The "Dateline NBC" special that aired in July of 2010 and featured Athens County won an Emmy Award on Monday during a ceremony in New York City for news and documentary programs.
"America Now: Friends and Neighbors" originally aired on Sunday, July 25, 2010 on NBC. A short follow-up to the program then aired on Aug. 1, 2010. The program won the award for Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story in a News Magazine.
The hour-long program followed the lives of several Athens County and southeast Ohio residents for several months as they dealt with poverty-related issues. Much of the program also focused on the Friends and Neighbors Community Choice Food Center in Lottridge in Athens County.
Lisa Roberts, director of the Friends and Neighbors Community Choice Food Center, was featured prominently in the program and then was invited to New York City for the awards ceremony. When it was announced that the "Dateline NBC" special had won the prestigious award, Roberts was invited up on stage with the producers and other officials from the program.
"America Now: Friends and Neighbors" can be seen online on the Dateline NBC website at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38382773. In addition to the hour-long program that was shown on television, the follow-up and several additional clips are also featured on the website.
Since the airing of that program, a renewed emphasis has been put on the anti-poverty effort and the economic plight of the area.
The Athens NEWS did its own eight-part series exploring poverty in the area, and on Monday civil-rights leader Jesse Jackson came to Athens to renew the call to action in the anti-poverty effort in America (see related story).
"It's time for healing; to end the meanness, revive the hope, rebuild the dream," he said. "Why can't Appalachia be the headquarters for the movement to wipe out poverty?"
