Akouri Appears on Public Television's Global Connections; Joins A-list of Special Guests Including Casey Kasem, Jon Voight & Elmore Leonard

(BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI)...Fmr. Washington DC Senior Advisor & Capitol Hill Press Secretary John Akouri today made a guest appearance on the award-wining public television program "Global Connections."

The long-running show is a weekly, half-hour series which focuses on international connections between people in Michigan and the rest of the world. Featured guests have appeared from the arts, religion, education, science and politics including TV & Radio personality Casey Kasem, author Elmore Leonard, actor Jon Voight and Cardinal Adam Maida. Additionally, interviews with Opera stars are featured in another award-winning program entitled "Time Out for Opera." The successful television talk shows are hosted by Dr. Jonathan Swift, director of the Center for International Studies at Madonna University in Livonia, who has won numerous awards for the three television shows he hosts and produces. Swift received the Philo Farnsworth Award from the Alliance for Community Media for "Global Connections," "Time Out for Opera" and "Dining Out." All three shows are produced by Swift and Bloomfield Community Television (BCTV). Segments are shot on location at restaurants in "Dining Out," the half-hour show which informs viewers about dining opportunities throughout the metropolitan Detroit area.

As director of Madonna University’s Center for International Studies, Swift oversees affiliations with programs in England, Japan, Poland, Taiwan, and the Peoples Republic of China. He also supervises an International Studies Certificate, which provides Madonna students the opportunity to add a global perspective to their field of study. Since its establishment in 1984, BCTV has grown to become one of the premier community television stations in the nation. Its programs focus on the people, places and events that enrich the lives of the residents of Bloomfield Township and surrounding communities. BCTV produces approximately 500 programs a year including the very first LEBFEST! Lebanese Festival in 2007. BCTV has a highly qualified production staff and a state-of-the-art studio. "Global Connections"and "Time Out for Opera" are aired on Bloomfield Channel 11 and Flint public television station WFUM Channel 28.