Special Ear Day On-Air and Online Lineup on KCET April Cultivates Awarene Around Our Planet

Contact:

Ariel Carpenter

acarpenter@kcet.org

(747) 201 - 5243

Special Earth Day On-Air and Online Lineup on KCET April 22 Cultivates Awareness Around Our Planet

Includes Sneak Preview of Upcoming EARTH FOCUS Event Investigating the Illicit Elephant Ivory Trade Titled Ivory: Crime, Corruption and Terrorism

Burbank, CA -Apr. 8, 2015 - This Earth Day, KCET, the nations largest independent public television station, is rallying viewers around important environmental issues by presenting a comprehensive lineup of planet-friendly programming that educates and inspires viewers to take action both on the air and on its website, kcet.org. The special Earth Day broadcast schedule airs from 8-11 p.m. on April 22 kicking off at 8 p.m. with a sneak peek of a groundbreaking upcoming edition of the critically acclaimed series EARTH FOCUS titled Ivory: Crime, Corruption and Terrorism which will debut on KCET in May.

The May programming event uncovers the devastating effects of the illegal ivory trade, its impact on the dwindling African elephant population, and the link between this illicit activity with insurgency groups and organized crime. EARTH FOCUS Ivory: Crime, Corruption and Terrorism is slated to be telecast on Wednesday, May 27 on KCET (Southern California) at 8:30 p.m.

In addition to the EARTH FOCUS Sneak Peek on April 22, KCET marks the 45th anniversary of Earth Day with programming that transforms global concerns into actionable solutions. The primetime television broadcast lineup includes the public land rights documentary REBELS WITH A CAUSE narrated by Frances McDormand (Fargo), the water conservation experiment WATER PRESSURES hosted by Adrian Grenier (Entourage), and special episodes of KCETs award-winning series SOCAL CONNECTED and EARTH FOCUS, the longest-running environmental series on American television.

Starting today, a dedicated online hub will launch at www.kcet.org/earthday focused on wildlife and environmental conservation featuring popular KCET news series, films, documentaries and news posts proving that ordinary citizens can make a difference for the world. A new original short about rhinos in South Africas Kruger National Park will premiere as part of the online programming.

Highlights from the Earth Day on-air/online lineup on April 22 include:

Broadcast

EARTH FOCUS Sneak Peek at Ivory: Crime, Corruption and Terrorism

8 p.m. PT

A special sneak peek at the upcoming installment titled Ivory: Crime, Corruption and Terrorism airing in May comes during a pivotal time when an elephant is killed every 20 minutes to feed an insatiable demand for ivory driven largely by consumers in China. African elephants may be gone in as little as ten years as a result of organized crime syndicates, rebel groups, militias and insurgents.

SOCAL CONNECTED

8 p.m. PT

KCETs award-winning flagship local news series SOCAL CONNECTED reports from off the coast of Palos Verdes where divers are working frantically to restore miles of vital kelp forests that have died as a result of sea urchins that have overrun large swaths of the ocean floor, devouring forests of kelp that are crucial to the oceans ecosystem.

EARTH FOCUS: Climate Sciences in Action

8:30 p.m. PT

From researching the pace of Alaskan glacier melt to changes in Arctic sea ice, climate scientists trek to the most remote areas on Earth to help us understand our environment.

REBELS WITH A CAUSE

9 p.m. PT

Narrated by Oscar -winning actress Frances McDormand, this documentary spotlights a small group of people who banded together to protect and preserve open spaces near urban areas for parks and farms. The film begins in the 1950s and tells the tale of this disparate band of activists who persisted in their mission for 20 years. REBELS WITH A CAUSE documents a fascinating example of a hard-fought campaign to preserve something important to all Americans - public lands.

WATER PRESSURES

10 p.m. PT

Hosted by actor-producer Adrian Grenier (HBOs Entourage), this documentary tracks the partnership between villagers in water-distressed Rajasthan, India and students at Northwestern University, who witness a model of conservation and community cooperation firsthand on a 10-day trip to India.

Online

Launching today, a dedicated Earth Day online hub at www.kcet.org/earthday will aggregate an array of online programming to highlight environmentally oriented content, with special emphasis on animal conservation and elephant ivory (in particular the upcoming EARTH FOCUS episode). A new original web-only piece from the team at EARTH FOCUS about rhinos in South Africas Kruger National Park will be highlighted as well as EARTH FOCUS correspondent Miles Bensons blog posting entitled Kiss The Elephants Goodbye.

Online visitors can also find programming with an eye toward both local and worldwide environmental efforts such as five previously aired FULL FRAME episodes featuring celebrities Kristin Davis and Yao Ming, Emmy Award winning director Jan Nickmans visionary films SACRED EARTH and its companion ECHOES OF CREATION, as well as a series of news articles on the controversial San Francisco Bay Delta and the California drought crisis.

For a full slate of online installments aimed to educate viewers about key facets of Earth Day, please visit www.kcet.org/earthday

KCET offers additional social media engagement on Facebook.com/KCET28 and @KCET on

Twitter and Instagram using the hashtags: #earthday and #earthfocus

ABOUT KCET

On-air, online and in the community, KCET plays a vital role in the cultural and educational enrichment of Southern and Central California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world. Throughout its 50-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs progr

LINK:	http://www.kcet.org/about/pressroom/kcet-press-releases/special-earth-...
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