Gannett Produces Debate for HDNet
By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/1/2005 4:21:00 PM
Gannett’s USA Today division will produce a debate show for Mark Cuban’s HDNet in which newsmakers, celebrities and the paper's reporters discuss current events.
The show, Debate, launches in October and will run weekly in prime. Topics up for discussion will be plucked from the editorial pages of USA Today and will include hot-button issues like abortion, stem-cell research, and the death penalty.The show is produced by USA Today Live, the television arm of the USA Today brand. It will be hosted and moderated by USA Today Live’s managing editor/anchor Lauren Ashburn and will feature commentary from reporters and editors from the newspaper, as well as viewer feedback from the paper’s “reader editor.”
USA Today Live also produces news segments for Gannett owned-and-operated TV stations and a business segment that runs five times a day on the Weather Channel.
HDNet runs around 20 hours of high definition original programming each week. USA Today is published by Gannett Co. Inc. Its daily circulation is 2.3 million. The USA Today division of Gannett also comprises web site usatoday.com and pro-football/baseball magazine USA Today Sports Weekly
