Los Angeles, CA, Oct. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — With only weeks left before voters head to the polls, and as the public-at-large and Black voters in particular are targeted with an unprecedented volume of disinformation, award-winning civil rights attorney, author, advocate and television personality Areva Martin will take her hit online series The Special Report with Areva Martin on the road for tapings in key battleground states across the country.
“Black voters are a cornerstone of our democracy, and ensuring they receive accurate, unbiased information is essential to empowering their voices and safeguarding their rights. When our communities are equipped with the facts, we strengthen the foundation of fair elections and create a path toward real, lasting change,” said Ianthe Jones, executive producer of The Special Report. “Programming like The Special Report is critical to dissecting and countering those narratives, and we are bringing our show into critical communities that will have an outsized impact on Election Day.”
“The stakes are too high,” said Martin, who is also the host of KBLA’s drive-time news and politics show Areva Martin in Real Time. “It is more important than ever that the public has accurate and truthful information so they can make informed decisions at the ballot box this election season. We launched The Special Report during the Covid-19 pandemic with the intention of countering false narratives and educating the public. We are experts at helping individuals to navigate the maze of lies and falsehoods – and to examine the context that makes people vulnerable to these insidious campaigns.”
The Special Report with Areva Martin has won two prestigious Telly Awards and an Anthem Award for Social Impact, Public Service and Activism. The Battleground State Tour will be produced by Jones, the Emmy and NAACP Image Award-nominated media executive who has helmed projects featuring Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Steve Harvey and Dr. Phil, and by Christopher Denman, who is the producer of the two-time NAACP Image Award-winning podcast Too Funny Mamas featuring Kym Whitley and Sherri Shepard.
Slated for seven live upcoming episodes for the new season, The Special Report will be taping from October 10 through October 30 before live audiences in swing state cities including Phoenix, AZ, Las Vegas, NV, Milwaukee, WI, Atlanta, GA, Charlotte, NC, Detroit, MI, and Philadelphia, PA. Martin will bring her signature interview style to draw out panelists and confront the questions and misinformation that are sowing controversy, uncertainty and apathy among critical voting blocks. Civic leaders, elected officials and influencers will tackle the issues head-on while encouraging key demographics to participate and vote in the upcoming election. Each episode will also feature a surprise celebrity guest.
The tour kicked off in July with a special taping in Martin’s hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, where panelists included St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, President & CEO of the Regional Arts Commission Vanessa Cooksey and Emmy Award-winning anchor Sharon Reed.
The live events will be complemented by a robust social media campaign that will reach millions of voters and will serve to combat the disinformation on social media sites, such as X and Instagram. The Special Report is available on YouTube and Facebook and appeals to a wide demographic of male and female viewers. Martin, a contributor on CNN and ABC News, with over 1 million online followers reaches approximately 80 million American households each week.
