Day 4: The Neon Man and Me (Slash & PBS)

Today I was consumed with gathering more PBS addresses. The list that Mr. Felton gave me was kind of dated, but I managed to go thru about half of the list of 300 stations. That means from 9:00 - 3:00 I was visiting every PBS station website, and finding the fax #, the phone # and the Production Managers name and e-mail address. By the end of the day, when I went to yoga class I was seeing double. 

My good friend Scary is also helping me with the list and a former storytelling bootcamp student of mine, Maddie Jay, is helping too.


It's funny, when I put a request out on Facebook a few weeks ago asking for help for the project all kinds of people came forward and said yes, but when I followed up with them I only heard crickets chirping. I think it's become too easy on Facebook and with other social media to say Yes to something and not feel like following through is important. To me though, it's a reflection of the person and their intergrity.



Now, the other things I have to start thinking about are:1) What I'll actually plan to send each station 2) How I'll pay for each little gift I create 3) How I can pay the postage on whatever I send 3) How I can get people all over the country to call each station and tell them that they want to see my show on their television.

Mr. Felton said I have three 15 second commercials that I can sell on my show. On PBS, these are called underwriting spots. For instance, after a PBS special there's usually a company graphic and a voice over that says, "The following program was underwritten by Dow Chemical Company." My goal is to sell each spot for $15,000 each and let whoever makes the sale keep 15% of the price. Not a bad days work for someone with some savvy. My friend Dr. Larry Volz (the infamous comedy hypnotist), reccomended I seek out drug companies that offer products around depression. 


The things I've got planned so far:
1) Tomorrow I have a meeting with Ellli Morris ( a photographer and author) who is interested in selling the ads.
2) Tomorrow night I have a phone meeting with Jane Crouse, a storyteller and librarian, who said she would help me brainstorm ways that she might help me do research for the project. (I think she can help me research possible funding sources).
3) Wenesday I'm having lunch with Tiffany Glass Ferreira, (artist and founder of The Real Small Art League) who is pretty dialed into the social networking scene who I'm hoping will give me some ideas .