Tonight at 8 pm ET, KET presents a special report, “The Price of Poverty in Kentucky.”
In honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday and the second inauguration of President Barack Obama, Renee Shaw and I will look at the causes and possible solutions to the overwhelming and horrendous problem of poverty in the commonwealth. Statistics show that some 800,000 Kentuckians are living in poverty, right now.
Our eight panelists on ‘The Price of Poverty’ will discuss the root causes of poverty in our Appalachian counties as well as the urban regions of the state and why those in poverty seem to struggle with determining which public, government, and private programs can help them. Our guests will look at what kind of progress can continue to be made in terms of earnings income, education, and better health outcomes for those who live in poverty every day.
Recently, I talked with Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and asked him about the fact that 1 in 4 children live in poverty in our state and whether he believed progress was being made in the war on poverty in Kentucky. This is an “after the show” clip made after his recent appearance on “One to One.”
“The Price of Poverty in Kentucky” is dedicated to the memory of Dr. J. Blaine Hudson, dean of the college of arts and sciences at the University of Louisville, who died recently.
Al Smith and rural journalism
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011June 2 was an important day for former KET Comment on Kentucky host Al Smith and the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky.
The Institute, along with the Bluegrass Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, established a public service award through community journalism in Al’s name and honored him as the first recipient.
Al, who owned weekly newspapers in Kentucky and Tennessee, hosted Comment for over 30 years. He is a celebrated figure in state journalism and served his state, Appalachia, and the nation through a wide range of public service.
Speaking in his behalf were Jim Host; former Herald-Leader editor, David Holwerk; current Comment host Ferrell Wellman; and my colleague, KET host and producer Renee Shaw.
Renee’s remarks regarding her close association with Al were poignant and heartfelt.
Proceeds from the dinner will go to the Institute’s endowment at UK. The dinner also benefited the SPJ chapter, which funds scholarships for student journalists in the region.