Pittsburgh media mobilize for “The Promise”

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The area’s major television network affiliates, newspapers and an outdoor board company have joined together to advocate for community-wide support for “The Pittsburgh Promise” as a transformative educational and economic development initiative.


Media organizations are currently running PSAs featuring The Promise program’s first year scholars, and promoting a specially-produced 30-minute television program called “Keeping the Promise” that will air simultaneously on all four Pittsburgh network affiliates on Tuesday, 4/14 at 7:30 p.m.

Media organizations that are participating, to date, in this outreach effort include: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Trib Total Media, The New Pittsburgh Courier, Pittsburgh Quarterly, Lamar Outdoor Advertising, FSN Pittsburgh, WTAE-TV, WQED-TV, WPXI-TV and KDKA-TV.

The Pittsburgh Promise program was established at The Pittsburgh Foundation in December 2007 with a $100 million commitment from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, including an initial $10 million to support the 2008 graduates from the Pittsburgh Public Schools. The remaining $90 million is a challenge grant ($10 million a year for nine years), intended to spur support and contributions from all sections of the community to raise an additional $135 million ($15 million annually for nine years).

In its first year, the Promise awarded scholarships to nearly 750 graduates of Pittsburgh Public Schools’ class of 2008 of up to $5,000 per student, per year. Beginning in 2012, scholarship awards increase to $10,000 per year for four years.