NBC Bay Area, KQED, The Huffington Post and San Jose State University to Host 17th Congressional District Debate October 6

Congressman Mike Honda, challenger Ro Khanna to Square off in Debate Moderated by NBC Bay Area’s Raj Mathai

NBC Bay Area, in partnership with KQED, The Huffington Post and San Jose State University (SJSU), announced today that they will host the only confirmed debate for California's 17th congressional district between Democratic Congressman Mike Honda and his Democratic challenger Ro Khanna on Monday, October 6, 2014 at 6:30pm.

The debate will be moderated by NBC Bay Area Anchor Raj Mathai and will include four panelists: lead panelist Ryan Grim, Washington bureau chief for The Huffington Post, Thuy Vu, host of KQED NEWSROOM, Melinda Jackson, associate professor of political science at SJSU and LooLoo Amante, SJSU student and director of external affairs for Associated Students.

The debate will cover a wide range of topics.  Those general topics will be made available to the candidates 72 hours in advance. The 75-minute debate will be aired live starting at 6:30 pm on NBC Bay Area (Comcast ch.3 / 703 HD, over-the-air on ch.11). The debate will re-broadcast on KQED World (Comcast ch.10 / 710 HD, over-the-air on ch.9-2) at 9pm and KQED Plus (Comcast ch.190, over-the-air on ch.9-3) at 11pm. KQED Public Radio will also broadcast the debate live on its stations in San Francisco (88.5 FM) and Sacramento (89.3 FM). The debate will also be streamed live on nbcbayarea.com and on The Huffington Post’s online streaming video network, HuffPost Live.

“This is going to be one of the most-watched races across the country this November, and this debate has been long anticipated,” said Rich Cerussi, president and general manager of NBC Bay Area. “We’re proud to bring such a strong group of partners together to provide a forum for the candidates to discuss the issues that matter to voters, and help Bay Area voters make an informed choice.”

Following the debate, Raj Mathai and NBC Bay Area’s Political Analyst Larry Gerston will conclude the broadcast with a post-debate analysis. KQED will also provide coverage and in-depth analysis of the debate on its local newscasts and the statewide news service The California Report on radio, and on its weekly news and public affairs program KQED NEWSROOM on KQED Public Television 9.

For live coverage of the event on Twitter, follow @nbcbayarea and @KQEDnews and join the conversation with the hashtag #CA17Debate.

MEDIA PLANNING & CREDENTIALS                                           

The debate will be hosted at the NBC Bay Area studios in San Jose. There will be no general admission entry.  Media space for this event is limited and available to credentialed media only.  Advance media registration is required.  To request credentials, please email name(s) and position(s), media affiliation and full contact information to mediarsvp@nbcbayarea.com by Wednesday October 1st.   Confirmed media will get final credential information within 48 hours of the event.  The debate will also we made available via satellite.  Feed Coordinates will be provided on the day of the event via Bay City News Service.

ABOUT NBC BAY AREA
Owned by NBC Universal, NBC Bay Area/KNTV is the Bay Area’s investigative station located in the heart of Silicon Valley.  The station is committed to providing continuous, in-depth journalism with unique personalities. Along with broadcasting NBC’s award-winning daytime, prime-time and late night programming, NBC Bay Area produces more than 32 hours of news programming each week. COZI TV, the station’s digital network, offers a full schedule of America’s most beloved and iconic television series, hit movies and original programming. COZI TV can be seen locally on Comcast 186, Verizon 460, and over-the-air on 11.3.

ABOUT KQED       
KQED serves the people of Northern California with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. Home to the most listened-to public radio station in the nation, one of the highest-rated public television services and an award-winning education program, and as a leader and innovator in interactive technology, KQED takes people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places and ideas.

As other news organizations have shrunk, KQED has expanded its efforts to cover the issues and events that are important to the Bay Area. As the most trusted source of news in the Bay Area, KQED is a multiplatform operation with offices and bureaus in San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Fresno and Los Angeles. KQED News programs include KQED NEWSROOM, current affairs specials produced in collaboration with The Center for Investigative Reporting, The California Report, Forum, 18 news broadcasts on KQED Public Radio daily and the popular blogs News Fix, State of Health, Mindshift andThe Lowdown. Stories from all KQED news programs are featured online at KQEDnews.org.