January 12, 2009

MEDIA CONTACT: Nick Massella
(202) 994-3087; massella@gwu.edu

BBC RADIO 4'S ANY QUESTIONS? TRAVELS TO GW TO CELEBRATE PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA'S INAUGURATION
JAN. 16, 2009

EVENT: 

BBC Radio 4 brings the popular program Any Questions? to The George Washington University to record the 50-minute political show.  The broadcast will be hosted by Jonathan Dimbleby who will discuss the weekend's festivities and what lies ahead for the new administration, among many other topics. The event will be broadcast throughout the United Kingdom and online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio4.

 
WHEN:  

Friday, Jan. 16, 2009; Program will be recorded from 1 - 2 p.m.  Doors open at 11:45 a.m. and will promptly close at 12:30 p.m. 
 
WHERE: 

The George Washington University
Media and Public Affairs Building
Jack Morton Auditorium
805 21st St., NW, Washington, D.C.
Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro (Orange and Blue lines)
 
COST:  

A limited number of free tickets are available to the GW community at the Jack Morton Auditorium box office during business hours.  GWorld ID is required.  Members of the media wishing to attend should contact Nick Massella at (202) 994-3087 or massella@gwu.edu.
 
BACKGROUND:  

Any Questions? is the longest-running live panel discussion program in the United Kingdom. Since October 1948, the show has brought together four leading figures to answer questions from the public. Panelists are drawn from politics, business, the arts, media, religion, and science. The questions selected, and the discussions they prompt, reflect not just the political news agenda of the week but also the social, moral, and ethical issues of the day.

The program, one of the cornerstones of the United Kingdom's leading national speech network, travels throughout the UK to a different location each week to explore the attitudes and issues on people's minds, including crime prevention, race relations, freedom of the press, privacy rights, standards in public life, the economy, Britain's relations with the world, international conflicts, and many other current topics.

Jonathan Dimbleby is one of Britain's best known political journalists and radio and TV broadcasters. He has been chairman of BBC Radio 4's Any Questions? since 1987. In his journalistic career, dating back to 1969, Dimbleby has reported from every continent, presenting TV documentaries and investigative reports on topics including the state of Ethiopia to the relationship between America and Russia during the Cold War.

For more information about GW's Celebration of the Presidential Inauguration, visit www.inauguration.gwu.edu/obama.

For more information about The George Washington University, visit the GW News Center at www.gwnewscenter.org.

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