Nov. 9--A regional television reporter showed the Tarboro Rotary Club Thursday how he is covering the economic situation in Edgecombe County.

Rob Holliday with UNC-TV spoke to the group at The Fountains at The Albemarle, noting that he already has two segments on the county's economic situation completed. The project, called "Patchwork Nation," is being produced by UNC-TV, "News Hour with Jim Lehrer" and The Christian Science Monitor. That level of collaboration is "not done very much in broadcast television," he noted.

Patchwork Nation episodes are produced by PBS stations across the country, Holliday said, showing different sides of the economic fallout in different states.

"That's a different way to tell how America is weathering" the economic recession that began more than a year ago, Holliday said. He added that the segments are shared with viewers throughout the state, with the hope that they could be seen around the country if they are aired on Jim Lehrer's program.

He began shooting his first story in Edgecombe County back in June, detailing the county's economic history, its transition from agriculture to manufacturing, as well as the departures of Black & Decker and Sprint from the area.

His other completed segment features interviews with Edgecombe County Public Schools Board member Janice Davidson, as well as Carolinas Gateway Partnership Vice President Oppie Jordan.

Previously working at stations in Chicago and New Bern, Holliday said he was glad to get back to the eastern part of the state for his stories. While out on interviews, he told the Rotary Club he has been pleasantly surprised with "the resolve and the strength" of people in Edgecombe County, to work to get through the economic recession.

"That's a strength you don't see in a whole lot of other places," he said, adding that he believes Edgecombe residents' experience with Hurricane Floyd contributed to that poise.

Though he ideally wants to have a segment for Patchwork Nation filmed each month, Holliday said that UNC-TV, as a state-funded agency, has experienced cuts to its budget.

While he is editing and shooting his stories on his own, he said that "I always try to look for signs of hope" while he's in Edgecombe County. He was heartened when he learned that someone bought the Main Street Cafe in Tarboro within less than a month after it initially closed.

Holliday's finished segments are available for free viewing online, at http://www.unctv.org/ncnow/patchwork/index.html

The Appalachian State graduate is the son of former WRAL-TV sportscaster Bob Holliday.

-----

For more stories, visit http://dailysoutherner.com/.

Copyright (c) 2009, The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, N.C.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

BDK, S,

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.