ATHENS, Ohio -- WOUB/WOUC-TV will broadcast a special edition of the weekly program "intouch" Tuesday, September 18, at 8 p.m.

"intouch - with the World" will be a live program based upon last night's panel discussion held at Ohio University's Templeton Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. Faculty members of Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism presented "The 9/11 Tragedy and our Media Dependency."

Michael Real, director of the Scripps School, will host and faculty members Mary Rogus and Bernhard Debatin are the guests on the program.

"Some of the goals of the discussion are to assist people in coping with the recent tragedy and to examine how people relate to the tragedy through the media," Real says. "We will talk about the media's role in a crisis situation, such as how reporters get their news and what goes into covering a tragedy.

"Media play a large role in the emotional responses of individuals," says Real, who has been interviewed extensively on media performance in crises, especially after the Columbine High School killings. "If overdone, the repeat playing of the most powerful scenes, namely of the twin towers being hit and then collapsing, may not just inform the public but possibly either desensitize or fixate individuals.

"Beyond conveying news, the media actually serve an important ritual function in tragedies of this magnitude," Real notes. "The media serve to bring people together, reassure the public and provide a shared activity through which people can begin to come to terms with the tragedy," he says.

Phone lines will be open in the WOUB/WOUC-TV studio and viewers will be able to call and ask questions.

The Ohio University Telecommunications Center, a unit of the College of Communication, operates two television stations‹WOUB-TV/Channel 20 in Athens and WOUC-TV/Channel 44 in Cambridge‹one cable channel‹WOUB II, and six radio stations‹WOUB-1340 AM, WOUB-91.3 FM, WOUC-89.1 FM, WOUH-91.9 FM, WOUL-89.1 FM and WOUZ-90.1 FM. The Center, a trusted community resource, uses the power of noncommercial television, radio and other media, such as the World Wide Web, to enrich the lives of children and adults in southeastern Ohio, western West Virginia, and eastern Kentucky through quality programs and educational services that inform, enlighten, inspire, and entertain.