NJ Spotlight News Produces Two News Specials To Air During Holidays on NJ PBS

News specials will air during NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi Timeslots around the Christmas and New Years Holidays

December 18, 2023 - NEWARK, NJ - NJ PBS's newsroom will produce special editions of its weeknight broadcast, NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi, to air around the upcoming holidays on December 25, December 29 and January 1. All specials will air at the usual weeknight newscast times 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 11 p.m on NJ PBS (check local listings). These specials and additional news segments will be available online at NJSpotlightnews.org, and on the newsroom's social media outposts.

The Christmas Day NJ Spotlight News Special: 21 program on Monday, December 25 is hosted by NJ Spotlight News Anchor Briana Vannozzi and will include interviews and content from The21 Film Series: Union Countydocumentary, featuring the life story and work of Rahway resident Kashinda Marche. In 1995, as a 19-year-old new mom, Marche faced a life-altering HIV diagnosis followed by years of medical and mental health struggles. Soul-searching and the love of her daughter, who was born HIV-negative, would eventually turn her life around and fuel a mission to combat stigma, lead community outreach and author books of inspiration. In 2017, she brainstormed Kreative on Purpose, an organization that provides mental wellness tools to women and girls to help them overcome whatever adversity they face in their lives. In the special, Vannozzi interviews Marche about her life, work and inspiration.

On Friday, December 29 and encoring on Monday, January 1, NJ Spotlight News will air another special, entitled Forced Labor, about the seafood industry, specifically how forced labor and human rights abuses in the Chinese fishing industry taint fish imported into New Jersey and across the U.S.. The special, also anchored by Vannozzi, features reporting from The Outlaw Ocean Project focusing on the Chinese squid fishing fleet, following the vessels and their crews around the world's oceans. Ian Urbina, the director for the Outlaw Ocean Project, is interviewed in the special.

NJ Spotlight News is an award-winning multiplatform news organization that provides reporting from across all 21 counties in New Jersey and beyond through a weeknight newscast, NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi on NJ PBS, a robust website, social media platforms, daily newsletters and community engagement events. Learn more at NJSpotlightNews.org.

Major funding for NJ Spotlight News and the NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzinewscast is provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the William Penn Foundation, The New Jersey Civic Information Consortium, PSEG Foundation, the Fund for New Jersey, The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, The Schumann Fund for New Jersey, RWJBarnabas Health, NJM Insurance Group, New Jersey Education Association, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ, New Jersey Realtors and Wyncote Foundation.

Major support for The 21 Film Series is provided in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Additional funding provided by the PSEG Foundation. The views expressed within the series content do not directly reflect the views of either foundation.