UNC-TV CELEBRATES A DECADE OF NORTH CAROLINA NOW
North Carolina Now's Tenth Anniversary Celebration
Airs Tuesday, Jan. 20, at 8 PM

Q: Which on-air personality has worked with North Carolina Now since its January 17, 1994, premiere? (answer below)

Tune in UNC-TV Tuesday, January 20, from 8-11 PM, for a very special evening of highlights from 10 years of North Carolina Now. During that time, reporters have conducted more than two thousand interviews and produced more than 3,800 feature stories from around the state. The North Carolina Now Tenth Anniversary Celebration brings you the best material from over the past decade and shows how North Carolina Now has covered the state's issues, people and places in unique and in-depth ways.

When North Carolina Now made its auspicious debut on UNC-TV 10 years ago, its official mission was to offer viewers a daily source of information about the state. And its unofficial mission was to be as lively, varied and often surprising as North Carolina itself. Those ambitious goals remain as does its original positioning as a blend of state news headlines, newsmaker interviews and features. UNC-TV Director and General Manager Tom Howe conceived the weeknightly series more than a decade ago. "Because our signal is broadcast statewide," Howe said then, "UNC-TV has a unique ability to serve as a primary source of information for North Carolinians. A series that brings viewers regular information from around the state is a great way to make effective use of that ability." North Carolina Now's original executive producer Scott Davis explained that the show would be a work in progress, one that would grow and evolve. Davis, now UNC-TV's executive producer for external productions, was right.

A description of North Carolina Now from the January 1994 issue of UNC-TV's program guide, CenterPiece, promised that the series would "present statewide news, business and weather reports, newsmaker and celebrity interviews." The show's original premise remains true, even as it continues to evolve. Unlike commercial local television, North Carolina Now enjoys the luxury of taking long, hard looks at the day's issues and presents topics with fresh approaches. In typical North Carolina Now style, renowned North Carolina author Allan Gurganus appeared on an episode to read his essay A Torrent of Kindness, originally published in the New York Times. This moving document, about the outpouring of goodwill in the author's native Rocky Mount community during the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd, received an Emmy Award nomination-one of several earned over the years by North Carolina Now. Covering such a wide array of topics-including health, education, culture, environment, agriculture, development, politics and government-North Carolina Now brings viewers the background and insight needed to take advantage of all the state offers.

Now, over 2,600 episodes since its first bold show, North Carolina Now celebrates its tenth anniversary with a three-hour special. Co-anchored by Shannon Vickery and Mitchell Lewis, the North Carolina Now Tenth Anniversary Celebration presents the most compelling stories and issues from each year of the show's existence. Timely topics touching all North Carolinians-including fading tobacco and textile industries, growth of the high-tech sector, racism, immigration, hurricanes, redevelopment, jobs and creative retirement-are recalled. Familiar sites and well-kept secrets-from Spivey's Corner and the Battleship North Carolina, to the Lost Colony and modestly named Biltmore House-are revisited. And fond flashbacks of such monumental North Carolinians as basketball legends Michael Jordan and Coach Kay Yow, Gospel music greats Shirley Caesar and George Beverly Shea, poet Maya Angelou, Reverend Billy Graham, potter Ben Owen, fashion designer Alexander Julian, news icon Charles Kuralt, jazz star Nnenna Freelon, historian John Hope Franklin and Senator Jesse Helms are included, along with many more of the personalities, politicians and everyday Tar Heels who number among the 10 years of North Carolina Now newsmaker interviews. Be sure to watch the North Carolina Now Tenth Anniversary Celebration, Tuesday, January 20, at 8 PM.

UNC-TV is North Carolina's member-supported, 11-station, statewide television network, committed to using telecommunications wisely and imaginatively to inform, educate, and enrich all North Carolinians.

A: Mitchell Lewis