Press Release

April 1, 2020

Media relations
Fonda Berosini
Disney Entertainment, Networks
Fonda.berosini@disney.com
Ambir Sniezko
ambir.sniezko@abc.com
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‘Race & Coronavirus: A Bay Area Conversation’ Airs Thursday, April 2, Live on KGO-TV San Francisco

‘Race & Coronavirus: A Bay Area Conversation’ Airs
Thursday, April 2 (4 P.M. PDT), Live on ABC7

Audience Members Are Invited to Interact With ABC7 News
and a Team of Experts Via the ABC7 Bay Area Facebook Page

Even before novel coronavirus became a pandemic, ABC7 News began reporting on Asian Americans experiencing hate crimes in the Bay Area.

San Francisco State University found a 50% rise in the number of news articles related to COVID-19 and anti-Asian discrimination between Feb. 9 and March 7. Lead researcher Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American studies, said the figures represented “just the tip of the iceberg” because only the most egregious cases were likely to be reported by the media. 

To empower people with facts about coronavirus and to provide resources so viewers can take action, ABC7 News presents a one-hour virtual town hall hosted by ABC7 News anchors Kristen Sze and Dan Ashley. ABC7 News anchor Dion Lim will take audience questions live on Facebook throughout the show. 

Joined by both health and civil rights experts, ABC7’s panel of experts represents a diverse range of voices, from civil rights to education, community and culture, each of them working to help build a better Bay Area. 

The panel will be LIVE during the town hall, answering questions and giving guidance on COVID-19 and how to best deal with bigotry and hate crimes during this pandemic and beyond. Panel members include the following: 

  • Aimee Allison, president of Democracy in Colo
  • Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, San Francisco Bay Area
  • Cynthia Choi, co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action
  • Russell Jeung, professor of Asian American Studies, College of Ethnic Studies, San Francisco State University
  • Jeff Yang, writer at The Wall Street Journal

Viewers are encouraged to submit their questions via comments on the ABC7 Bay Area Facebook and Instagram pages. Viewers can also stream the town hall on abc7news.com.

“Race & Coronavirus: A Bay Area Conversation” will air LIVE on ABC7/KGO-TV while viewers can simultaneously engage on Facebook.  

It will also be available live on abc7news.com, the ABC7 News app, the ABC7 News Bay Area YouTube channel and Apple News. 

Questions from the public will be incorporated into the broadcast through a social media monitor in the studio, where ABC7 News hosts will be without a studio audience. The panel of experts will join the conversation live via a private Zoom conference.

Questions for the panel can be submitted now on facebook.com/abc7news.

Media Relations
Tom Cibrowski
ABC7 President and General Manager
tom.cibrowski@abc.com