CUAD Partners in Legislative Focused Radio/Multi-media Broadcasts across the Dakotas
Date Posted: January 7, 2013
The Credit Union Association of the Dakotas is certainly going to be a relevant player as the North Dakota and South Dakota Legislative sessions are set to kick-off this week in Bismarck and Pierre.
In North Dakota, CUAD is very excited about our exclusive broadcast partnership on an exciting new radio/multi-media venture that will be broadcast state-wide “live” nightly from Bismarck. CUAD will be one of only four broadcast partners for the show that will be launched tonight “live” from the historic Peacock Alley restaurant and bar in Bismarck.
The program, "Legislature Today" - is being launch by the Bakken Beacon, a new North Dakota media company that will broadcast the multi-media radio show live on KFYR 550 AM , Bismarck; "The Flag" 1100 AM, Fargo; and KTGO "The Flag" West 1090 AM, Tioga; from 7 PM - 9 PM, Monday - Thursday, beginning January 7th and airing through the entire legislative session. The show will be will focus on the issues, disputes and foibles of the North Dakota Legislature.
As one of only four-broadcast partners, the Credit Union Association of the Dakotas will be the featured live guest for one-hour each Tuesday from 8 PM to 9 PM on the entire network. The one-hour live CUAD show will be produced by Jeff Olson, VP of Advocacy & Awareness each week. Olson, who has more than 10-years of "on-air" radio and Television experience, sees the weekly “live” broadcast as an opportunity to create and promote credit union awareness on a weekly basis. “We will have the unique opportunity each week during the session to talk about the credit union difference, to tell our story, to educate listeners and lawmakers on how credit unions make a difference in our communities each and every day,” said Olson.
“The uniqueness and the timing of the show is what attracted us to become a major sponsor,” says Robbie Thompson, President-CEO of the Credit Union Association of the Dakotas. "To be a part this first-ever live weekly multi-media program that features the state’s executive and legislative leaders is the perfect vehicle for us to create more postive awareness of credit unions," added Thompson.
“What was really intriguing to us about the "Legislature Today" program and its' overall potential were the players involved. They have put together an impressive broadcast and journalistic team. One that will not only generate state-wide interest, but it will surely be the most informative, timely, legislative news breaking show on the air. Just think about it, the first hour of the show each night will feature those specific individuals and leaders who are directly responsible for making the news each day live from the center of the capital city where it’s all happening. It will be the only show of its kind on the air in North Dakota and I predict the audience will love it,” added Olson.
The “Legislature Today” program will be hosted by Dale Wetzel, Scott Hennen and Gary Emineth each night. The first hour will feature guests that may include the Governor, Lt. Governor, majority and minority leaders and key legislators from both sides of the isle who will be the major players in the legislative debates this session.
Wetzel, a former Associated Press State Capitol will serve as the main host for the show. Wetzel has covered four governors and 13 sessions of the Legislature since he joined the AP in September 1984. He resigned from the news agency recently to become a partner in a new media venture affiliated with Bakken Beacon Media LLC, of Fargo, N.D.
“I have known Dale Wetzel for many years. He has an impeccable journalist reputation and is respected by nearly everyone involved in state politics,” says Olson. This show will be balance, fair and more importantly, informative, says Olson.
The show will be broadcast live, Monday through Thursday, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., on flagship KFYR Radio (550 AM) of Bismarck, N.D. Other affiliates will include AM 1100 “The Flag” in Fargo and KTGO AM 1090, which covers northwestern North Dakota’s oil country. The show can viewed live through web streaming at http://am1100theflag.com/
The show is part of a media project that will include the radio show, websites, and the Great Plains Examiner, a recently acquired Bismarck-based newspaper. Wetzel will be developing content for the radio show, the newspaper, websites and other North Dakota media affiliates. The company intends to expand to other ventures in the coming months.
Bakken Beacon Media LLC is a group whose leadership includes Wetzel, Gary Emineth, a Bismarck businessman and entrepreneur, and Scott Hennen, a Fargo radio talk show host.
“We look at this as an historic opportunity to deliver news that’s important to North Dakotans at a crossroads in the history of the state,” Emineth said.
The show will feature discussions of what’s going on in the Legislature and how it affects North Dakotans. It will include all political perspectives, including some that are seldom heard in the North Dakota media.
Broadcast live from the Peacock Alley, a bar and restaurant in downtown Bismarck, N.D., that has a rich political history of its own. It is a popular spot for legislators from both parties, and the Legislature itself used the building for meetings when the state Capitol burned and was rebuilt in the early 1930s.
“We think this venture will provide more information for North Dakotans about how their tax dollars are spent,” Wetzel continued. “And we’re going to have some fun doing it.”
Olson indicated that while some of the CUAD hour may focus on legislative issues and concerns, the majority of the broadcast time will be spent on educating listeners on the credit union difference and consumer focused concerns and relevant issues.
Additionally, CUAD is working to sponsor Legislative Updates on South Dakota Public Radio. As the 2013 South Legislative Session prepares to convene, the Credit Union Association of the Dakotas is working on a partnership with South Dakota Public Broadcasting as a prospective underwriter of legislative updates and reports from the Capitol in Pierre. Specifically, CUAD is finalizing details to be an underwriting sponsor during the “Morning Edition of “All Things Considered” and Midday Statehouse updates with “Talk-back” live report each noon throughout the legislative Session.