WILL Press Room
WILL Hunger Programs Win Awards
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Illinois Public Media’s programming about community hunger has won two Silver Awards of Distinction in the international 2012 Communicator Awards. It also was named a Bronze Winner in the 2012 Telly Awards.
A day of programming about hunger on WILL-TV, WILL-AM and the Web in November won the in the Communicator Awards “Integrated Campaign-Social Responsibility” category. Illinois Public Media’s Celeste Quinn, David Inge, Harriet Williamson, Sean Powers, Henry Radcliffe, Tracy Cain, Crystal Kang, Mary Barrineau, Rita Schulte, Mike Thomas, Kimberlie Kranich, Jack Brighton and Dan Davis worked on the hunger project.
Illinois Public Media’s video about the Wesley Evening Food Pantry in Urbana won in the “Program/News-Social Responsibility” category. Kimberlie Kranich produced the video as part of the hunger project, and Henry Radcliffe was the videographer and editor. Watch the video.
In the Telly Awards, Illinois Public Media's video story about the Central Illinois Foodbank's mobile food pantry won in the "TV Programs, Segments-Social Responsibility" category. Kranich was producer and Radcliffe the videographer/editor for the video. Watch the video.
The Communicator Awards is the leading international awards program in communications and marketing, recognizing the best in print, Web, video and mobile. More than 6,000 entries were judged by the International Academy of Visual Arts. The Telly Awards honor outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, the finest video and film productions, and online commercials, video and films.
Kilborn Alley Appears on “Jubilee”
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Filmed at Kentucky’s W.C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival, the Champaign-Urbana based Kilborn Alley Blues Band is featured on the national public television series Jubilee, airing on WILL-TV at 9 p.m. Friday, April 13.
Kilborn Alley performs songs from their four CDs, including the latest, Better Off Now, whose title track was a 2010 Blues Blast magazine winner for song of the year.
Fusing harmonica, guitars and pounding rhythm, Kilborn Alley has racked up many Blues Blast magazine award nominations and wins over the past several years, including for best band in 2009 and 2011.
Kilborn Alley singer and guitarist Andrew Duncanson will be Kevin Kelly’s guest on WILL-FM’s Live and Local at noon Thursday, April 12, the day before Jubilee airs on WILL-TV.
Kentucky Educational Television produces the Jubilee series, featuring the performances of nationally known artists and popular local musicians at summer folk music festivals in Kentucky. It airs on PBS stations nationwide.
Community Cinema: Hell and Back Again
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
6 pm Tuesday, April 3
Champaign Public Library
The film Hell and Back Again weaves together the narratives of the life of a Marine on the frontlines of the war in Afghanistan and the same Marine’s life in recovery at home to create a realistic depiction of how Marines experience the war.
A free screening of the film from the public television program Independent Lens and a discussion of the issues it raises will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 3, in Robeson Rooms A & B of the Champaign Public Library (200 W. Green St.). Illinois Public Media and the library are partners in presenting the 10-film Community Cinema series for 2011-2012.
Panelists for the post-screening discussion will be Robert Salee, American Legion Post 559; Tom Miebach, Community Elements; and Tim Wyse, Marine Corps League Senior Vice Commandant.
The story follows the U.S. Marines Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, as they launch a major assault on a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan. Within hours of being dropped deep behind enemy lines, Sgt. Nathan Harris' unit is attacked from all sides.
The parallel story begins with Harris' return home to his wife after he is severely injured. In physical and psychological pain, he attempts to reconcile the immense gulf between his experiences at war with the terrifying normalcy of life at home. These two stories intertwine to communicate the drama of war and the experience of returning home for a whole generation returning from military service.
The film will be shown with closed captions for the hearing impaired and an English Sign Language interpreter will sign the discussion.
Independent Lens: Hell and Back Again will air on WILL-TV at 9 p.m. Monday, May 28.
Housing: A Basic Human Need
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Illinois Public Media and CU-CitizenAccess.org are taking a comprehensive look at housing issues during a day of programming Tuesday, March 27, on WILL-AM, WILL-TV and online.
Champaign and Vermilion counties have seen many changes in their neighborhoods and housing stock since the nation’s economic decline. Among the challenges: More renters are competing for safe and affordable housing. A growing demand is putting stress on existing assistance programs. People sometimes have strong, often negative perceptions of low-income housing.
The initiative looking at these issues and others will culminate that night in a live program, Housing: A Basic Human Need, at 8 p.m. on WILL-TV featuring video stories about housing in the two counties and a roundtable discussion with local experts. The program, hosted by David Inge, will also be videostreamed live at will.illinois.edu with an online chat immediately following the broadcast.
Featured stories include a look at Generations of Hope in Rantoul, an intentional intergenerational community formed to support and serve adoptive families of foster children, and a look at a developer in Danville who turned the historic New Holland building into mixed income housing. Reporter Pam Dempsey of CU-Citizen Access.org is producer of the program. CU-Citizen Access is a community journalism project of the University of Illinois College of Media with professional and student journalists.
The examination of community housing issues is the second in the WILL Connect series in which Illinois Public Media is looking at issues in the community as identified by community conversations and listening sessions. “We’ve heard concerns about affordability, safety and homelessness,” said Kimberlie Kranich, director of community content and engagement for Illinois Public Media. “Affordable housing is about more than a physical structure. It’s also about residents needing a supportive environment and access to services.” The goal of the programming is not only to show problems with housing, but to also highlight some innovative solutions already underway in our area, she said.
WILL-AM’s morning talk program, Focus, will highlight housing issues on March 26 and 27. At 10:06 a.m. Monday, March 26, host David Inge talks to Kevin Jackson, neighborhood services director for the city of Champaign, and Libby Tyler, community development services director for the city of Urbana, about housing issues in the county and a housing study commissioned by the cities. Then at 11:06 a.m. Tuesday, March 27, the focus will be on public housing with Edward Bland, executive director of the Champaign Housing Authority; Greg Hilleary, executive director of the Danville Housing Authority; and Gloria Thompson-Brown, residential coordinator, Green Meadows Housing Complex in Danville.
A new series, Neighbors, on WILL-AM and willconnect.org premieres March 27 and will feature stories every Tuesday about people in Champaign and Vermilion counties and the neighborhoods they call home. “The stories will be told through the voices of those interviewed,” Kranich said.
On March 27, Neighbors hears from Mary Ann Pettigrew has spent most of her life in Danville in a neighborhood known as Rabbittown. On April 3, Gloria Thompson-Brown of Danville talks about her neighborhood, where she and her husband rent a house through Section 8 assistance and where she says neighbors keep an eye out for each other. On April 10, Thom Pollock describes the central Danville neighborhood where he lives in a home that is about 100 years old.
The stories will air on Morning Edition, All Things Considered and The Afternoon Magazine on WILL-AM 580.
13th District Congressional Debate
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
7 pm Wednesday, March 14
WILL-TV, WILL-AM and online
Bloomington physician David Gill and Greene County State’s Attorney Matt Goetten, the Democratic candidates running for Congress in the new 13th District, will meet in the WILL-TV studio for a debate hosted by Illinois Public Media in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Illinois.
WILL-TV and WILL-AM 580 will broadcast the hour-long debate live at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 14, with live video streaming on will.illinois.edu and an accompanying live Internet chat.
Illinois Public Media’s Jim Meadows will moderate the debate before a live studio audience, with additional questions from Patrick Yeagle, staff writer for the Illinois Times in Springfield; Jill Disis, editor-in-chief of the Daily Illini; and Allison Petty, a reporter for the Decatur Herald & Review.
The 13th Congressional District stretches from Champaign-Urbana west to the Mississippi River and to the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis. The winner of the Democratic primary faces the winner of the three-way Republican contest between U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, now serving the 15th Congressional district that has been redrawn; Edwardsville veterinarian Michael Firsching; and tree-trimming business owner Frank Metzger from Glen Carbon.
Also broadcasting the debate live will be WUIS-FM, Springfield; and WGLT-FM, Bloomington. WEIU-TV, Charleston, will air the debate at 10 p.m. the same night, while KETC-TV, St. Louis, will air it at 7 p.m. Friday, March 16, on the KETC World Channel.
No Republican primary debate is planned at WILL because Johnson declined an invitation to appear in a primary debate, and Firsching and Metzger do not meet criteria adopted from the League of Women Voters for Congressional debate candidates.
Interviews and stories about the candidates are archived at will.illinois.edu/election, where other election coverage is also posted.
Illinois Pioneers Features Kaplan
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
David Inge interviews U of I graduate Rick Kaplan, who’s served as president of CNN, senior vice president of ABC News and president of MSNBC, in one of several new episodes of WILL-TV’s Illinois Pioneers airing on Fridays at 7:30 pm in February.
In the Feb. 17 show, Kaplan describes his experiences working in politics, including the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Eugene McCarthy, and how the assassination of Robert Kennedy ended his own interest in working in politics. “At that point I thought this is horrible,” he said. “It’s only five years since Jack Kennedy was killed and politics is not what I want to do.”
His stories also include how he got hired on a fluke at WBBM-TV in Chicago and the first time he met Walter Cronkite, whom he worked with at CBS.
Inge asks Kaplan about Cronkite, Katie Couric, Peter Jennings, Diane Sawyer and other anchors he worked with. Kaplan said each of them has a remarkable ability to look at the camera and see not just a lens, but to see a viewer. “They see a person on the other side and they relate to it,” he said.
On Feb. 24, former WILL manager Jay Pearce interviews public broadcasting pioneer Rob Beldon, who was chief engineer at WILL for 32 years before he retired in 1988. The program will include footage from early WILL-TV programs produced during Beldon’s tenure.
As WILL-TV producers plan upcoming Illinois Pioneers programs, they are looking for leaders who have made significant contributions to central Illinois and elsewhere.
If you know of someone who’s blazed a trail to make a positive difference in your community and in the lives of others, please nominate that person by providing:
- a one-paragraph description of his or her accomplishments
- his or her name, address, phone number and email address
- your name, address, phone number and email address
Email this information to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with “Pioneers” in the subject line or mail it to Illinois Public Media, 300 N. Goodwin Ave., Urbana IL 61801.
Should We End Black History Month?
Monday, January 30, 2012
Free screening and discussion
6 pm Tuesday, Feb. 7
Champaign Public Library
200 W. Green St.
Should Black History Month be ended? That’s the question explored in More Than a Month by African-American filmmaker Shukree Hassan Tilghman as he embarks on a cross-country campaign to do just that.
Panelists for the Community Cinema discussion are Sandra E. Gibbs, educational consultant, and Janice Mitchell, director of the Urbana Neighborhood Connections Center. The film will be shown with closed captions for the hearing impaired and an English sign language interpreter will sign the discussion. For more information, visit willconnect.org/projects/cinema/.
Combining cinema verité, man-on-the-street interviews and inspired dramatizations, the film is a first-person narrative of the filmmaker’s quest to understand the implications of Black History Month.
The film asks the questions: How do we justify teaching American history as somehow separate from African American history? What does it mean that we have a Black History Month? What would it mean if we didn’t?
Tilghman begins his research at home, but finds his parents dismayed when he suggests eliminating Black History Month. He then seeks a deeper understanding of Carter G. Woodson, the creator of Negro History Week, the predecessor to Black History Month.
More Than a Month will air on WILL-TV at 9 pm Friday, Feb. 17.
Dec. Community Cinema: Troop 1500
Thursday, November 17, 2011
6 pm Tuesday, Dec. 6
Champaign Public Library
At Hilltop Prison in Gatesville, Texas, a unique Girl Scout troop unites daughters with mothers who are serving time for serious crimes, giving them a chance to rebuild their broken bonds. The documentary Troop 1500 follows five young Girl Scouts in the group.
Facing long sentences from the courts, the mothers struggle to mend their fractured relationships with their daughters.
The documentary follows sisters Caitlin and Mikaela, Jasmine, Jessica, and Naomi. Once inside the prison, the girls of Troop 1500 fall into the arms of the mothers they seldom see—Kenya, Melissa, Ida, and Susan—crying and laughing while pulling out report cards and pictures and passing along hellos from grandparents and absent brothers.
The film goes beyond the girls’ prison experience to show what their daily lives are like, offering a sobering but hopeful look at the struggles faced by the more than 1.5 million American children who have a parent behind bars.
A free screening of the film from Independent Lens and a discussion of the issues it raises will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, in Robeson Rooms A & B of the Champaign Public Library (200 W. Green St.). Illinois Public Media and the library are partners in presenting the 10-film Community Cinema series for 2011-2012. The film will be shown with closed captions for the hearing impaired and an English sign language interpreter will sign the discussion.
Nov. Community Cinema Chronicles Tribe’s Language
Monday, October 24, 2011
6 pm Tuesday, Nov. 8
Champaign Public Library
200 W. Green St.
We Still Live Here (Âs Nutayuneân), November’s Illinois Public Media Community Cinema offering, chronicles the recent cultural and linguistic revival of southeastern Massachusetts’ Wampanoag tribe—whose ancestors ensured the survival of the Pilgrims, but lived to regret it.
A free screening of the film and a discussion of issues it raises will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, in Robeson Rooms A & B of the Champaign Public Library ( 200 W. Green St.). The film will be shown with closed captions for the hearing impaired and an English sign language interpreter will sign the discussion.
The story begins in 1994 with Jessie Little Doe, a Wampanoag social worker who had recurring visions and dreams in which people from another time addressed her in an incomprehensible language. Initially perplexed, Jessie soon realized the people were speaking Wampanoag, a language which hadn’t been used in more than a century.
The discovery sent Jessie and members of her community on an unprecedented odyssey that would lead her to a linguistics research fellowship at MIT and to a huge trove of documents written in her ancestors’ language, including deeds, contracts and an entire translation of the King James Bible, published at Harvard in 1663. Together with her MIT colleagues and the Wampanoag community, Jessie brought an American Indian language back to life after many generations without native speakers.
We Still Live Here (Âs Nutayuneân) airs on WILL-TV at 9:30 pm Friday, Nov. 18, as part of the Independent Lens series. For more information, visit willconnect.org/projects/cinema/.
Temperance Hotbed: Prohibition in Champaign County
Monday, October 10, 2011
In a special local program airing after the first part of Ken Burns’ new series Prohibition, host David Inge talks to News-Gazette writer-editor and local historian Tom Kacich about the era of Prohibition in central Illinois.
Champaign-Urbana went dry in 1907, 13 years before the nation, and remained so until Prohibition ended in 1933. Carrie Nation praised the communities as models of sober living and came to town to raise a ruckus at several local taverns.
In a special local program that aired Sunday, Oct. 2, after the first part of Ken Burns’ new series Prohibition, host David Inge talks to News-Gazette writer-editor and local historian Tom Kacich about the era of Prohibition in central Illinois.
In Temperance Hotbed: Prohibition in Champaign County, Kacich explains how residents coped with the banning of alcohol, with many bars simply turning their second floors into speak-easies where a password was needed to get in and liquor flowed freely. Viewers also hear about the time Eliot Ness came to town to organize liquor raids on campus and how Champaign newspaper owner David Stevick railed against bootleggers liquor to help sell papers.
The local program is repeated at 10:38 p.m. after the 9 p.m. repeat airing of part one of Prohibition. Prohibition goes beyond the oft-told tales of gangsters, rum-runners, flappers and speakeasies to help viewers experience the rise, rule and fall of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It continues at 7 p.m. Oct. 3-4.