(NASHVILLE, TENN. — September 22, 2016) RFD-TV News and Mediacom announced today that its political series, “Rural Town Hall,” was awarded the 2016 Cablefax Award for the “Best Show or Series - Public Affairs” category.
The win was announced in New York City during the annual Cablefax Program Awards ceremony, which recognizes the cable industry’s best programming content. The awards ceremony was held today at 230 Fifth which is owned by the estate of late entrepreneur and nightclub mogul, Steven Greenberg.
“Rural Town Hall,” launched in August 2015, featured both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates as they prepared to go head-to-head at the primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. Produced in conjunction with Mediacom Connections Channel and RFD-TV News, the series of live, one-hour, primetime programs, offered individual candidates the opportunity to share their vision for rural America, while answering pointed questions submitted by rural organizations and agribusiness leaders about issues facing rural Americans.
“We’re especially honored that “Rural Town Hall” has earned this award. Our goal in producing these town halls with Mediacom was to dive deeply into the issues facing rural America today, without any of the finger-wagging and name-calling that marked so much of the political discourse this past year. We felt that providing candidates with a full hour, one at a time, to address substantive issues while allowing adequate time for complete answers was a novel idea that our viewers would deeply appreciate. Recognition from the industry only reinforces this,” said Gary Kanofsky, RFD-TV’s Chief Content Officer and Executive Vice President of News.
“The rural issues that were addressed during this special series touched on topics such as education, regulation, healthcare, broadband, and social security and demonstrated how those issues affect rural Americans across the country,” said Peter Clifford, SVP of Affiliate Sales. “RFD-TV was the perfect medium to engage the conversation and Mediacom was the perfect partner to join us.”
The “Rural Town Hall” series featured candidates including Sen. Ted Cruz, Dr. Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, George Pataki, Rick Santorum, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Jim Webb, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and special guest USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Audience members included constituents from agricultural non-profits and organizations such as AARP, Iowa Pork Producers, American Soybean Association, Louisiana Farm Bureau, Growth Energy, FFA, 4-H, farmers and ranchers. Throughout the one-hour forum, the candidates outlined their vision for rural America. Veteran farm broadcaster and regular anchor for RFD-TV’s “Market Day Report” Mark Oppold hosted the series.
For a full schedule of news programming on RFD-TV and RURAL RADIO, please visit rfdtv.com or ruralradio147.com.
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About Rural Media Group, Inc. (RMG):
Rural Media Group, Inc. is the world’s leading provider of multimedia content dedicated to the rural and Western lifestyle. With a mission of reconnecting “city with country,” RMG is the parent company of RFD-TV, RURAL RADIO, FamilyNet, RFD-TV The Magazine, and RFD-TV The Theatre. RMG networks are distributed to more than 100 million homes worldwide by DBS, telco and cable systems including DISH Network, DIRECTV®, Comcast, AT&T U-Verse, Mediacom, Charter Spectrum, Suddenlink, Cox, and more than 600 independent rural cable systems. Corporate headquarters and broadcast operations are in Nashville, Tennessee.
About RFD-TV:
RFD-TV is the flagship network for Rural Media Group. Launched in December 2000, RFD-TV is the nation’s first 24-hour television network featuring programming focused on the agribusiness, equine and the rural lifestyle, along with traditional country music and entertainment. Top RFD-TV programming includes “MARKET DAY REPORT,” “RURAL EVENING NEWS,” “RURAL AMERICA LIVE,” “WESTERN SPORTS WEEKLY,” rodeo events such as “The American,” and award-winning musical entertainment such as “The Best of The Marty Stuart Show,” “Hee Haw,” “Ray Stevens’ Nashville,” and “Larry’s Country Diner.”
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Billy Frey, Chief Marketing Officer, RFD-TV, e: billy@rfdtv.com, o: (615) 296-9357
Heather Huston, VP of Marketing, RFD-TV & RURAL RADIO, e: heather@rfdtv.com, o: (615) 296-9332