Bethlehem, PA. – November 2, 2018 –PBS39 announces plans for live election night coverage on Tuesday, November 6. The special will feature PBS39 Reporter Corps journalists dedicated to covering the neighborhoods of the Greater Lehigh Valley. Commentators from local colleges and universities, as well as PBS national, will bring additional insight to the program.

“Promoting civic engagement is a vital part of our mission at PBS39.” Tim Fallon, Chief Executive Officer of PBS39 said. “It is our responsibility in a democracy to inform and inspire the community. The addition of our new Reporter Corps journalists allows us to bring unbiased coverage to all citizens of the Greater Lehigh Valley.”

PBS39’s coverage will extend beyond the television screen. In partnership with Adams Outdoor Advertising, live news updates and results will also be visible on more than a dozen digital billboards throughout the Greater Lehigh Valley. When there’s a development in an important race, the team will immediately post an update.

“We realize not everyone is sitting in front of a television or computer screen on election night. This is an opportunity to provide the public with a different option, using as many different platforms as we can,” Yoni Greenbaum, Chief Content Officer of PBS39 said. “These midterm elections are about so much more than results and numbers. Through storytelling and new technology, we want to help revive community journalism.”

Reports will go beyond results. Journalists will focus on important topics including healthcare, education, immigration and the impact of “fake news.” Commentators will include; Dr. John Reynolds, a political science professor and director of the Rainbow Diversity program at Moravian College, Dr. Nichola Gutgold, an internationally recognized scholar on women’s issues and communications arts and science professor at Penn State University, John Kincaid, a professor of government and public service and director of the Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government, Dr. Adam McGlyyn, a political science professor specializing in Latino political behavior and urban government at East Stroudsburg University and Jodi Empol-Schwartz, a political science professor from Montgomery County Community College. Students from PBS39’s Reporters Roundtable will also bring their perspective to a portion of the broadcast.

Prior to live coverage, PBS39 will air the documentary One Vote. Filmed in five locations in one day, One Vote tells the story of five diverse American voters on Election Day 2016. The film, directed by Christine Woodhouse, follows the owner of the last tavern polling place in the country, an Alaskan family who travels miles to vote, an investor in Omaha who devotes his day to transporting voters, a gospel-singing physician in rural South Carolina and a former felon voting for the first time since serving time in Kentucky. A new edition of PBS39 News Tonight, the station’s nightly newscast, will air immediately following local election coverage.

Check your local listings and watch live on Tuesday, November 6 on PBS39/WLVT. Election night coverage will also be streamed live on PBS39.org.

About PBS39
PBS39 is a community-owned public media station licensed to Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, Pa., serving eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. PBS39 is owned and operated by the Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation. PBS39 acts as the catalyst to promote civic engagement, and to fulfill the regional needs of the Greater Lehigh Valley through its dynamic communication platforms and resources. PBS39 Reporter Corps journalists are embedded in the ten counties that make up the Greater Lehigh Valley, including Lehigh, Northampton, Bucks, Montgomery, Berks, Schuylkill, Carbon and Monroe in Pennsylvania, plus Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. The Reporter Corps creates community-focused content for PBS39 News Tonight and for the PBS39 digital platform. For more information, visit wlvt.org.