PBS 45 & 49’s NewsNight
Akron panel to choose 2007 Akron Newsmaker of the Year
Tune in to PBS 45 & 49’s NewsNight
Akron on Friday, Jan. 4 at 9 p.m. to find out who won
the 2007 Akron Newsmaker of the Year award. The award recognizes
the greater Akron individual whose work has had the most significant
news impact during the past year.
The winner was chosen by these NewsNight
Akron panelists: host Eric Mansfield of WKYC-TV, Ed
Esposito of Rubber City Radio Group, Steve Hoffman of the Akron
Beacon Journal and Jody Miller of Bath Country Journal. The panelists
met at North Side Grill in Akron on Thursday, Dec. 27 to discuss
the nominations and choose the winner.
Nominees for the 2007 award are as follows:
-
Kevin Coughlin, Ohio State senator, 27th
district, for challenging the status quo of the Republican
party in Summit County
-
Jessie Marie Davis, Canton resident who allegedly
was murdered by her boyfriend, a Canton police officer
-
Joe Finley, who challenged incumbent Don
Plusquellic in the Democratic primary for Akron mayor
-
Terry Gordon, M.D., a cardiologist at Northeast
Ohio Cardiovascular Specialists and Akron General Medical Center,
who wants every school in America to have an automated external
defibrillator
-
LeBron James, star forward of the Cleveland
Cavaliers, for getting the team so close to the national championship
-
Robert Keegan, chairman of the board, CEO
and president of The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, for
keeping the corporation in town
-
Don Plusquellic, mayor of Akron, for mobilizing
the city to keep Goodyear in town
-
Luis Proenza, president of The University
of Akron, for vast changes and advances taking place on the
university’s campus
-
Russell Pry, Summit County executive, for
coming into office and “taking the bull by the horns”
-
John Saros, executive director of Summit
County Children Services, for getting the levy passed and for
bringing peace and order back to the organization
-
Ted Strickland, recognized for his higher
education initiatives, particularly his pledge to freeze college
tuition
NewsNight Akron is in its
10th season on PBS 45 & 49. It airs on Fridays at 9 p.m. and
repeats on Saturdays at 5 a.m.
About NewsNight Akron
NewsNight Akron airs every Friday night at 9
p.m. on PBS 45 & 49 and offers spontaneous, lively, in-depth
discussions about issues that affect the lives of people in greater
Akron. Hosted by Eric Mansfield, Akron-Canton news anchor for
WKYC-TV3, NewsNight Akron features a roundtable
discussion with a panel of local journalists that covers both
breaking news stories on topics such as education, the community
and local business, as well as ongoing subjects including elections
and major news stories. Serving as regular panelists on the show
are Steve Hoffman, political writer at the Akron Beacon Journal;
Jody Miller, editor and publisher of Bath Country Journal;
and Ed Esposito, Joe Jastzremski and Larry States, all of whom
are members of the Rubber City Radio Group news staff.
About PBS 45 & 49
PBS 45 & 49 is owned and operated by Northeastern Educational Television
of Ohio, Inc., a private, nonprofit corporation. A trusted community resource,
PBS 45 & 49 uses the power of noncommercial television and related services
to enrich the lives of people through high-quality programming and educational
services that teach, illuminate and inspire. For more information about PBS
45 & 49, visit www.pbs4549.org or call 1-800-854-4549.
