{"id":188,"date":"2007-07-30T17:58:43","date_gmt":"2007-07-30T23:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=188"},"modified":"2014-09-06T15:00:34","modified_gmt":"2014-09-06T21:00:34","slug":"will-tv-article","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=188","title":{"rendered":"WILL-TV article"},"content":{"rendered":"

From July 26, 2007:<\/em><\/p>\n

Click to Read<\/a><\/p>\n

Article in Champaign daily The News-Gazette<\/u><\/strong> about the “Show Me\u00a0A Story” program sponsored by WILL-TV Channel 12<\/strong> and the Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club of Champaign<\/strong>, during which preteens learn how to produce a 10-minute segment for television. (Remember that the direct link to this article will expire after<\/em> Thursday, August 2<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

~~~~~<\/p>\n

Editor’s note:<\/em>\u00a0I’ll admit that this sounds like big fun for everyone involved, although I’m amused by the article’s implication that the act of producing television is a way to keep\u00a0children from wasting the summer sitting on their duffs and soaking up mass media – including, a-hem<\/em>, television. Given that the host station is<\/em> PBS<\/strong>, we can at least rest assured that skill development and creativity\u00a0are core concerns of the program. Thank you, Don Moyer Club, for not going with the flashier environs of the local CBS<\/strong>, ABC<\/strong>,\u00a0and FOX<\/strong> affiliates.<\/p>\n

Yet, I find it hard to imagine what an “African myth” taped in front of a green screen over on Goodwin Avenue<\/strong> will look like. I hope that it’ll have a much more vibrant aesthetic than, say, the station’s public affairs or home gardening shows. We all know the PBS propensity for documentary over narrative programming, which probably has as much to do with budget constraints as it does long-standing reputation,\u00a0but it’s a big stretch\u00a0to launch a project like this\u00a0and expect the final result to emulate\u00a0the standard “PBS style.” The last<\/em> thing that will engage a bunch of kids\u00a0is a bunch of talking heads, with rare exception.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

By the same token, it’s discouraging to note that it takes a token “for the kids” outreach effort for WILL-TV<\/a> to actually foot the bill for something that, by its very nature, eschews the “PBS style.” (Although, I am talking specifically in the technical<\/em> sense here; the project’s PBS-safe subject matter was obviously premeditated.) I wonder sometimes if WILL’s doubled-up status as public television and University of Illinois<\/strong> branch stifles their employees’ willingness to “shoot outside the box.” When one looks over the latest schedule in Patterns<\/u><\/strong> magazine, “innovative” and “progressive” hardly come to mind, but I guess such qualities would simply befuddle all the viewers WILL counts on to give money during their biannual pledge drive.<\/p>\n

So, why in the world can’t WILL-TV count on Champaign County<\/strong> citizens in other<\/em> ways that will introduce a little honest-to-goodness chutzpah<\/em> and alleviate that thick-headed cloud of academic integrity hanging over Campbell Hall<\/strong>? Here’s what I think the powers-that-be should do, and it’s the most obvious thing in the world:<\/p>\n

Launch a parallel program that would entice the adults<\/em> of Champaign County to develop exciting new work to air on and syndicate through WILL. Structure it to provide basic training and openly define the\u00a0parameters of time, budget, and tools – not to mention those pesky FCC<\/strong> mandates –\u00a0but otherwise allow the indoctrinated inmates to run little corners of the asylum while the wardens hold down the fort. One caveat, though – these creatives are <\/em>not <\/strong>to be restricted to the documentary or\u00a0news magazine formats.<\/em> I don’t think that an “earn-the-right-by-volunteering” mantra a la<\/em> WEFT 90.1 FM<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is unreasonable, but the window between Day 1 and the First Day of Autonomous Production should be absolutely minimal and<\/em> not dependent on the creatives\u00a0being full-time paid employees.<\/p>\n

Tell me when the sign up date is and I’ll be the first in line.<\/p>\n

\u00a0~ Jason Pankoke<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Article in Champaign daily The News-Gazette about the “Show Me A Story” program sponsored by WILL-TV Channel 12 and the Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club of Champaign, during which preteens learn how to plan and produce a 10-minute segment for television. Plus, your editor bitches about the station’s lack of creative in-house programming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jp-confidential","category-media-coverage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}