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IU'S KELLEY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS IS A PARTNER IN STATEWIDE BUSINESS TV PROGRAM DEBUTING MAY 1
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University and its Kelley School of Business are excited about being major players in a unique new initiative to inform Hoosiers about business and economic issues affecting them -- Indiana Business This Week. The new 30-minute weekly television program, the result of a partnership between the Kelley School of Business, IU and Indianapolis TV stations WRTV (Ch. 6) and WFYI (Ch. 20), will debut this Friday (May 1).
The fast-paced program, hosted by former 6-NEWS reporter Gerry Dick, will combine business news of the week with in-depth profiles of the companies, corporate leaders and entrepreneurs who make up the Indiana business scene. IU's Kelley School of Business will be the program's title sponsor.
"We are excited to partner with WFYI TV 20 public television and Indiana University's Kelley School of Business for what we feel is a national first," said Chris Schmidt, WRTV vice president and general manager. "This unique program brings a major university, commercial and public television stations together to provide a program that is not only timely and informative, but also important for central Indiana viewers.
"The quality and depth of this programming is in keeping with our goal of providing news and information our viewers can use," Schmidt added.
The program will air at 10 p.m. Friday nights on WFYI TV 20 and be distributed statewide to PBS affiliate stations in Indiana. It also will air at 11:30 a.m. Sundays on WRTV (Ch. 6), following This Week with Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts.
"The Kelley School of Business, now and always, takes its outreach responsibilities very seriously, and this is yet another example," said Kelley School of Business Dean Dan Dalton. "We are pleased to be a partner with these television stations in giving exposure to critically important issues in business and economics in Indiana."
Lloyd Wright, WFYI president and general manager, said his station prides itself on providing high quality programming, such as Indiana Week in Review, The McLaughlin Group and Wall Street Week, which precede the new business program. "I'm confident that Indiana Business This Week will be a strong addition to our popular Friday night public affairs lineup," Wright added.
Dick, who for 14 years covered business news and issues facing Indiana for 6-NEWS, developed the idea for the program. Currently director of marketing and communications at the Indianapolis Economic Development Corp., Dick said the program will fill an important niche.
"At this time there are no locally produced business programs of this magnitude anywhere in Indiana," Dick said. "We think this is a great opportunity to not only provide important business news and information, but to also serve as a showcase for Indiana businesses."
Vince Robinson, managing editor of 6-NEWS, a veteran broadcast journalist with business news experience, will serve as the program's executive producer. In addition to IU's Kelley School of Business, the Indianapolis law firm of Barnes and Thornburg is a premier underwriter of the program on WFYI.
For more information, contact Margaret Garrison, Kelley School of Business, 812-855-3369; Jo Ann Creech, WRTV, 317-635-9788; or Lori Plummer, WFYI, 317-636-2020.
(George Vlahakis, IU Office of Communications and Marketing, 812-855-0846 or 812-855-3911, gvlahaki@indiana.edu)