Marketplace Money Presents Debt of Service: Personal Finance in the Military
Contact: Brad Robideau
(651) 290-1113
brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org
www.americanpublicmedia.org
Marketplace Money Presents Debt of Service: Personal Finance in the Military
Program to focus on the financial challenges facing military personnel and their families
(Los Angeles, Calif.) February, 18, 2009—Marketplace Money,® the weekend personal finance program hosted by Tess Vigeland, and produced and distributed by American Public Media,™ today announced it will devote an entire program to the financial challenges facing military personnel and their families. "Debt of Service: Personal Finance in the Military" will air on public radio stations nationwide the weekend of February 20. For a list of stations and broadcast times, visit www.marketplace.org.
"Debt of Service: Personal Finance in the Military" will feature in-depth stories about the personal finance issues facing military families during and after their service. The program coincides with the start of "Military Saves" Week, an initiative to increase individual and family financial fitness.
Highlights:
- Marketplace Money host Tess Vigeland reports from aboard the USS Peleliu to talk to the ship's command financial specialists, the commanding officer and other sailors about coordinating personal finance issues while at sea;
- Vigeland reports from Naval Base San Diego on a personal finance counseling program for military personnel;
- Interviews about whether and how the military builds the U.S. middle class, and one female soldier explains why she sees the military as a great job, despite almost dying in a grenade attack in Afghanistan.
- Reports on some of the complex and dramatic issues that military families are dealing with, including the limited career options for non-military spouses, the financial sacrifices of reservists who run small businesses and the painful burdens of retirees who now must care for sons or daughters seriously wounded in action.
"All of us are dealing with tough financial choices because of the economic crisis," said Tess Vigeland, host of Marketplace Money. "Members of the armed forces face many of those same issues. But they're also dealing with deployments that can affect all areas of their financial lives. And that goes for their family members as well. We felt it was important to focus an entire hour on some of those specific challenges."
Support for "Debt of Service: Personal Finance in the Military" is provided by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation.
Tune In: "Debt of Service: Personal Finance in the Military" will begin broadcasting nationwide on Marketplace Money the weekend of February 20. Check local radio listings for stations and times or go to www.marketplace.org.
Online Features: Beginning February 20, visit www.marketplace.org/military for "Debt of Service: Personal Finance in the Military" online features. See images from in and around Naval Base San Diego, where host Marketplace Money host Tess Vigeland met sailors training to be Command Finance Specialists for their peers. The Web site will also include a section on advertising in the military, with vintage audio, video and images from recruitment campaigns, war efforts at home, and internal communications to help service members with their money. See examples of ads that aim to lure military members into businesses, or loans, or other financial products that may not be trustworthy. Marketplace Money will also offer an extended Web version of ìGetting Personal,î where Marketplace finance expert (and former Merchant Marine) Chris Farrell will answer money questions from active, reserve and former service members, as well as military family members.
Sources: Members of the Marketplace Money news team who contributed to "Debt of Service: Personal Finance in the Military" are available for interviews on this program and on any other stories you may be developing on personal finance. Please contact Brad Robideau at American Public Media to schedule interviews at (651) 290-1113 or brobideau@americanpublicmedia.org.
The FINRA Investor Education Foundation supports innovative research and educational projects that give underserved Americans the knowledge, skills and tools necessary for financial success throughout life. Since its inception in December 2003, the foundation has approved approximately $46 million in financial education and investor protection initiatives through a combination of grants and targeted projects. For details about grant programs and other FINRA Foundation initiatives, visit www.finrafoundation.org.