America, to make coverage of the events as accessible as possible.

DPTV plans to broadcast and/or webcast:

 *   25 hours of coverage of conference sessions, featuring speakers and panel discussions
 *   A daily half-hour recap of activity each day on October 12, 13 and 14
 *   Other live and on-demand programming featuring conference participants and topics.

"When we saw research showing 97 percent of people in the Great Lakes Basin believe the Great Lakes are important to their lives, but only four percent say they have a personal responsibility to protect the Great Lakes, we saw a disconnect we could help bridge through the power of media," said Rich Homberg, President and General Manager of Detroit Public Television.  "We see Great Lakes Now helping more people connect the issues with their roles in solving them."

"One of the things that sets the Great Lakes region apart from most is the water that runs through us," said Cameron Davis, Senior Advisor to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "Another, less obvious thing that sets us aside is our ability to partner up to get things done, to find common interests and build on them to reach common goals. Great Lakes Week is more than the largest gathering of leaders and leading organizations. It's a statement. We're
telling the world that we are dedicated to working together to take action for the next generation."

"We're glad that through this initiative, thousands more people in the U.S. and Canada will be able to learn about and participate in these important meetings and in a dialogue on the future of the Lakes," said Lana Pollack, U.S. Commissioner for the International Joint Commission.

"Viewers of Great Lakes Now will realize that the nation cannot afford not to restore the Great Lakes-30 million people depend on them for drinking water," said Jeff Skelding, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. "We look forward to working with Detroit Public Television to showcase restoration projects that are producing results around the region-and remind citizens that more work needs to be done, before the problems get worse and more costly."

"People who live in this region have to realize how much the Great Lakes water resource impacts their lives. This unprecedented week of proceedings, and DPTV's extraordinary coverage, will be very effective in identifying the major issues, and showing in real time how they are being addressed," said Tim Eder, Executive Director of the Great Lakes Commission.

Great Lakes Now streamed content will be available to viewers starting on October 11, 2011 at www.greatlakesnow.org<http://www.greatlakesnow.org/>.  Embed codes are available to news websites to stream coverage.

Great Lakes Now television coverage in Southeastern Michigan will be available on over-air Channel 56.2, Comcast Channel 287, Bright House Channel 155 or Charter Channel 432.  Any public or commercial TV station may broadcast via satellite downlink.  Veteran Journalist Christy McDonald will anchor the coverage.

The Great Lakes Now coverage of the 2011 Great Lakes Week is made possible with the support of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Erb Family Foundation and the International Joint Commission.

Inquiries about Great Lakes Week events should be directed to Pete Cassell at the Environmental Protection Agency at (312) 886-6234 or Cassell.Peter at epamail.epa.gov<mailto:Cassell.Peter at epamail.epa.gov>.  Inquiries about Detroit Public Television's coverage or its accessibility by media should be directed to Matt Friedman at (248) 626-0006 or mfriedman at tannerfriedman.com.

About Detroit Public Television
Detroit Public Television (DPTV) is the non-commercial, viewer-supported PBS-member station watched by more than 1.5 million people in Detroit and Southeast Michigan and another 1.2 million people throughout Canada. DPTV also manages WRCJ 90.9 FM, Detroit's classical and jazz radio station, in collaboration with the license-holder, the Detroit Public Schools. The radio station is located in the Detroit School of Arts. DPTV is licensed to the Detroit Educational Television Foundation and governed by a volunteer board of trustees from the local business, civic, and cultural communities.
# # #
Jordan Lubetkin
Senior Regional Communications Manager
National Wildlife Federation' Great Lakes Regional Center
213 W. Liberty St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
lubetkin at nwf.org
w: 734-887-7109
c: 734-904-1589

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