New Season of Thirteen's METROFOCUS to Launch 9/19 & 20

METROFOCUS returns with a new half-hour program and original Web content spotlighting New Yorkers making a difference in people's lives from gun control to women's issues. The premiere episode airs Wednesday, September 19 at 7:30 p.m. on WLIW21, Thursday, September 20 at 8:30p.m. on THIRTEEN, and Tuesday, September 25 at 10:30 p.m. on NJTV.

After broadcast, the program will be available to national audiences on metrofocus.org with integrated online stories and extended conversations with headliners making an impact in New York and beyond.

Hosted by Rafael Pi Roman, the latest episode of MetroFocus explores five stories ranging from politics to education. Featured interviews include Jarrett Murphy, editor-in-chief of City Limits; Adrian Benepe, former New York City parks commissioner and senior vice president of City Park Development at The Trust for Public Land; Ido Aharoni, Consul General of Israel; Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists and activists.

The segments are as follows:

In the aftermath of the recent shootings at the Empire State Building and in Aurora, Colorado, Mayor Michael Bloomberg advocates for gun reform, turning New York City into an epicenter of the national debate on gun policies. Jarrett Murphy's investigative reporting sheds light on this provocative issue and how gun laws may affect gun violence in the Big Apple.
Discover the history of Central Park and how it transformed the city with former parks commissioner Adrian Benepe who wrote the introduction to Central Park: An Anthology (Bloomsbury) by Andrew Blauner.

Prior to the annual United Nations' General Assembly sessions where diplomats gather to discuss international issues, ambassador Ido Aharoni, Consul General of Israel in New York, speaks with MetroFocus about improving cultural and commercial exchange between the U.S. and Israel and about the growing emigration to Israel from New York's Jewish population which is larger than that of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv combined.

Inspired by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's eye-opening expose of women's plight around the world in their book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, Half the Sky Movement is a passionate call to arms against what the authors' believe is this century's moral issue: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world. PBS has adapted the book into a documentary series airing on October 1 and 2, 2012.
MetroFocus presents The New York Times reporter Kirk Semple's story about a summer academy for newly arrived refugee children. Since 1999, the International Rescue Committee's Refugee Youth Summer Academy has helped refugee children to learn English and math skills so they can succeed at their grade level in the New York City public system. Principal Saleish Naidu explains the value of this program.

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