"Matter of Fact Listening Tour," Advancing Conversations About Race And Justice, To Air For First Time On Television

NEW YORK, Feb. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The urgent conversation about race, equality and justice receives a primetime platform this month on Hearst Television stations across 26 media markets and will also be showcased on the A&E and fyi cable networks, which are co-owned by Hearst Television's parent company. 

"The Hard Truth About Bias: Images and Reality," a one-hour program featuring a variety of guests from the worlds of academia, sports, journalism and entertainment, is a special project of Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien, the acclaimed weekly Hearst Television public affairs program.  Initial airings on Hearst's broadcast TV stations will appear in the primetime window on each station's primary channel during the balance of February.  In Baltimore, Hearst Television's radio news-talk leader WBAL-AM will simulcast the airing on sister TV station WBAL-TV.

The special also will appear on  A&E on February 20 at 12:00pm Eastern and on fyi February 21 at 10am and February 27 at 9am Eastern.

"The Hard Truth About Bias: Images and Reality" features conversations about the relationship of race and privilege, racial stress, the impact of bias in the images and language in our daily news and information, and the creation of stereotypes and how they influence the way we think.

This represents the first television airing of the special, which initially appeared live on digital platforms in October 2020, and which was hailed by a participant, University of Maryland Prof. and Brookings Institution Fellow Dr. Rashawn Ray, as "the best show that I have been on that addresses #racism."  

"We are extremely proud of this program as it directly addresses very important issues that are traditionally uncomfortable to talk about," said Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb.  "As we work to improve and inform our communities around the subject of racial equity and social justice, more programming like The Hard Truth About Bias will serve as excellent platforms to advance the conversation forward."

"As with the weekly Matter of Fact program, The Hard Truth About Bias takes a fresh, insightful and differentiated approach, with people – not spokespeople – telling real and honest stories in a way that brings the topic home to viewers," said Emerson Coleman, Hearst Television senior vice president of programming, who also serves as executive in charge of production for Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien.  "We believe audiences will find this presentation to be timely, memorable and impactful."

"We don't shy away from tough conversations because they are the path to understanding each other better, healing our wounds and finding a way forward," O'Brien said.  "My aim is to unearth the kinds of ideas that can help us meet the challenge of creating an equal, fair and just society."

"The Hard Truth About Bias: Images and Reality" marks the first installment of the Matter of Fact Listening Tour, with a series of virtual forums to be presented in 2021. The initiative harnesses the combined digital platforms of many of Hearst's consumer media brands, which livestreamed the initial October 8 presentation; these include 33 television stations; newspapers around the country; and many of the world's most popular magazines -- and on Matter of Fact's website, YouTube and Facebook Live channels. The entire 75-minute version of "The Hard Truth About Bias: Images and Reality" remains available for streaming at matteroffact.tv.

About Hearst Television
Hearst Television owns and operates 33 television and two radio stations serving 26 media markets across 39 states reaching over 21 million U.S. television households. Through its partnership with nearly all the major networks, Hearst Television distributes national content over nearly 70 video channels, including programming from ABC, NBC, CBS, CW, MY Net, MeTV, This TV, Estrella and more. The radio stations are leaders in Baltimore news/talk and rock music listenership. Hearst Television is recognized as one of the industry's premier companies and has been honored with numerous awards for distinguished journalism, industry innovation and community service. Hearst Television is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst.

About Soledad O'Brien
Soledad O'Brien is an award-winning documentarian, journalist, speaker, author and philanthropist, who founded Soledad O'Brien Productions, a multiplatform media production company dedicated to telling empowering and authentic stories on a range of social issues. She anchors and produces the Hearst TV political magazine program Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien and is a correspondent for HBO Real Sports. She is a thought leader, with over 1.3 million Twitter followers, who has a national impact through her speeches, numerous documentaries and her presence on the op-ed pages of platforms like The New York Times and HuffPost. She has anchored shows on CNN, MSNBC and NBC and reported for Fox, A&E, Oxygen, Nat Geo, the PBS NewsHour, WebMD and Al Jazeera America, among others. O'Brien's work has been recognized with three Emmy awards, twice with the George Foster Peabody Award, three times with the Gracie Award, which honors women in media, twice with Cine Awards for her work in documentary films and also with an Alfred I. DuPont Award.

SOURCE Hearst Television

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