Viewpoints: WVPT to launch weekly series featuring Chris Graham, Crystal Graham of AFP

WVPT will premiere a new weekly TV news show, Viewpoints, with co-hosts Chris Graham and Crystal Graham, on Wednesday, Aug. 3.

“Every day, WVPT strives to provide trusted story telling that is uniquely different from commercial broad-casting, treating our audience as citizens, not simply consumers. I am excited to announce that August brings a couple of old friends back to WVPT on Viewpoints. Hosts Chris and Crystal Graham of The Augusta Free Press will highlight local news and newsmakers with an emphasis on the Shenandoah Valley,” said Tony Mancari, the general manager of WVPT, which will air the half-hour Viewpoints weekly on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.

Viewpoints will feature a weekly examination of news issues with interest to viewers in the Shenandoah Valley, focusing on interviews with newsmakers discussing the issues of the day locally and nationally.

“It’s exciting for us to be back with the WVPT family,” said Crystal Graham, the former co-host of the Telly Award-winning Virginia Tonight, a nightly news show, and Ask WVPT, a call-in show.

The Grahams are the co-founders of Augusta Free Press, an online news source based in Waynesboro that debuted in 2002 and draws more than a million weekly page views and boasts the largest social media presence of any news organization in Virginia.

Both Grahams have won multiple awards for journalism excellence from the Virginia Press Association, and both are published authors.

“Viewpoints will bring the newsmakers that we deal with on a daily basis at Augusta Free Press to the WVPT viewing audience in an interview format that will give people insight into what the newsmakers are thinking, and why,” said Chris Graham, the former host of a WVPT monthly discussion show, Virginia Viewpoints, and a college baseball color commentator for ESPN3.

The debut show on Aug. 3 will feature interviews with the two new members of Waynesboro City Council, Elzena Anderson and Terry Short.

Viewers can join the discussion during the show on a live blog hosted jointly on AugustaFreePress.com and on the WVPT Facebook page.

“This will be something that we’ll do every week, taking advantage of technology to engage viewers in a continuing discussion of the issues that come up during the broadcast,” Crystal Graham said.

Viewpoints will air weekly on Wednesday nights at 7:30 p.m.

For more information, visit www.wvpt.net