wfn.org | African-American magazine to premiere on cable

[powellb@ucc.org]

March 12, 1997
Office of Communication
United Church of Christ
William Winslow, press contact
(212) 870-2137
E-mail:  william.winslow@ecunet.org
Tom Jacobs, "The Scott Report"
(216) 736-2252
E-mail:  jacobst@ucc.org
On the World Wide Web:  http://www.ucc.org

EDITORS AND PRODUCERS:  A color photo of "The Scott
Report" on-air talent and a list of cable systems
carrying the show are available by calling Laurie
Bartels at the United Church of Christ's Office of
Communication, (216) 736-2213.

New African-American news magazine to premiere on
national cable network

CLEVELAND -- "The Scott Report," a television news
magazine geared toward the African-American community,
will premiere on Odyssey, the religious cable
television network, April 3 at 6:30 p.m. (ET).
      Produced in cooperation with the United Church
of Christ's Office of Communication, "The Scott
Report" is anchored by veteran newscaster Jim Scott,
who is joined by a team of journalists from around the
country to report on politics, history, religion,
culture, sports and entertainment.  Its distribution
on Odyssey (formerly the Faith and Values channel),
also carried on Primestar, makes it the first
regularly scheduled national news magazine program
geared to the African-American audience.  The show is
repeated on Fridays at 2 a.m. (ET).
      "The Scott Report" was created by Tom Jacobs,
its Executive Director, who is a 26-year broadcasting
veteran.  Jacobs, winner of numerous broadcast
honors -- including one national and five regional
Emmy awards -- says he and Scott were disturbed by the
way they saw mainstream media portraying blacks,
particularly in an increasing number of violence-
related stories centered in the African-American
community.  They were determined to present a fairer
and more balanced picture of African-American life,
says Jacobs, and "The Scott Report" was the result. 
Recent "Scott Report" stories have focused on hate
radio, the dispute between the King family and the
National Park Service, African Americans and the
Republican Party, the Harlem Globetrotters, the Rev.
Jesse Jackson and Wynton Marsalis.
      Started in Columbus, Ohio, three years ago on a
single cable system, the half-hour news and features
program soon expanded to 10 TV markets before making
the leap to Odyssey, which has a national cable and
direct-to-home satellite audience of more than 28
million subscribers in all 50 states.  While still in
Ohio, it garnered two Ohio Cable Television
Association awards and an Obie award from Ohio Public
Television Broadcasting.
      Principal talent Jim Scott has had 26 years'
experience as a TV journalist with stations in Ft.
Wayne, Ind., Pittsburgh, Boston, Washington, D.C., and
Los Angeles.  He also worked a stint as correspondent
for the NBC television network.  Political and social
commentary for The Scott Report is provided by the
Rev. Dr. Susan K. Smith, pastor of Advent United
Church of Christ in Columbus, Ohio, and a former
reporter.  The senior producer is Donna Walker,
formerly a correspondent for Black Entertainment
Television.  Walker oversees the production from
offices in both Cleveland, where the program uses a
United Church of Christ studio, and Washington, D.C.
      Odyssey, based in New York City, is the
country's only interfaith religious cable network and
is owned in part by a coalition of 64 Protestant,
Jewish, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox faith
groups and evangelical traditions.  The network is
also carried by Primestar.
      The 1.5-million-member United Church of Christ,
with national offices in Cleveland, has more than
6,100 congregations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.  It
was formed by the 1957 union of the Congregational
Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed
Church.  Its Office of Communication carries out
projects to protect the public interest in
telecommunications, provides educational programs in
communication and handles public relations for the
denomination.
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