TUCSON, ARIZONA – August 22, 2014 – The new Arizona Illustrated, a 30-minute weekly television and online magazine-style series, continues its legacy of engaging southern Arizona's viewers with thought-provoking, diverse stories that reflect our community. Hosted by veteran broadcast journalist, Tom McNamara, discover untold stories that are universal, yet have local relevance and challenge old notions.
Through stunning photography and powerful storytelling, meet the people that make Arizona unique and vibrant - scientists, historians, naturalists, innovators, artists, educators, and community leaders.
The new program premieres Sunday, September 7, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. on PBS 6 with encore broadcasts various times throughout the following week. You can watch the program online at azpm.org/arizonaillustrated. Click here and watch teasers of upcoming stories.
Tom McNamara has been a member of the Tucson community since 1997, serving as the evening news anchor at KVOA-TV Channel 4. Tom will continue his role as news anchor for the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts at KVOA while hosting Arizona Illustrated.
“I am thrilled to host Arizona Illustrated, and am grateful to KVOA for allowing me to jump on this opportunity. This program returns me to my roots in local television, as I started out hosting and reporting in the 'magazine' format with P.M. Magazine, which was wildly popular around the country back in the 1980s.” Tom adds, “I have known the staff at Arizona Public Media for many years having participated in several fundraising campaigns. They have their hearts and souls committed to this new production and I am honored to carry on the Arizona Illustrated legacy."
“Joining Arizona Illustrated provides Tom the opportunity to broaden his commitment to Southern Arizona, while presenting the rich, diverse stories that make our community a special place. This cooperative arrangement between AZPM, KVOA and Tom is an example of the collaborative relationship that exists between our organization and KVOA. I am thrilled to have him present the new program,” states Jack Gibson, Director and General Manager of Arizona Public Media.
For more than 30 years, Arizona Illustrated has been Arizona Public Media’s (AZPM®) flag-ship original production on PBS 6 and online at azpm.org. Through the years the program has delivered politics, the arts, history, science, nature and technology to the living rooms, laptops and smart phones of viewers throughout Southern Arizona.
The new format showcases creative storytelling with a special focus on the people that shape our community’s identity. “AZPM’s production staff has worked diligently over the summer to research, develop and produce stories for the re-launch of Arizona Illustrated on September 7,” adds John Booth, Executive Producer. “Each episode will feature character-driven ‘mini-documentaries’ – carefully crafted to be informative, journalistically sound, and yet personal.”
Arizona Illustrated will include recurring segments such as From the Vault and In Our Midst. From the Vault, are excerpts mined from stories in the AZPM archives, a wellspring of award-winning journalism and documentaries that still resonate today. These treasures will remind audiences of the rich legacy of AZPM in the community. The excerpts and full original stories will be available at azpm.org/Arizona Illustrated. In Our Midst, features everyday people with extraordinary stories to share.
John Booth adds, “We are always looking for story ideas from the community. You can pitch a story for Arizona Illustrated by visiting here.”
About Tom McNamara: Tom McNamara is a 36-year veteran of the broadcasting business. He joins Arizona Public Media as host of Arizona Illustrated, which premieres on Sunday, September 7, 2014. For the last 17 years, McNamara has served as the 5, 6 and 10 p. m. anchor for KVOA News Four in Tucson. He will continue his role as news anchor for KVOA while hosting Arizona Illustrated.
The award-winning, native New Yorker first came to Arizona back in the 1980's, and worked as an anchor and reporter for one of the network affiliates in Phoenix.
McNamara eventually left the state for bigger opportunities elsewhere. One of those opportunities meant anchoring the news with the former Susan McMullen, at a station in North Carolina. Tom and Susan got married in 1997, and shortly after that, arrived in Tucson. Southern Arizona's been good to them. Tom and Susan started their family here, and are now the proud parents of three teenage girls.
Tom is a graduate of Fordham University in New York City. Two highlights of Tom's career include his reporting from Saudi Arabia on the Gulf War. Following the war, Tom chronicled the efforts of firefighting teams battling the enormous oil well fires that raged for nine months in Kuwait which resulted in an award-winning series.
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