THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 28, 1996 TAG: 9606260093
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REBECCA MYERS CUTCHINS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 44 lines
A new series that features topics of special interest to senior citizens has begun on WGOV, the city's government access Channel 48, on Cox Cable in Portsmouth.
Called ``Generations,'' the show began in May with a discussion of long-term care insurance.
Future topics include how heat affects an older population, dating among the elderly, elder abuse, crime prevention and education for seniors, as well as discussions of services provided by organizations like SEVAMP, the Portsmouth Senior Center and the American Association of Retired Persons.
``It's just to let seniors who stay home all the time know what's going on in the city and where they can call for help,'' said Norma Megill, Maryview Medical Center's Senior Advantage representative and the show's host.
``Generations'' will run again June 26 through July 9 at 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. daily.
The program typically airs over a two-week period that begins the last week of the month and continues through the first week of the next month, said Carol Pratt, video services manager for WGOV-TV.
``However, if there's a topic that doesn't carry dated information, we can shelve it and rerun it to give it a longer life than just two weeks,'' she said.
The program currently is taped in the WGOV studio, located in the Human Services Building on High Street, but future shows may be taped on location.
WGOV video technician James Temple came up with the name ``Generations'' because the show also deals with issues that could be important to ``younger people who are looking to the golden years,'' Pratt said. An upcoming show, for example, will focus on retirement planning.
According to the last census, 15 percent of Portsmouth's total population, or about 15,800 people, is older than 65.
``So there's a potential for reaching a large audience,'' Pratt said.
In fact, when WGOV did a survey of its viewers about 18 months ago, one of the topics most requested was senior citizen issues, she said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Norma Megill, right, host of the new cable-TV show ``Generations,''
talks with Kathleen Blanchard, representing Maryview Medical Center. by CNB