FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2008
CONTACT: Meg Fullwood
214-740-9377
mfullwood@kera.org
KERA REVISITS DALLAS’ LEGAL BATTLE OVER MINORITY VOTING RIGHTS
IN SHARING THE POWER: A VOTER’S VOICE SPECIAL
Television Special Airs May 28th on KERA-TV
DALLAS/FORT WORTH - Twenty years have passed since two African-American activists filed a federal lawsuit and changed the way Dallas elects its city officials. At issue was the election of some city council members to “at large” seats, in which all voters could cast their ballots. The lawsuit contended that the cost of campaigning city-wide diluted minority voting strength. Federal Judge Jerry Buchmeyer agreed and ordered elections to be held under an all single-member district system.
KERA 13 examines the impact of Roy Williams and Marvin Crenshaw v. The City of Dallas in the television special Sharing the Power: A Voter’s Voice Special. The program will broadcast at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 on KERA-TV. An audio version of the program will air on KERA-FM at 6:00 p.m., Thursday, May 29, 2008. Additional information will soon be available at kera.org/votersvoice.
KERA Morning Edition Host Sam Baker interviews Williams and Crenshaw about the basis for the lawsuit and the years of legal maneuvering required to see it through. He also talks with community leaders who shaped the voting rights debate. A panel of analysts will discuss the changes that have taken place since the federal court ruling, the consequences of moving to single-member districts and whether minorities are more equitably served in the City of Dallas since the ruling. The program also takes a look at the role of single member districts in other North Texas communities.
THE PRODUCTION TEAM
KERA News Director Shelley Kofler is an award-winning broadcast journalist and television producer with expertise covering state government and politics. She covered the single-member district battle as the Dallas City Hall reporter with KXAS-TV/NBC-5. She later served as the Austin Bureau Chief and legislative reporter for Dallas-based WFAA-TV/ABC from 2000-2004. She also covered government issues for KXAS-TV/NBC, and worked with KERA on numerous public affairs projects including nationally broadcast programs addressing elections, education and public policy.
Rick Thompson is Director of Multimedia Content for KERA-TV. He is an award-winning producer with 30 years of production experience. Currently the executive producer of CEO and the television series Nowhere but Texas, Thompson’s previous executive producer credits include: Richard Avedon: In the American West – A Twentieth Anniversary Special; The Texas Debates, Texas and the Latino Vote and Finding Our Voice: The Dallas Gay & Lesbian Community. His national credits include KERA-TV’s HDTV special JFK: Breaking the News, Matisse and Picasso: A Gentle Rivalry; and KERA’s 26-episode cooking series, New Tastes from Texas with Chef Stephan Pyles.
Sam Baker serves as Senior Editor of News and Public Affairs and local host for Morning Edition on KERA. The Beaumont, Texas, native edits and produces radio commentaries and has produced KERA versions of the NPR series This I Believe and StoryCorps. He also hosted KERA 13’s long-running weekly public affairs show On the Record, which addressed a wide range of issues from a North Texas perspective. Sam worked in commercial television for six years before moving to public broadcasting. He joined KERA in 1991.
Alexis Yancey is an independent producer and owner of Alexis Yancey Productions in Dallas. Yancey is an award-winning network news producer who spent seven years with CBS News in New York where she contributed to the CBS Weekend News, Sunday Morning, Street Stories with Ed Bradley, Street Stories with Mike Wallace, America Tonight and CBS News This Morning. Prior to her network career, Yancey held management and producing positions at several affiliate stations including WFAA-TV in Dallas, WBZ-TV in Boston and WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee.
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.
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