Neuse News Publisher and Owner B.J. Murphy responds to a question from ncIMPACT host Anita Brown-Graham for a piece that will air at 8 p.m. Thursday on UNC-TV. Photo courtesy UNC-TV

By Bryan Hanks

An interview with B.J. Murphy, the publisher and owner of NeuseNews.com, will be featured on a UNC-TV broadcast that will be aired Thursday night.

Murphy is part of an ncIMPACT program that will air at 8 p.m., Thursday, on UNC-TV. The show will feature Murphy as he discusses the local civic innovations he helped institute while serving two terms as mayor of Kinston from 2009-17.

The piece also features Kinston Teens founder Chris Suggs, along with downtown business owners Vivian Howard, Tonya Adams and Jessica Dawson, among others.

The Kinston group was interviewed by the program’s host, Anita Brown-Graham, for the piece about Kinston’s downtown development efforts.

In a preview of the program featured on the ncIMPACT Facebook page, Murphy describes how important a successful downtown is to small towns such as Kinston.

“When you have a healthy downtown, it feeds the rest of the community,” he said in the preview, which can be viewed by clicking here.

The ncIMPACT program is a partnership between the UNC School of Government and UNC-TV. It will also air on the North Carolina Channel and various online and social media outlets.