FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2008
MEDIA CONTACT:
Meg Fullwood
(214) 946-9509
mfullwood@kera.org
ON KERA WITH $234,200 GRANT
DALLAS/FORT WORTH - The Meadows Foundation has awarded $234,200 to KERA in support of the multimedia initiative, Living on the Trinity: A River’s Story. KERA will use the grant to produce content for its website at www.kera.org, a series of radio reports on local and regional water management issues on KERA 90.1 and a one-hour television documentary for statewide distribution and broadcast on KERA 13.
Living on the Trinity: A River’s Story explores the geographic, environmental and social history of the Trinity River. The initiative is part of KERA’s ongoing commitment to provide the public with content that helps foster a better understanding of the North Texas community and its environment.
Rob Tranchin, executive producer at KERA, will serve as project director for Living on the Trinity. Advisors to the project include Andy Sansom, executive director of the Rivers System Institute, Texas State University, San Marcos, and John Graves, author of the literary classic Goodbye to a River and many other books, articles and essays related to the Texas environment. KERA Senior Vice President for Content Sylvia Komatsu will serve as Executive in Charge.
“The Meadows Foundation is pleased to assist KERA with the environmental education initiative, Living on the Trinity,” says Linda P. Evans, The Meadows Foundation President and CEO. “The Foundation supports KERA’s vision of a sustained focus on the entire Trinity River system that will bring essential information to the public through radio, television and web platforms.”
“Thanks to The Meadows Foundation, KERA will undertake an important 18-month multimedia initiative that we believe will serve our local communities and the millions of other Texans who depend upon the health of this river system,” says Mary Anne Alhadeff, President and CEO at KERA. “This extensive initiative follows several KERA environmental productions, including Roy Bedichek’s Vanishing Frontier, written and directed by KERA’s Rob Tranchin; Water!, an international co-production narrated by James Earl Jones; and Your Toxic Trash with host and narrator Ed Begley, Jr.”
About The Meadows Foundation
The Meadows Foundation is a private philanthropic institution established in 1948 by Algur H. and Virginia Meadows to benefit the people of Texas. The Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality and circumstances of life for themselves and future generations. Foundation grants support work in the fields of arts and culture, civic and public affairs, education, health, and human services. The foundation also has a particular philanthropic interest in three areas: public education (particularly in the areas of early child development, enhanced reading skills, and teacher preparation), mental health, and the environment.
The Meadows Foundation is among the most recognized private philanthropies in the country. It has received numerous awards for both its philanthropy and its management. It was the first recipient of the Texas Medal of the Arts for sustained support of arts and culture in Texas, and was named Outstanding Foundation of the year by the National Society of Fund Raising Executives. For additional information, visit The Meadows Foundation web site at http://www.mfi.org.
About KERA
KERA is a not-for-profit public broadcasting organization that is independently owned and operated in North Texas. The station’s services include original television and radio productions, national public television and radio programs, online information and resources at www.kera.org and an educational resource center that develops outreach programs for children, families and educators.
KERA productions have earned the highest accolades bestowed by the broadcasting industry, including Peabody, duPont, Emmy, Clarion (Association of Women in Communications), Gold Camera Award (the U.S. International Film and Video Festival), Texas Gavel (State Bar of Texas), Anson Jones for In-Depth Television (Texas Medical Association), International Health and Medical Award for Community Health, Chicago International Film Festival's Silver Plaque, Lone Star Emmy, INTERCOM Competition’s Gold Plaque, American Association of Museums’ Gold Muse Award, National Telecommunications and Education Association, and many more.
