KET Pressroom Releases

KET Pressroom Releases http://www.ket.org/pressroom Weekly Program Press Releases -- A sampling of the best upcoming programs on Kentucky Educational Television. Kentucky Life visits 11-year-old Hopkinsville author, learns wilderness survival skills in Winchester, dines in Bowling Green, and more http://www.ket.org/pressroom/2012/06/kkyli_001713.html The next edition of Kentucky Life visits 11-year-old Hopkinsville author; explores wilderness survival; chows down at The Cambridge Market and Café in Bowling Green, and more. Hosted by Dave Shuffett, the program airs Saturday, Feb. 25 at 8/7 p.m. CT and Sunday, Feb. 26 at 4/3 p.m. CT on KET. Kentucky Life catches up with 11-year-old author Darren G-T Shrum, a Hopkinsville native who has written “Hopkinsville, Kentucky: A Kid’s Discovery of His Hometown.” Kentucky Life visits some of the locations featured in Shrum’s book—the Ebonite bowling ball factory, the Alhambra Theatre and the Woody Winfree Fire & Transportation Musuem—with Shrum and his father. Shrum also talks about how his literary journey and the book took shape. Next, Shuffett’s wilderness skills are put to the test when he spends a day in the great outdoors with Craig Caudill of the Nature Reliance School in Winchester. Shuffett is quizzed on his nature know-how, reviews his hiking habits and learns the Rule of Three, which is part of the formula for wilderness survival. Then, Shuffett pays a visit to Carol and Dave Howe of McCreary County. Retirement gave them time to pursue their favorite outdoor activities and to begin a second career: operating Junkyard Pottery. The Howes show Shuffett the functional pottery items they make for everyday use, as well as their decorative pieces. Finally, in the program’s “Today’s Special” segment, Shuffett takes a short drive east of Hopkinsville to The Cambridge Market and Café in Bowling Green, which serves gourmet soups, salads and sandwiches with a southern flair. The café is also known for its cheesecakes. Kentucky Life is a KET production, produced by Brandon Wickey. Segment producers include Shuffett and Paul Smith. More information about Kentucky Life, including streaming video, is available at <a href="http://www.ket.org/kentuckylife">ket.org/kentuckylife</a>. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at <a href="http://www.ket.org">ket.org</a>. 26 Feb 2012 01:00:00 GMT Kentucky Life visits state’s covered bridges, explores story of former slave Margaret Garner, canoes down Little Sandy River, and more http://www.ket.org/pressroom/2012/04/kkyli_001712.html The next edition of Kentucky Life takes a canoe trip down the Little Sandy River in Elliott County; explores the unique architectural features of Kentucky's 13 remaining covered bridges; visits Boone County’s Maplewood Farm, the former home of slave Margaret Garner, and more. The program airs Saturday, Feb. 18 at 8/7 p.m. CT and Sunday, Feb. 19 at 4/3 p.m. CT on KET. The Little Sandy River runs along the bottom of Laurel Gorge in Elliott County, and on a daylong canoe trip down the river, host Dave Shuffett discovers amazing rock formations, waterfalls and other natural wonders. Kentucky Life also examines the state’s unique covered bridges. In the 1800s, at the peak of covered bridge construction in America, Kentucky had more than 400 covered bridges. Today, the 13 that remain are are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Next, the program explores the tragic life and legacy of Margaret Garner of Boone County’s Maplewood Farm, a slave whose story was the inspiration for Toni Morrison's novel Beloved. In January 1856, Garner took her children and fled from Maplewood. Her desperate attempt at escape ended in tragedy, and it began a legal controversy that continued for years. In this segment, Kentucky Life looks at the tragic nature and consequences of slavery, and, in this sesquicentennial year of the Civil War, try to shed light on the feelings and beliefs of those for and against slavery during that era. Finally, this program’s “Our Town” segment features the Washington County town of Springfield. Kentucky Life is a KET production, produced by Brandon Wickey. Segment producers include Shuffett, John Schroering, Jim Piston and Frank Simkonis. More information about Kentucky Life, including streaming video, is available at <a href="http://www.ket.org/kentuckylife">ket.org/kentuckylife</a>. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at <a href="http://www.ket.org">ket.org</a>. 19 Feb 2012 01:00:00 GMT Slavery By Another Name examines new form of slavery in post-Emancipation era http://www.ket.org/pressroom/2012/03/SBAN__000000.html Throughout February, KET will broadcast special programming to celebrate Black History Month and the rich heritage and cultural contributions of African Americans. Highlighting this year’s programming is Slavery By Another Name, which airs Monday, Feb. 13 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET and Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET2. Slavery By Another Name is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Wall Street Journal senior writer Douglas A. Blackmon. A Sundance Film Festival selection for 2012, the program explores the little-known story of the post-Emancipation era and the labor practices and laws that effectively created a new form of slavery in the South that persisted well into the 20th century. Blackmon examines the concept of “neoslavery,” which sentenced African-Americans to forced labor for violating an array of laws that criminalized their everyday behavior. It was a system in which men, often guilty of no crime at all, were arrested, compelled to work without pay, repeatedly bought and sold, and coerced to do the bidding of masters. Tolerated by both the North and South, forced labor lasted well into the 20th century. Click <a href="http://www.ket.org/pressroom/2012/01/FRER__000000.html">here</a> for KET’s full Black History Month programming schedule. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at <a href="http://www.ket.org">ket.org</a>. 14 Feb 2012 02:00:00 GMT Kentucky Life talks with actor Harry Dean Stanton, visits Western Kentucky pecan orchards, concludes Orphan Brigade story, and more http://www.ket.org/pressroom/2012/02/kkyli_001711.html The next edition of Kentucky Life looks at the thriving pecan crop in Western Kentucky, talks with actor and Kentucky native Harry Dean Stanton, concludes the Kentucky Orphan Brigade story, and more. The program airs Saturday, Feb. 11 at 8/7 p.m. CT and Sunday, Feb. 12 at 4/3 p.m. CT on KET; and Sunday, Feb. 12 at 7/6 p.m. CT on KET2. On a trip to Western Kentucky, Shuffett discovers an unusual crop that’s in demand across the globe—pecans. Grown in orchards, harvested and then baked to perfection, Western Kentucky pecans are the choice of cooks and nut connoisseurs worldwide. Pecans are the only major tree nut that grow naturally in North America, and many Native American tribes depended on them as a food source in the fall. Earlier this season, in part one of Kentucky Life ’s story about the First Kentucky Brigade, the Orphan Brigade, the program followed the soldiers through some early Civil War skirmishes and battles. The conclusion of the story during this program reveals what happened to the Brigade at the Battle of Shiloh, the fate of the Brigade through the remainder of the war, and the leadership roles many of its members held in Kentucky politics in the years following the Civil War. Also, Kentucky Life visits with actor and Kentucky native Harry Dean Stanton, who has been a recognizable force and face in American movies for more than half a century. During his long career as a character actor, Stanton, who was born in West Irvine, has worked starred alongside Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando and others, and has been in The Green Mile, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, HBO’s Big Love and more. Singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, who is a close friend of Stanton, narrates this Kentucky Life profile. Also in this program: An historical marker in Scott County details the history of a stone house built in 1814 by Robert Payne, a veteran of the War of 1812. In the 1840s, Kentucky’s ninth governor, Joseph Desha, retired to the home. Kentucky Life is a KET production, produced by Brandon Wickey. Segment producers include Paul Smith, Jim Piston and Tom Thurman. More information about Kentucky Life , including streaming video, is available at <a href="http://www.ket.org/kentuckylife">ket.org/kentuckylife</a>. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at <a href="http://www.ket.org">ket.org</a>. 12 Feb 2012 01:00:00 GMT Remaking Rural Health: A KET Special Report explores innovative ways healthcare advocates are working to improve conditions http://www.ket.org/pressroom/2012/02/KRRHE_000000.html While the health problems in rural Kentucky are well-reported, much less visible are the community and health care leaders who work to improve conditions. Remaking Rural Health: A KET Special Report explores how advocates across the state are making innovative changes locally to deliver the health care rural Kentuckians need. The program airs Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET and Monday, Feb. 13 at 10/9 p.m. CT on KET2. Due to alarmingly high rates of cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes, Kentuckians are dying younger and living more unhealthy lives than people in nearly every other state. While these problems affect all Kentuckians, they disproportionately impact rural Kentuckians. Remaking Rural Health: A KET Special Report looks at several ways in which health care advocates and practitioners are working to improve conditions. One way is the expanded use of nurse practitioners. For example, at Alliance Coal, LLC, Dr. Raymond Wells oversees a team of nurse practitioners who run on-site clinics at each of its seven mine sites, offering a yearly “health check” to miners. Another area health care professionals are working to improve is prevention. Dr. Philip Bale of Glasgow began one of the only “prevention clinics” in the state, spending almost 30 minutes with each patient to carefully identify and quantify risk for conditions like heart attacks and strokes. In addition, the University of Kentucky Rural Cancer Prevention project fights four major cancers by increasing use of current testing and screening procedures. The project spreads information and awareness into the community utilizing new media such as Facebook and text messaging and reaching out to people in natural gathering places, like Wal-Mart stores. Health care professionals are also working to improve community awareness. For example, in Montgomery County, a growing Hispanic population prompted the local health department to begin the Promotora Program, in which leaders in the Hispanic community are trained in basic health issues to then share that knowledge with the rest of the community. And in Perry County, the Hazard Perry Community Foundation is working to foster a community that values health in order to change health outcomes. Remaking Rural Health: A KET Special Report is a KET production and is produced by Laura Krueger. The program is funded by a grant from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at <a href="http://www.ket.org">ket.org</a>. 08 Feb 2012 02:00:00 GMT KET announces programming lineup for Black History Month http://www.ket.org/pressroom/2012/01/FRER__000000.html Throughout February, KET will broadcast special programming to celebrate Black History Month and the rich heritage and cultural contributions of African Americans. Highlighting this year’s programming is Slavery By Another Name, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Wall Street Journal senior writer Douglas A. Blackmon. A Sundance Film Festival selection for 2012, the program explores the little-known story of the post-Emancipation era and the labor practices and laws that effectively created a new form of slavery in the South that persisted well into the 20th century. Blackmon examines the concept of “neoslavery,” which sentenced African-Americans to forced labor for violating an array of laws that criminalized their everyday behavior. It was a system in which men, often guilty of no crime at all, were arrested, compelled to work without pay, repeatedly bought and sold, and coerced to do the bidding of masters. Tolerated by both the North and South, forced labor lasted well into the 20th century. Slavery By Another Name airs Monday, Feb. 13 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET and Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET2. Freedom Riders: American Experience chronicles the journey that more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives to take in 1961 to simply travel together on buses and trains in the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence along the way, sorely testing their belief in nonviolent activism. Veteran filmmaker Stanley Nelson’s documentary, which premiered in May 2011, is the first feature-length film about this courageous band of civil-rights activists. Freedom Riders: American Experience re-airs Monday, Feb. 6 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET and Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET2. Underground Railroad: The William Still Story is the account of one of the most important yet unheralded individuals of the Underground Railroad. The film details the accounts of black abolitionists who had everything at stake as they helped fugitives follow the North Star to Canada. The program airs Monday, Feb. 6 at 10/9 p.m. CT on KET2. On the Kentucky Channel, the Commonwealth’s 2012 Black History Month Celebration airs Thursday, Feb. 16 at 5/4 p.m. CT. The Martin Luther King, Jr. State Commission hosts an annual celebration in honor of King. Hosted by KET’s Renee Shaw, the event will feature guest speaker Rosalyn Akins, founder of the Carter G. Woodson Academy. Pamela Smith-Wright, Owensboro mayor pro-tem, will receive the Annual Citizenship Award. Also during the ceremony, a short play, “Nothing New for Easter,” will be performed. The play is sponsored by the Kentucky History Center. In addition, the student winners of the Martin Luther King state essay and art contest will be recognized. Also on the Kentucky Channel, Kentucky Beyond the Color Line, which premiered in January, re-airs Sunday, Feb. 19 at 7/6 p.m. CT and Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 9/8 p.m. CT. Ten years after documenting the civil rights experiences of Kentucky African Americans in Living the Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky, KET revisits the pivotal players who organized with others to demand legal and social equality. Living the Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky re-airs Sunday, Feb. 19 at 6/5 p.m. CT and Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 8/7 p.m. CT. Independent Lens features several films during the month. Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock, which tells the story of her public support of nine black students to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., airs Sunday, Feb. 5 at 10/9 p.m. CT on KET2. The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, which examines the evolution of the Black Power Movement in the African-American community and Diaspora from 1967 to 1975, airs Sunday, Feb. 12 at 10/9 p.m. CT on KET2. More Than A Month, which features African-American filmmaker Shukree Hassan Tilghman’s cross-country campaign to end Black History Month, airs Sunday, Feb. 19 at 10/9 p.m. CT on KET2. Summer Hill, which features the tight-knit community of exclusively black residents that produced Georgia’s first black Supreme Court justice, a famous Motown singer and scores of professionals, airs Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 10:30/9:30 p.m. CT on KET2. A singer, dancer and band leader, Cab Calloway was an exceptional figure in the history of jazz and, as early as 1932, the first black musician to tour the segregationist south. American Masters Cab Calloway: Sketches airs Monday, Feb. 27 at 10/9 p.m. CT on KET. 300 Miles to Freedom, which features John W. Jones’ journey to freedom on the Underground Railroad in 1844 and his remarkable life as a free man, airs Monday, Feb. 27 at 10/9 p.m. CT on KET2. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at <a href="http://www.ket.org">ket.org</a>. 07 Feb 2012 02:00:00 GMT Kentucky Life visits a penguin habitat, explores battlefield with a Kentucky connection, stops by a fourth-generation Louisville business, and more http://www.ket.org/pressroom/2012/01/kkyli_001710.html Dave Shuffett hosts the next Kentucky Life from Moundale Manor in Winchester. In this program, Shuffett spends time with penguins in a “Dave Does It” at Newport Aquarium, visits Vendome Copper and Brass Works in Louisville, and more. The program airs Saturday, Feb. 4 at 8/7 p.m. CT and Sunday, Feb. 5 at 4/3 p.m. CT on KET; and Sunday, Feb. 5 at 7:30/6:30 p.m. CT on KET2. Built in 1905, Moundale Manor in Winchester is a three-story historic home and was purchased and renovated in 2011 by Ed and Vanessa Ziembroski, who also own the Winchester Opera House. In the program’s first story, Shuffett is surrounded by flightless birds as he enters the habitat of Newport Aquarium’s Penguin Palooza for an all-new “Dave Does It” segment. Shuffett helps clean the habitat and serves a meal of raw fish to the penguins, who make up the second most diverse collection of cold weather penguins in the country. Shuffett also visits Vendome Copper and Brass Works in Jefferson County, a fourth-generation family business specializing in equipment for breweries, laboratories and the chemical industry. Vendome was founded in the early 1900s, and the experience of meeting the challenge of Prohibition in the 1920s set the stage for their continued ability to adapt and grow to serve developing industries in addition to meeting the needs of distillers. Also, Kentucky Life visits River Raisin Battlefield in Michigan, one of the key sites where hundreds of Kentuckians gave the ultimate sacrifice, in a battle that became known as the Massacre on the River Raisin. In the War of 1812, often referred to as America’s forgotten war, Kentuckians played a major role. Although no battles were fought in the Commonwealth, five out of six Kentucky men of military age fought in the war, and an astonishing 1,200 of the 1,876 Americans killed were from Kentucky. Finally, an historical marker in Metcalfe County recounts the discovery of an artesian well and the luxury hotel that once stood nearby to take advantage of the healing waters. And this program’s “Our Town” feature is the Knott County community of Mousie. Kentucky Life is a KET production, produced by Brandon Wickey. Segment producers include Frank Simkonis, Jim Piston, Dave Shuffett, John Schroering and Paul Smith. More information about Kentucky Life, including streaming video, is available at <a href="http://www.ket.org/kentuckylife">ket.org/kentuckylife</a>. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at <a href="http://www.ket.org">ket.org</a>. 05 Feb 2012 01:00:00 GMT KET announces 'Flight to Freedom,' second installment of Mission US digital learning series http://www.ket.org/pressroom/2012/05/USMission_2.html KET adds another tool to its digital learning initiatives with the release of Mission US’s latest virtual experience, “Flight to Freedom,” a gripping new way for middle school students to experience the Civil War era of U.S. history. Players take on the role of Lucy King, a fictional 14-year-old enslaved in Kentucky in 1848. As they navigate her escape and journey to Ohio via the Underground Railroad (including a church in Lexington), players encounter a diverse group of people, from abolitionists to slave owners, and make decisions that affect the game's outcome. "Flight to Freedom" is the second in a series of innovative Mission US role-playing games developed to transform how middle school students learn U.S. history. Mission US, which is produced by PBS affiliate Thirteen/WNET and funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) with additional support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), first launched in September 2010 with its first mission, “For Crown or Colony?” This experience is set during the Revolutionary War and is aimed and 4th and 5th graders. KET was one of ten public television stations chosen to participate in a special teacher-training initiative when “For Crown or Colony?” launched. KET’s education consultants traveled the state, providing face-to-face training for the free digital learning tool to more than 2,800 Kentucky teachers. In fact, by April 2011, Kentucky led the nation in the number of teachers using “For Crown or Colony?” as a teaching tool. And in February 2011, a Kentucky teacher—Laureen Laumeyer, a 5th-grade teacher at Hardin County’s Meadow View Elementary School—was named National Mission US Educator of the Year for her innovative use of the Revolutionary War experience. “My students were so engrossed in learning that they didn’t want to stop for lunch,” Laumeyer said. It’s anticipated that students and teachers will have the same reaction to “Flight to Freedom.” The mission was launched on Jan. 24, and KET education consultants are already getting requests from teachers for trainings on the new mission, said Teresa Day, director of arts and special projects at KET. “Mission US’s role-playing games are such a high-quality resource for Kentucky’s teachers, and they’re a vital part of KET’s digital learning toolbox,” Day says. “They’re a public-television developed game, working with scholars who’ve thoroughly vetted the content. And they’re fun! That’s so important.” Day says that educators are particularly excited that mission two is partly set in Kentucky, something that may help Kentucky students understand not only the Civil War as a whole, but the state’s role in it, as well. A 2011 Education Development Center (EDC) study of US Mission’s first installment found measurable gains in students' historical knowledge and skills and yielded positive feedback from teachers who incorporated it into their curriculum. The next two installments of this ongoing series are planned for release in 2013 and 2014. In mission three, "The Race for the Golden Spike," players will take on the role of workers helping to build the transcontinental railroad. In mission four, "The Sidewalks of New York," players will explore early 20th century New York as a muckraking journalist. Click <a href="http://www.ket.org/education/">here</a> to access Mission US "Flight to Freedom." More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at <a href="http://www.ket.org">ket.org</a>. 25 Jan 2012 15:50:00 GMT