July 2, 2009
For Immediate Release

WKNO OFFERS HELP FOR THE COMMUNITY
FACING THE MORTGAGE THE CRISIS

WKNO has launched a multi-media outreach campaign to help the Mid-South community in the midst of one of the worst housing crises in recent history. This campaign includes a web site, on-air tips, news reports, and a one-hour televised panel discussion – It Matters: Facing the Mortgage Crisis – set to premiere on July 29.

Currently one out of every 118 homes in the Memphis area is facing a foreclosure. Some people simply bought more house than they could realistically afford; many fell victim to predatory lending and the subprime mortgage market; while others found themselves unable to make their monthly mortgage payments due to unemployment or reduced wages.

The paths leading to foreclosure vary, but the end result is almost always the same – community blight. Foreclosures decrease surrounding property values, increase crime and vandalism, cost businesses profits, increase municipal costs, and strain the social services of our community. Foreclosures in our current economic climate do more than place a single family in crisis, they place our community in crisis.

This summer, WKNO is one of 32 PBS stations participating in a national public education initiative, Facing the Mortgage Crisis, originated by KETC in St. Louis. Identified as one of the top 32 foreclosure markets in the country, Memphis and the Mid-South has many families at risk. As a trusted provider of news and information, WKNO has assembled a community advisory panel and will be providing local viewers with information and resources to help them weather this economic downturn.

WKNO is working closely with the Memphis Public Library and Information Center’s LINC 2-1-1 department, funded by the United Way of the Mid-South. WKNO is encouraging people with housing questions to dial 2-1-1 to be connected with resources that can help.

WKNO will present It Matters: Facing the Mortgage Crisis, exploring the scope of the mortgage crisis in Memphis and Shelby County. This one-hour panel discussion, which premieres Wednesday, July 29 at 9:00 p.m., will feature community leaders, industry experts, housing counselors, and representatives from area non-profit agencies discussing how we arrived at this point, where one can go for help if facing a foreclosure, what can be done to protect an investment in one’s home, and what the community must do to stabilize neighborhoods. It Matters will repeat Friday, July 31 at 8:00 p.m. on WKNO/Channel 10. It will also air Thursday, July 30 at 9:00 p.m. on WKNO2.

Additional information about the mortgage crisis will air on this month’s The Best Times, when Cris Hardaway focuses on topics of special concern to people age 50+. The Best Times airs Friday, July 17 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, July 18 at 8:30 a.m.; and Sunday, July 19, at 12:00 noon on WKNO/Channel 10. It also airs on Saturday, July 18 at 8:30 p.m. on WKNO2.

WKNO-FM 91.1 will also be airing a series of reports about Memphis and the mortgage crisis

People looking for information and help will be able to go online at wkno.org and find an easy-to-use directory of organizations that can provide personal consulting and assistance to those in danger of losing their homes. A series of public service spots will air on WKNO/Channel 10 throughout July and August outlining some basic concepts and terminology people need to know, and point them to community resources.

Facing the Mortgage Crisis is part of CPB’s Public Service Media Economic Response Initiative and is locally sponsored by Memphis Daily News.

WKNO is a non-profit, private foundation serving the Mid-South for more than 50 years. An important community resource, WKNO uses the power of non-commercial public broadcasting to provide the Mid-South with quality educational and cultural programs that inform, entertain, and inspire.

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Advising Partners

Center for Community Building and Neighborhood Action
www.cbana.memphis.edu

Community Development Council of Greater Memphis
www.memphiscommunitydevelopment.com

Federal Bank of St. Louis
www.stlouisfed.org

Frayser Community Development Corporation
www.fraysercdc.org

Memphis Area Legal Services, Inc.
www.malsi.org

Memphis Public Library and Information Center/ LINC 2-1-1 www.memphislibrary.org/linc/211.htm

The Works
www.theworkscdc.org

United Housing, Inc.
www.uhinc.org

United Way of the Mid-South
www.uwmidsouth.org

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
www.hud.gov

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