PegMedia.org

It's that time of year when many people are thinking about gardening. Gardeners and those who dream of being gardeners love gardening programs.

On PegMedia, we have several gardening programs which might be great for broadcasting this time of year. They include:

Coastal Gardens http://www.pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/showall/34/detail

Gardenwise http://www.pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/showall/40/detail

Gardening Rhythms http://www.pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/showall/228/detail

Emilys Garden http://www.pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/showall/654/detail

Take a look and maybe give some a try!

It's been more than a decade since the September 11 al-Qaida attacks on the United States -- but new details about those attacks and Osama bin-Laden's terrorist network continue to come to light.

Journalists Paul Jenkins and Georges Malbrunot recently interviewed bin-Laden's senior bodyguard, Abu Jandal. In our documentary, Abu Jandal provides new insights into al-Qaida's day-to-day operations. The report also features interviews with U.S. investigators who describe the many opportunities the Americans missed to bring bin-Laden to justice.

http://www.pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/ep/12097/detail&destination=msv...

I am writing on behalf of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. This summer we are organizing a retrospective on the medium of VHS and quotidian access to media production. For this retrospective, we will be presenting highlights of the 40 years of programming created via Public Access stations around the country. These selections will be presented on monitors throughout the museum, and will originate from Public Access stations hailing from all 50 states.

Quicktime would be an ideal format, but we can also accommodate DVD, VHS, and MiniDV. We are looking for nationwide submissions from public access stations (educational, governmental, and/or community based).
email contact is:

cinema@madmuseum.org

We would like to extend the invitation for your station to select its favorite and most impactful programs to include. The parameters of the selections is that they do not exceed 15 minutes in length (they may be clips of shows or content) and that the selection be delivered to the museum no later than May 15th.

We hope that you will be able to collaborate on this exciting new retrospective and thank you in advance for your time,

Public Programming
Museum of Arts and Design
2 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10019
Phone 212.299.7780
Fax 212.299.7704
www.madmuseum.org

Link TV and the Annenberg "explore" series present “West Virginia – Hillbillies, Coal Miners, Treehuggers & God,” the two-year anniversary of the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster that killed 29 coal miners in Raleigh County, WV. The half hour documentary features in-depth interviews with local residents and extensive footage from deep in the belly of the West Virginia mines

In April of 2010, just weeks after the tragedy, Charlie Annenberg and a film crew from explore.org, a philanthropic media organization he founded to champion the selfless acts of others, put what they were doing on hold and traveled to West Virginia to understand the issues facing the mining industry and the region. By including interviews with dozens of local area residents – from coal miners to local environmental activists to other community members – Charlie was able to capture a diverse perspective on coal mining, mountaintop removal and the recent tragedy.

Deeply moved by his experiences there, Charlie arranged for the Annenberg Foundation (of which he is vice president and trustee) to donate $2.5 million to help fund the relocation of Marsh Fork Elementary School in Sundial, West Virginia. The school was seen by local community groups as a potential health hazard for grade school students due to its location below a dam holding back billions of gallons of coal slurry. The new school is now under construction and will open in early 2013.

This show is available for FREE download on PegMedia at http://www.pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/ep/11864/detail&destination=msv...

Looking for a great show to add to your spring programming lineup?

"Smart Boating", the informative weekly TV show, developed to help boaters make more informed, “smarter” decisions about boating topics, first aired in August 2006. Since then, a broad variety of areas have been covered including: boat purchases-new and used; components-propellers, electrical systems and upholstery; boat types- USCG, electric, PT and wooden; boat maintenance-commissioning and winterizing; and safety-weather, life rafts and man overboard procedures, among others. The show episodes are available for download from PegMedia at http://www.pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/showall/45/detail.

“The show started from humble beginnings,” according to Jermain, “The idea came from a lunchtime conversation with a marine surveyor friend who stated that he thought I could produce a better show than a well-known syndicated boating show that was airing at the time. I was unfamiliar with how to produce a TV show, but felt that my instructional background developed through my Entrepreneurial Training Program work would enable me to produce a quality program. So, I stopped into the local public access cable TV studio the next day and asked for training. Three weeks later, the first show “How to Protect Your Boat in Event of a Hurricane” was produced.”

2012 is an important election year. Issues surrounding women’s reproductive rights have become pivotal by candidates for various offices. Often voters become polarized, in part because they have little or no accurate information. Across the country, state by state, legislatures are passing laws that make it increasingly difficult for women to obtain reproductive health care, breast exams, affordable birth control and safe legal abortions. Most voters actually do want to make informed choices about candidates and the policies they represent.

The three-film series CHOICE: Then and Now, directed and produced by OSCAR‐nominated, EMMY‐winning filmmaker Dorothy Fadiman follows the dramatic history of women’s reproductive rights in the USA (to read a more detailed description of each of the films, please scroll down).
These films will be featured on Public Access stations during Women’s History Month in March and throughout this election year 2012.

We invite you to join the list of stations that will air one or more of the films in this documentary series.
To download the films for FREE online, please go to http://pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/showall/80/detail.

If you would like to find more resources on the topic or more background information about the films, please visit our website http://www.thepowerofchoice.net/, and become one of our facebook fans http://www.facebook.com/PowerofChoiceFilm.

By Gregory Bator, Graceful Aging and PEG TV Today

Several months ago I gathered those PEG stations following @GracefulAging on Twitter together with several other media sources and created the online publication PEG TV Today.

The paper is an aggregation of material referenced by Twitter users I've added to the newspaper's feed. I'd love to add to the depth of the newsletter by including more stations, producers, and media sources. I’d readily encourage others to build this newsletter by jumping on Twitter and start posting what are newsworthy items. I'll add them to the PEG TV Today feed.

Take a look at the latest issue at http://paper.li/GracefulAging/peg-media?utm_source=subscription&utm_medi....

As you can see from the current issue of PEG TV Today, there are great ideas shared by stations together with updates of what is happening on community access television around the country.

Send me a direct message on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/GracefulAging or an email note if you have any questions or call me if you prefer.

Gregory Bator
@GracefulAging on Twitter,
gbator - a t - gracefulaging.com,
or 248-721-1212

This month, Deutsche Welle launched a new 24-hour program service in the U.S. In addition to giving local cable access channels with satellite access the ability to broadcast many hours of DW programming throughout the day in uninterrupted blocks, the new program channel also introduced new programs for both English and Spanish-language services. Non-commercial cable and television channels may use up to 20-hours a day from DW's C-band program feeds. For PegMedia channels there will be new programs and changes to some existing programs. We've highlighted the changes below.

By Alliance for Community Media

Opening up communications markets was the purpose of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. The Act was designed to help phone companies get into the pay-TV business, and cable companies get into the phone business. Yet after a series of regulatory blunders, this promise of increased competition and lower prices has become a distant memory, like 7-Up Gold. And the situation is only getting worse.

Just last month Verizon announced it had signed a $3.6 billion deal with its erstwhile competitors Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. In many ways, this announcement placed a capstone on the grave of the 1996 Telecom Act's biggest promise to America: genuine competition in communications service offerings.
Link to complete article--

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joel-kelsey/verizon-cable-tv_b_1186219.html

"Exactly seventeen years have now passed since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and the small, landlocked nation has managed to maintain a semblance of stability, avoiding the crises that its neighbors have endured. What is the reason for this? How has this country reconciled its past, and how do victims and perpetrators alike live together in the present?

Charles Annenberg Weingarten and the explore.org Team traveled to Rwanda to answer that very question. The film that resulted from the trip, Raindrops Over Rwanda, focuses on the Kigali Memorial Centre and a young man who survived the genocide and now serves as the Centre's head guide. Raindrops Over Rwanda is now available on PEGMedia for free download.

After explore.org's trip to Rwanda, Honoré Gatera, the main subject of the film, came to the United States for the very first time and sat down with Charlie at Link TV headquarters for a memorable interview. This interview is available as well, and is an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how the movie was made, as well as Honoré's experiences and unique worldview. This amazing film and accompanying interview illuminate how Rwandans can teach the world not only about how to avoid genocide, but also how to heal and forgive in order to live together in the future.

Raindrops Over Rwanda: http://www.pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/ep/9273/detail&destination=msvr...

By Ned Lightner, BCTV-2

Belfast Maine PEG television BCTV-2 periodically surveys Belfast residents.

The July BCTV-2 survey results are in and the news is good. Since our survey last September, 2010, viewership and awareness have increased dramatically.

The survey is comprised of 100 Belfast residents, whose names are chosen at random from the local telephone directory. Seventy-five percent of cable subscribers watch the station compared with thirty-six percent in the earlier survey. Sixteen percent watch often and forty-six percent watch occasionally which is a substantial increase from the Fall survey where ten percent watched often and fifteen percent watched occasionally.

A new question on the survey revealed that more people are using the internet for program viewing. In fact, fifty-seven percent of those surveyed reported using a combination of both internet (station website and miro.org) and television to receive programming.

Overall BCTV-2 is very excited to hear that public awareness and viewership is on the rise and they intend to keep bringing quality programming to the community as they go forward into the future.

By Tony Vigue, Portland, Maine

On June 9, 2011, the FCC released a new report titled Information Needs of Communities: The Changing Media Landscape in a Broadband Age. The goal of the report was to identify trends and make recommendations on how the information needs of communities could be met in a broadband world. NATOA members will be particularly interested in Chapter 7: PEG Access Channels.

The entire report may be found at: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-307406A1.pdf

The section on nonprofit media starts on p. 146 -- PEG is discussed in ch. 7 and 27; see pp. 15, 170-175, 298-301, 352, 357 (may be other references sprinkled about).

In many parts of the world – particularly developing countries – mothers face extra burdens just to survive, take care of their children, and contribute to their communities.

To take a deeper look into the lives of the world’s moms, Link TV’s ViewChange.org has partnered with Save the Children to produce a new documentary, ViewChange: The Mothers Index. Come take a global tour of some of the best and worst places to be mom. Learn about Save the Children’s annual “State of the World’s Mothers” report, and the conditions necessary for women and children to thrive.

Along the way, you’ll learn about a life-saving maternal health program in Malawi; a community health program in Nepal that is saving the lives of babies; an education program in Bangladesh that’s empowering young girls, and more – including where the U.S. ranks on the “Mother’s Index.” It is a moving and powerful segment; one that encourages us to give back to the women that help run and foster our world, while reminding us of the work done by our own moms.

Download the 30:00 minute program FREE of charge here:
http://www.pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/ep/8543/detail&destination=msvr...

Producers have an option of covering the bandwidth costs for downloads on PegMedia to make the downloads free to stations. When producers cover the cost, the number of stations carrying a program increases dramatically, usually by a factor of three or more.

In order for you as a producer to cover the download costs, you only need to do two simple steps:

1. Select the option for your show. Click on the Producer Show Edit link at the bottom of the page. In the edit page, click on the box "I Would Like to Cover Download Costs" and click on the Save button at the bottom.
2. Put some money in your account. In order for the download costs to be covered, the producer must have a positive balance in their account. Usually a minimum of $20 is suggested. You can add to your account by clicking on the link "Add To Your Account Via PayPal or Check" in the left hand column if this web site.

Cost for each download is 99 cents or less, depending on the length of the video. This is less than the cost of producing and mailing a dvd so also ends up saving the producer money and time vs manual mailing.

Stations will see on the show and the episode pages if the download is being covered by the producer.

Producers covering download costs should monitor their account balance to make sure it stays positive.

NOTE: Each user has only one account balance. As a producer your account would handle any downloading you do plus it would also cover the downloading costs for any of your shows you want to cover as well.

In this In Focus documentary we look at how a natural disaster caught plant managers off guard in this major international nuclear nightmare.

Ever since the earthquake and the following Tsunami hit Japan in March the crisis in and around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been deteriorating.

Emergency workers struggling to prevent an imminent meltdown have had to pull out again and again. Experts are still measuring high levels of radioactivity, in the air and sea near the plant. They’ve detected traces of highly toxic plutonium in the soil nearby.

Engineers are risking their lives trying to get the reactor cooling systems running again. Local residents are living in temporary shelters, increasingly worried about their homes. Tepco, Fukushima’s operators, seem to have lost control of the situation.

This episode can be found on PegMedia for a FREE download at http://www.pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/ep/8309/detail&destination=msvr...

Link TV and explore have teamed up again for a brand new special episode - "Adrenaline Junkie." The explore Team makes their way from Hawaii to Venice Beach to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, seeking out new adventure sports and learning how rescuers keep thrill seekers safe. They speak with elite Jet Ski rescue lifeguards on the North Shore of Oahu, film inspirational wheelchair athletes in Venice Beach, California, and accompany an avalanche rescue team on a heart-pounding mission in the deep powder of Wyoming's Rockies. On the way, they explore what makes humans push the boundaries of physics in the never-ending pursuit of adrenaline.

Download the 23:43 program FREE of charge here:

http://www.pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/ep/7891/detail&destination=msvr...

Also, Link TV and explore are proud to present a new explore film "Darfur - Quest for the Human Spirit." The explore Team traveled to Darfur, Sudan, home to one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. They travel with Merlin, a British medical NGO that works in the region. explore founder Charles Annenberg Weingarten and his team are taken by helicopter to a refugee camp in southern Darfur. The roads are too dangerous to travel, and Charlie has little idea of what to expect when the helicopter touches down. After meeting the people in the refugee camp, bonding with young and old, he is astonished by the ability of the human spirit to endure incredible hardship and remain resolute.

Download the 22:18 program FREE of charge here:

http://pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/ep/7748/detail&destination=msvr%2Fs...

An exciting live concert performance by 2-time Independent Music Award winner, guitarist/vocalist/harmonica player, Thaddeus Hogarth is now available on PegMedia.

This performace was filmed at the Bose World Headquarters Theater in Massachusetts and features Thaddeus' original R&B/Blues compositions with an all star band.

This multi-camera film was directed by Marc Serra, producer of Mostly Rock 'n' Roll at Shrewsbury Media Connection in Shrewsbury, MA.

This concert was a celebration for Thaddeus winning his second Independent Music Award for Best R&B Album. This winning album, Live At Bose (1) was recorded using live music performance technology developed by Bose, and represented a collaboration with Thaddeus and Bose to create great music and great sound.

The concert features high energy R&B/Blues grooves, with many wonderful musical highlights including a ballad duet with acclaimed France-based jazz singer, Robin McKelle.

The show is available as a free download from PegMedia at http://www.pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/showall/545/detail.

(Photo Credit: Dan Rapoza)

Video of last week's Assembly hearing on A3766. The companion bill in the Senate had removed PEG TV the week before; the Assembly bill was amended to protect PEG TV.

http://bit.ly/ihj3UY

Congratulations, Team Jersey!

~ Rob McCausland

Europe is a diverse part of the globe with many languages and cultures. With Deutsche Welle’s 50-plus years of covering Europe for the world, our producers and journalists know the Continent just a bit better, and European Journal is our showcase of what we do with that knowledge and understanding. The stories in Europe are important ones and deserve more than the occasional 30 seconds on the nightly news.

Fifty-two times a year, DW-TV provides viewers worldwide with a fascinating mix of stories exploring the important political, economic and cultural developments in Europe. Each week presenters Cathy Smith and Jim Gibbons provide their unique take on stories unfolding across the Atlantic, telling the story with compelling video, strong reporting, and a good sense of humor.

Details on European Journal can be found at http://www.pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/showall/533/detail and all download costs are covered by Deutsche Welle and are FREE to all stations.

What a perfect way to both create a fascinating and active lifestyle by touring and taping the many highlights of Southern California and the Southwest by creating a television series that provides all of this. "OUT & ABOUT WITH ROGER MARTIN" has provided just that by first investigating points of interest and then going after them with a video camera. This has been happening since March of 1991 and continues non-stop with Roger Martin and his producer-editor Jim Lichnerowicz.

Even though this is a California-based show, it can be of interest to viewers everywhere. Roger's adventures cover a wide spectrum of entertainment and education as the series explores arts, nature and wildlife, history, leisure and sports activities to celebrate the breathless excitement of the famous California West Coast, providing a valuable source of information and entertainment.

Preview Our Episodes And Find Our Downloads Here -
http://pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/showall/522/detail

The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy made 15 recommendations on how America can have a bright info-future. One of those recommendations was for increased support for public media predicated on public media efforts to "step up," for lack of a better term.

For the full story, see http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2011/01/spotus-survey-shows-support-for-more-...

The local access station in Honolulu asked us to come in and tape a report on our UN trip that raised awareness of the dire condition of native Hawaiians.

One show led to the next, and before long we were a series interviewing others who were discovering their own small part in helping create a brighter future for Hawaii.

That’s how Voices Of Truth – One-On-One With Hawaii’s Future was born.

Winner of the 2009 WAVE Video Awards, Voices Of Truth seeks to inspire viewers to become active participants in creating a better future for wherever they live.

Whether you watch Voices Of Truth for our guests and their fascinating message or Hawaii's breathtaking scenery, you'll come away amazed, uplifted and wanting more.

Preview Our Shows And Find Our FREE Downloads Here - http://pegmedia.org/index.php?q=msvr/showall/338/detail

PEG stations are in interesting/trying times with changes in funding, technolgy, media distribution and society. These times can be destructive, or they can create opportunities. Hopefully the later prevails.

One of the best ways of dealing with a changing situation is to have as much information available as possible. PegMedia has a large number of stations and producers visit each day. We are starting to run polls for stations and producers (usually separate), a new one each week or so.

We hope you'll respond to these by voting in our polls...the more respondents, the better the information.

And, if you have suggestions for a poll, please email "admin - a - t - pegmedia.org".

Bob Nichols
PegMedia

By Gloria Tristani, former Federal Communications Commission commissioner. Originally published in the Midland (Michigan) Daily News.

Public, Educational, and Governamental (PEG) channels throughout Michigan have long delivered diverse community and local programming over cable and other video networks. These channels owe their existence to the franchise agreements that municipalities negotiate with video providers in exchange for allowing the providers to use the public rights-of-way. PEG access channels empower individuals and groups to use the media to educate and enrich their communities. It is television by the people and for the people. In Midland last summer the access channel, MCTV Network, together with the fire department produced a popular video on fireworks safety which is now used by many government agencies including FEMA. MCTV has also partnered with community agencies such as United Way by producing Cancer Services, which programming has touched many lives.

MCTV and other PEG access channels allow citizens to see their local governments and leaders at work. They are also places where young and older people can learn to use and produce media. At a time when we see the major media companies are becoming increasingly consolidated — with the cable behemoth Comcast about to absorb NBC/Universal — it is refreshing to see the people's channels in action.

PEG channels, however, are at risk nationwide. In 2006 Michigan passed the Uniform Video Services Local Franchise Act which established a statewide uniform franchising agreement eliminating local control and eroding PEG funding sources. A number of other states followed suit and in Washington, D.C., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) further chipped away at local control. While state and federal actions may have been aimed to spur competition among video providers they failed to produce the intended results and instead were detrimental to PEG channels and to consumers. The combined state and federal actions undercut PEG funding and limited local governments' ability to require video providers to create new PEG channels.

From Tony Vigue, South Portland, Maine

As we have all understood for many years, there is more first-run locally produced PEG programming (by community) than all locally produced programming from the three or four network affiliates combined (by community).

The recent survey results (see story "PEG Channels Are A Major Source Of Local Programming" following this) from stations all over the country bears this out. In comparison, most of the commercial network affiliates just rebroadcast non-locally produced programming from the network. Local news is repeated all day so repeats are not “new” programming.

Once again this is the type of data that the FCC should be collecting that we, as Community Television Stations, have to collect to educate them. More often, the FCC decisions overlook the importance of Community Television contributions to our communities and society in general and instead are the result of industry lobbyists seeking to further their bottom line at the expense of the consumer.