New radio show in Athens

Tune in this new radio show premiere next Saturday on NewsTalk 1340 WGAU AM on your dial

From: Pat Priest ppriest@charter.net

Date: May 5, 2011 8:31:25 PM EDT

To: dan matthews danjmatt@bellsouth.net

Subject: New radio show in Athens

Finally we have the press together for the new radio show on WGAU.
Here's the press release below.

Neal had this to say for your blog if you'd like to use it: "This show is an extension, I think, of the neat things the Oconee Democrats have been doing to inform people about issues and help them develop a sense of place."

See you Saturday!

Pat
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

"True South"
A new weekly, hour-long show debuts May 14th on radio station WGAU
Saturdays from 10 – 11 AM on 1340 AM

For more information, contact Pat Priest
ppriest@charter.net
706/353-8310


A new local radio program showcasing timely stories in state and
national politics and culture with a southern sensibility will debut
Saturday, May 14th at 10 AM on WGAU (1340 AM). The program, "True
South," is quite a different turn for WGAU, with its roster that
includes far-right figures such as Neal Boortz, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean
Hannity.  The new Saturday morning show features local progressives Neal
Priest, an ER doctor, and Russell Edwards, community activist and
graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law.

The men will talk to top-flight experts for their call-in show, drawing
on statewide leaders, activists, and faculty from the state's preeminent
institutions. "True South" will also feature the many fascinating people
who hail from or settle in our southern region but often, through
immersion, experience, or scholarly work, hold a wider purview on the world.

Producer Pat Priest explains the impetus behind the new show: "Our focus
on nuanced and insightful knowledge will be an antidote to the dangerous
and mean-spirited disinformation circulating throughout our culture."

The hosts invite listeners to join the conversation by calling in during
the show or making comments on the show's Facebook page.
Neal said, "We hope to engage in spirited debates on the air and on line."

Neal had this to say about the program title: "We call the show 'True
South' with an emphasis on the word 'true,' to counter all the false
information ricocheting throughout the airwaves and cyberspace. Second,
we'll work to overturn common misrepresentations of the south as a
narrow-minded and backward region. Look at the wealth of experts and
top-flight scientists in Athens alone! We'll turn to that pool of talent
for information -- and advice -- for addressing the state's myriad
problems."

Russell adds: "And there's a third meaning.  We intend to provide a
hopeful sense of direction, a trueline, for southern progressives."

The show is financed through underwriting by local businesses and
individuals.

Here's more about the hosts' and producer's credentials:

Neal's background:

Priest and his wife Pat, a radio producer and writer, have lived in
Athens since 1986.  Neal hosted a weekly radio show on WRFC in the 1990s
called "The Classic Clinic" that featured experts and occasional callers
discussing medical and related issues.

Neal has worked as an ER physician in Athens since 1986.  Trained at
L.A. County/USC Medical Center and Tulane Medical School, he is a
board-certified emergency physician who is Chief of Staff at a local
hospital. He's served on UGA's Institutional Review Board and has
decades of experience as a medical expert witness.

He has also been a member of several Athens bands, mostly notably The
Priestie Boys, whose debut CD was a finalist for Flagpole's folk album
of the year in 1999.  And he was part of the MAD ("Men Against Domestic
Violence") Steppers of Athens who performed at last year's "Dancing with
Athens Stars."

He writes frequent op-ed pieces for the Athens Banner-Herald and has
been prominent in the health reform debates, traveling to outlying
counties to discuss – and listen to -- the problems facing people and
business owners.

Russell's background:

Russell is a self-described progressive firebrand who speaks out for
policies that will benefit Georgia's working class. Born and raised in
Peachtree City, Georgia, he first realized he was a Democrat while
volunteering at a half-way house. Fluent in Spanish, he graduated from
UNC- Asheville before moving to Washington, D.C. to teach 8th-grade
Spanish and to work with civil rights icon Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes
Norton. Because he loves Georgia, he returned to receive his law degree
from the University of Georgia's School of Law. He knows Northeast
Georgia well, as he recently ran against Congressman Paul Broun Jr. to
represent Georgia's sprawling District 10.

Pat's background:

Pat Priest, who earned a Ph.D. in 1992 from the Grady College of
Journalism, will serve as show producer.  She is the co-creator of
WUGA's "Athens News Matters," and she and Neal produced the music for
the show. She also produced a special series called "Songsmiths" for
WUGA that showcased local musicians such as Patterson Hood of the
Drive-by Truckers. She has produced features for the national radio
shows "Prime-time Radio" and "Living on Earth."  She, too, is a frequent
columnist for the Athens Banner-Herald, and she's written pieces for the
Washington Post and award-winning work for Georgia Public Radio's
"Georgia Gazette."

Pat created and co-produced "Dancing with Athens Stars," which has
raised almost a third of a million dollars for Project Safe, and has
worked to bring people together to civilly discuss political topics
(such as in the community-wide challenge to read both then-Senator
Obama's autobiography and Senator McCain's).  She's a member of the
steering committee of UGA's Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia and
active in the Oconee County Democrats.  She was born in North Carolina,
where her grandfathers were both small farmers, and her grandmothers
were schoolteachers.

For more information about the show, contact Pat Priest at
patricia.priest@yahoo.com.