Award Winning Weekly News Magazine 'California Connected' Premieres With a Fresh New Format and Topical Slate

Award Winning Weekly News Magazine 'California Connected' Premieres With a Fresh New Format and Topical Slate

Joint Project of KCET, KVIE, KPBS, KQED Kicks Off Fifth Season on May 5; Nine-Time Emmy Winner, Bret Marcus, Joins Creative Team as Executive Producer

LOS ANGELES, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- "California Connected," the innovative, award-winning news magazine hosted by Lisa McRee, premieres its fifth-season with a fresh, new format and timely show topics of vital importance to California, and frequently, the rest of the country. Issues such as port security and undocumented immigrants will be explored in the premiere episode airing Friday, May 5, and broadcasting on California's PBS stations statewide. (Please check local listings).

"California Connected" will also introduce a new look, including its new logo, show open and graphics, beginning with the premiere episode. Editorially, viewers will also discover various new segments brought about by the new executive producer -- nine-time Emmy winner, Bret Marcus -- and his team. The hot-button issues covered in the series will be explored in more detail through de-briefs with the "California Connected"'s award-winning reporting staff, as well as through "first person" segments in which a newsmaker offers his/her opinion on a subject relating to that evening's broadcast. Each week unique locales will be highlighted in the "Greetings from 'California Connected'" video segment. In an effort to further engage viewers, McRee will answer viewer questions in various "CC 411" segments. Returning is the popular "Now you Know," a short segment with intriguing facts about a topic related to the news story it follows. Also, keep an eye out for the signature "California Connected" big blue RV, which will be making stops when covering stories throughout the state.

This season "California Connected" also expands its pool of correspondents. Judy Muller, (USC journalism professor and former ABC News correspondent), joins this season to tackle issues ranging from port security to the culture of car chases. Other reporters on board include Bob Jimenez (former NBC News national correspondent), Craig Miller (contributing correspondent/producer of America's Heartland), Stephanie O'Neal of National Public Radio (NPR), and John Ridley, filmmaker/novelist/NPR commentator.

"My vision for 'California Connected' is to produce a smart, relatable program that speaks to Californians about the issues that matter most to them," comments Marcus. "'California Connected''s talented pool of journalists speaks volumes about the program's commitment to quality."

The fifth season of "California Connected" will include a range of intriguing reporting on issues that not only affect the residents across the state but contain action-based solutions for those interested in the topic, including:

* A hard-hitting investigation into port security at America's busiest
port. Almost half of all goods shipped into this country arrive
through Los Angeles/Long Beach, and an attack could cripple both the
state and the nation's economy.

* A behind-the-scenes look at what is being done to curb deadly car
chases.

* As the immigration debate takes center stage, an examination into the
over 12 million undocumented immigrants living and working in the US,
their effect on California's society, and a first-person account of
what it's like to live as an undocumented worker in this country.

* The ethical issues concerning a new generation of life-saving drugs and
whether the people who need them most can afford them.

* A look at "intergenerational" programs such as the one-of-a-kind living
community in San Diego that benefits both foster-care children and the
elderly.

* A look at the skyrocketing cost of housing in California and what
happens when local professionals, such as teachers and policemen, can
no longer afford to live in the communities in which they work.

"California Connected" is co-produced by four PBS stations -- KCET/Los Angeles, KPBS/San Diego, KQED/San Francisco and KVIE/Sacramento -- and is broadcast statewide through a unique collaboration with KCSM/San Mateo, KEET/Eureka, KIXE/Redding, KOCE/Huntington Beach, KRCB/Rohnert Park, KTEH/San Jose, KVCR/San Bernardino and KVPT/Fresno.

Since its creation in 2002, "California Connected" has won numerous awards, including the 2006 Gracie Award for Outstanding Documentary-Short Length and a 2006 National Headliner Award, placing third for best News Magazine program after ABC's Prime Time Live and 20/20. Other awards include three Emmys, two Golden Mikes, six Los Angeles Press Club awards, and four previous Gracie Allen Awards from American Women in Radio & Television, as well as being a Scripps Howard Foundation's National Journalism Finalist.

New to "California Connected" this season is nine-time Emmy winner Bret Marcus, as executive producer. Marcus is also a Peabody Award winner and a recipient of two duPont-Columbia Awards. Joining Marcus as part of the "California Connected" production team are senior producer Justine Schmidt and line producer Ellen Raphael. Schmidt has won four Emmy Awards and two Associated Press Awards, including one for investigative journalism. Raphael joins the team from KCET's A Place of Our Own. Mary Mazur, KCET's executive vice president of programming and production, returns as the executive in charge of production. Joyce Campbell, KCET's executive director of production, returns as "California Connected"'s production executive for KCET.

"California Connected"'s award-winning website (californiaconnected.org) continues to be produced by KQED, under the direction of Marc Phu. "California Connected" has been funded by The James Irvine Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Annenberg Foundation and The California Endowment.

Source: California Connected

CONTACT: Katie Barker or Jennifer McIntosh, both of mPRm,
+1-323-933-3399, for "California Connected"; or Cathy Williams of KCET,
+1-323-953-5243

Web site: http://californiaconnected.org/

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