Timely Special Premieres in Primetime to Highlight the State’s Rural Economic Success Stories!
UNC-TV Presents…NORTH CAROLINA RISING, Wednesday, September 2, at 8 PM

Amid unprecedented changes in our state’s economic and educational landscape, UNC-TV presents the primetime premiere of North Carolina Rising, Wednesday, September 2, at 8 PM. This compilation features highlights from the 12-part North Carolina Now series spotlighting economic success stories throughout rural North Carolina.

North Carolina Rising identifies the many challenges and triumphs of North Carolina’s rural communities—areas that once thrived on crops such as tobacco, but are now transitioning into a new global economy. This in-depth project spotlights unique economic development projects happening across the state and utilizes UNC-TV’s statewide reach to raise awareness of these effective revitalization efforts so that they might be shared and replicated in other areas of the state and beyond.

Featured reports include:

• Preserving Coastal Traditions
• Revitalizing Small Towns
• Building Eco-Tourism
• Promoting Cultural Tourism
• Building a Home for the Arts
• Reviving Craft Industry
• Preserving Jobs with Military Contracts
• Empowering Students with Laptop Computers
• Training a Skilled Workforce
• Luring Business with Venture Funds
• Improving Rural Health Care
• Alternative Farming

In this compilation of these 12 monthly North Carolina Now segments, the program examines how local communities are reinventing themselves through innovative options such as tourism, small business, alternative crops, biotechnology and biomanufacturing, food processing, military contracts, and education. These special reports yield an unprecedented and timely hour-long program showcasing the scope and diversity of the state’s rural economic development projects.

 UNC-TV’s North Carolina Rising project, will conclude with the broadcast of three topical town hall meetings from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (Wednesday, October 14, at 8 PM), and LIVE presentations from Western Carolina University (Wednesday, October 28,at 8 PM) & East Carolina University (November 18, at 8 PM). Each hour-long, television town hall features an interactive, multimedia dialogue between expert panelists representing local leadership in education, policy and industry and audiences, who may ask questions via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter—all to further examine theeconomic struggles and opportunities each particular region is facing and whatthe success of this area means for citizens statewide.

UNC-TV encourages viewers to join the statewide conversation about rural economic development.  Visit the North Carolina Rising website (www.unctv.org/ncrising) to “Share Your Project” or join our community on Facebook (www.facebook.unctv) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/unctv) to post your thoughts, inquiries and opinions on the state of North Carolina Rising.

UNC-TV’s North Carolina Rising project is funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation, a nonprofit corporation created in 1999 to receive one-half of the funds coming to North Carolina from a master settlement agreement with cigarette manufacturers. In turn, the Foundation is helping North Carolinians make the transition from a tobacco-dependent economy through grants and investments that will positively affect the long-term economic advancement of the state. Golden LEAF gives priority in its grantmaking to tobacco-dependent and economically distressed counties.

For more information about North Carolina Rising, please visit our website at www.unctv.org/ncrising.

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.

-UNC-TV-