DISCOVERY CHANNEL AND TED KOPPEL PRESENT A CRITICAL LOOK AT RACE IN AMERICA IN KOPPEL ON DISCOVERY: THE LAST LYNCHING

Koppel and His Team Examine America's Recent History of Racial Violence

Just weeks before the history-making 2008 presidential election, the first in which any political party has nominated an African American as its candidate, Discovery Channel presents a one-hour special on race in America. Some are now speaking of a "post-racial" period in American history; but while the nation has come a long way on the road toward racial equality, there is still much left to accomplish. In this program, Discovery Channel Managing Editor Ted Koppel focuses on three Americans whose lives were affected profoundly by incidents of hatred and racism as recent as a 1981 Alabama lynching. This year, however, each was directly involved in naming Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic party's nominee for president. KOPPEL ON DISCOVERY: THE LAST LYNCHING premieres on Discovery Channel on Monday, October 13 at 10 PM (ET/PT).

"Barack Obama's nomination doesn't mean the end of racism any more than Sarah Palin's nomination signals the end of sexism or gender bias in America. But what giant steps forward! THE LAST LYNCHING offers a look at how far we've come on the racial front; and how recent some of the worst days of racial violence really were," explained Koppel.

Koppel and his team of producers take viewers into the lives of these three: Congressman Robert Filner who as a 18-year-old Freedom Rider was thrown into Mississippi's Parchman Prison; Florida schoolteacher Lizzie Jenkins who recalls tales of her grandfather watching the lynching of five African Americans in 1916; and Congressman Artur Davis who as a law student worked to hold the Ku Klux Klan accountable for "The Last Lynching," which took place in Mobile, Alabama in 1981.

Previous KOPPEL ON DISCOVERY broadcasts include BREAKING POINT, which received an Emmy� at the 29th Annual News & Documentaries Emmy� Awards; THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CAPITALISM; THE PRICE OF SECURITY; LIVING WITH CANCER; OUR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN'S WAR; and IRAN: THE MOST DANGEROUS NATION, which received an Emmy� award, as well.

KOPPEL ON DISCOVERY: THE LAST LYNCHING is produced by Discovery Channel Managing Editor Ted Koppel and Executive Producer Tom Bettag. They are joined by a team of some of the best researchers and producers in the industry. Together they are producing a slate of long-form programming exclusively for Discovery Channel that touches on some of the most important events, people and places changing lives today. From field reporting to script writing, every aspect of the series is shaped by Koppel's 45 years of experience and unparalleled journalistic integrity.

About Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISAD, DISBD, DISCK) is the world's number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries. Discovery empowers people to explore their world and satisfy their curiosity through 100-plus worldwide networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Planet Green, Investigation Discovery and HD Theater, as well as leading consumer and educational products and services, and a diversified portfolio of digital media services including HowStuffWorks.com. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.