KRWG to profile legislators, discuss policy

New Mexico State University’s two public broadcasting stations, KRWG-TV and KRWG-FM, will air a special series called “Your Legislators 2007” during this year’s state legislative session that begins Jan. 16.

The first segment will debut at 8 p.m. Saturday on KRWG-FM 90.7 and at 9 a.m. Sunday on KRWG-TV. The television station can be found at channel 22 over the airwaves or, for cable subscribers, on channel 2 in Doña Ana County.

“Your Legislators 2007” will feature local and regional lawmakers “focusing on their ideas, presentations and opinions, and the impact of pertinent issues on our region,” said Dave Holly, interim general manager of KRWG-TV and the program’s host and producer. “Each week, we will try to have a member of each party discuss the issues.”

Other possible guests include cabinet secretaries and prominent government officials who work on issues that affect southern New Mexico, Holly added.

The first guests will be Senate Majority Whip Mary Jane Garcia, D-Doña Ana, and Senate Minority Whip Leonard “Lee” Rawson, R-Las Cruces. While the first program will be taped in the KRWG-TV studio on the NMSU campus, subsequent programs will be recorded at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.

“For a long time, we have been trying to tie the northern and southern parts of New Mexico together,” KRWG-FM General Manager Colin Gromatzky said. “This program will give our listeners the opportunity to learn what’s going on in Santa Fe and in the state Legislature.”

Each segment will be broadcast three times a week on KRWG-TV, at 9 a.m. Sunday and at 6:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Monday. The program also will be broadcast on KRWG-FM at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Excerpts will be incorporated into the radio station’s popular newsmagazines, “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered,” which begin at 5 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively, on weekdays.