Athens, Ga. – The Red & Black is participating in the inaugural Local News Day by offering a Mayoral Debate on Thursday, April 9 at 6 p.m. at the University of Georgia Chapel on North Campus. The event is free for all to attend to hear from the candidates represented on the ballot.

Student journalists from The Red & Black will facilitate the debate and will publish coverage on the debate live on socials and subsequently online. With the Athens-Clarke County unified government’s mayoral election coming up this May, all five candidates represented on the ballot will attend the event. 

“The Red & Black serves the Athens and University of Georgia communities with free, reliable news, and we can think of no better way of celebrating the inaugural Local News Day than by hosting an event to help our community have an informed vote for their next mayor of Athens-Clarke County,” Charlotte Varnum, executive director of The Red & Black, said. “We hope to continue expanding our coverage and providing for our community that we’ve served for more than 130 years.”

The first-ever Local News Day is a national event held on April 9, encouraging newsrooms, nonprofits and individuals alike to come together to reconnect communities with their local news outlets. As Americans overwhelmingly accredit local news to be their most trusted news source, The Red & Black’s participation underscores the organization’s commitment to serving the Athens and University of Georgia communities. 

For more information on the event, please visit the events page here. 

About The Red & Black

Founded in 1893, The Red & Black is a nonprofit student news organization that covers the University of Georgia and Athens. We are a 501(c)(3) organization with dual missions: training students for careers in the news media and serving our community as a reliable, independent news source. We publish daily at redandblack.com and produce a regular newspaper. We also publish special-interest magazines and books. Independent of UGA, we receive no funding from the university and support ourselves through advertising, events, merchandise sales and donations. Every year more than 250 students are involved in The Red & Black, serving in staff positions or completing our journalism training.

For media inquiries: Charlotte Varnum, Executive Director | cvarnum@randb.com