Virgil Dominic, a media consultant and longtime Cleveland television executive,
talks with Eric Mansfield about reporting the Vietnam War.

 

Western Reserve Public Media presents Reporting the War: The Journalists’ Perspective

Northeast Ohio media professionals reveal war-reporting challenges in special Veterans Day edition of NewsNight Akron

KENT, Ohio — Nov. 2, 2007 — When reporting about war, local news outlets face different challenges than their national and international counterparts. The focus shifts from the war itself to the local warrior as reporters strive to present coverage from the individual soldier’s angle. Western Reserve Public Media presents a special Veterans Day edition of NewsNight Akron with Reporting the War: The Journalists’ Perspective, which premieres on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 10 p.m. The program will repeat on Monday, Nov. 12 at 4 a.m.

Eric Mansfield, host of Western Reserve Public Media’s NewsNight Akron and Akron/Canton news anchor for WKYC-TV3, hosts the program. Mansfield, a recently retired major in the Ohio National Guard, saw active duty in Iraq and Kuwait for 14 months beginning in 2003.

Reporting the War features interviews with local media personnel, including Leon Bibb and Virgil Dominic, who discuss the challenges of choosing what to report and how to go about getting the stories. “There’s nothing that’s affecting our country more right now than the war in Iraq,” says Dominic. “I think that we need to keep that in the public’s eye in every way that we can.”

Several of the interviewees also are war veterans, which gives them a unique perspective as they make news decisions. Appearing in the production are the following individuals representing local television, radio and print:

 

 

About NewsNight Akron
NewsNight Akron airs every Friday night at 9 p.m. on Western Reserve Public Media 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 Western Reserve Public Media
Western Reserve Public Media is owned and operated by Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, Inc., a private, nonprofit corporation and consortium of Kent State University, The University of Akron and Youngstown State University. A trusted community resource, Western Reserve Public Media uses the power of commercial-free television and related services to enrich the lives of people through high-quality programming and educational services that teach, illuminate and inspire. The only broadcast television service that reaches all of northeast Ohio, Western Reserve Public Media is available to 1.8 million households and 4.6 million people in the Cleveland and Youngstown designated market areas. In an average week, over 500,000 households tune in. Through funding from eTech Ohio, the organization provides K-12 educational technology training and instructional television programming to 21,500 educators and 257,400 students in eight Ohio counties. For more information about Western Reserve Public Media, visit www.WesternReservePublicMedia.org or call 1-800-554-4549.