Update to program distribution list

 

  

News

The push to get the newest old barns program out there continues and the list below has a few updates to it from what appeared in an earlier post. 

It takes lots of time to make it happen as I'm contacting the PBS markets individually, as the Producer, and have all of the resulting phone call/email contact and follow-up challenges that go along with that -- getting people on the phone, pitching, calling them back, leaving voice mails, getting the Master to them if they want it etc.

Along the way someone said, " Hey, isn't there an easier, more centralized way to do that -- like with a distributor or something like that?". The answer is yes, of course there is. But the distributor who carried the first two programs back in '06/'07 took a pass on this latest program, deeming it to be more regional than national in scope. 

I respectfully disagree so, as the Producer, that leaves me an option of offering the program to individual PBS markets myself, one at a time; they call it 'bicycling' the Master for the show around the country to those PBS markets wanting it, and it's not hard to imagine the kind of time it takes to make that happen. 

I've been at it for months now and am happy to be approaching the  threshold of twenty markets gained, which is a good number in PBS land. With more follow ups this week that magic number could quite likely be attained, and maybe passed.

And an added bonus along the way is the fact that I am getting to know the Programmers through the phone conversations we're having, and that is a very good thing for related future purposes. I've had some really nice conversations with some really nice PBS Programmers across the country so far, with many more to come and I really enjoy that part of the process.

 

 Here's the list

PBS Markets penetrated so far

Nineteen national PBS markets gained with another eleven markets viewing screeners for consideration of air.

HDCam Closed-Captioned Master recorded for air:

Chicago WYCC Channel 20

Milwaukee WMVS/WMVT Channels 10 & 36

Minneapolis Twin Cities Public Television/TPT

WILL-TV    Illinois Public Broadcasting      Urbana, Illinois 

WTVP-TV  Public Media for Central Illinois   Peoria, Illinois

Iowa Public Television

Kansas City Public Television

Oklahoma Public Television 

Denver Pubic Television

Seattle Public Television

Western Michigan PBS WGVU

North Carolina PBS UNC-TV

Florida PBS stations: WEDU/Tampa, WGCU/Fort Myers, WEFS/Cocoa, WLRN/Miami  WDSC/Daytona 

 

PBS Stations on Waiting List for Master:

Prairie Public Broadcasting   Fargo, North Dakota

South Carolina ETV Columbia, SC

 

PBS Stations Viewing Screeners for Consideration of Air: 

WETA Washington DC

New Orleans PBS WLAE/WYES

KLRU Austin, Texas

Oregon/Portland PBS

Idaho PBS

Pennsylvania/Bethlehem PBS 

Virginia/Richmond PBS

Nashville PBS

Georgia PBS

New Hampshire PBS

Cleveland PBS 

 

Otherwise 

Through the production of the series, as  mentioned in an earlier post, I've become very acquainted with the fight by many people to gain food freedom rights  on many levels, most notably raw milk. 

Here's a pic of me and Art the Farmer at the State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin USA back in July as we attended a Senate Hearing on SB236, which would provide for and allow the sale of some raw milk from family farms. We are in the office of Senator Glenn Grothman, who sponsored the Bill.

The Bill is currently working its way through process and stands a good chance of passing, but it's not perfect and there are still critics of it. 

If it happens, smaller farmers like Arthur would have a revenue stream open up to them  that could be the difference between surviving or not.

In Art's case it would take more than just the passage of the Bill for it to work for him as he would then have to start milking again and, in itself, that is a huge challenge for him to take on and at the moment really not possible.

So in the meantime he continues to participate in the fight for raw milk because he considers it such an important issue for smaller farms and farmers.

As updates become available on it they'll be passed along here -- stay tuned -- and read below for more on the current raw milk case from out East.  

Arthur at the registration area

Arthur in front of the East Wing entrance of the Capitol

 Foxborough news

We're waiting for an update on the story from Foxborough, Massachusetts, home of the New England Patriots, where the local town government is trying hard to crush and eliminate an established family dairy farm. Details can be found at this link Raw Milk Foxborough fight  and once you're at the site there is much more good, related information on it all that many of you might find interesting.

It seems absurd that we can't just eat what we want without having to worry about  government intervention.

Someone noted that in Russia they can eat what they want but they can't say what they want. And in America we can say what we want, but we can't eat what we want. 

What a World. 

Art the Farmer

With the cows in the barn Arthur now faces the daily tasks and burdens of tending to them. 

Daily feedings, keeping their drinking cups working in the freezing weather, running the barn cleaner to move the manure out the end of the barn up into the manure spreader and then climbing up onto and firing up the 1951 Farmall M tractor to haul and throw the manure out on a pasture every few days in all weather conditions etc. etc.  

Wow -- what a load.

He does have a pretty good handle on it overall, with a full enough hay mow up above and the ethanol plant nearby where he can buy dried distillers grain to help add protein to the cows' diet, but as things have to get done he's the man and it's wearing on him in his mid-70's.

Some people say he should just sell the farm, hang it up and be done with it, but he has a dream of the place becoming a producing dairy again. 

And it could -- he just needs some help and inputs in terms of dollars and people power.

Plus, what else would he do? 

He's not one to just sit and watch the days go by. 

And boy, he sure does know his stuff. He's a very smart man with a degree in Ag Science from Penn State back in 1957 with years in the ag and farming industries since then -- and the ability to fix and repair just about anything, as any farmer needs to be able to do.

So I'll keep you in touch with him and his farm through this Winter season; please send your positive thoughts his way.

I've told him for a long time that I think people 'out there' will be interested to see his farm and learn a little bit about him and his situation through the internet towards whatever end.  

So anticipate his story continuing to come to you over time -- energy out brings energy back, let's see what it might bring to him.  One of the missions of this blog and outreach is to find some help and support for him somehow, somewhere.

Amongst the few, he's one of the traditional dairy farmers left standing and he symbolizes a lot of where we're all from, city or country, and I truly think his old-timer story is one that deserves and needs to be told. 

And in the meantime, he's a TV show in himself. Let's see if I can get closer to making that happen -- stay tuned for that.

 

 

Thanks for clicking in -- more later,

      Tom