cfv@packet.UUCP (06/10/83)
As I was watching the KQED (Bay Area Public Television) Annual action this
week a couple of things came up for auction that I thought you people might
want to know about. It also brought forward to me something that I think needs
to be discussed.
First, they had some items that were donated by George Lucas and Lucasfilm.
One was a 'Return of the Jedi' poster. The other was a piece of the
Millenium Falcon that had been mounted for wall hanging (it was rather small,
about the size of the baseball). The poster, which was signed by Lucas,
went for $580. The piece of the Falcon we for almost $600. You might see
either or both of these at con's one of these days.
{{{Commercial/Flame on}}}
This brings in an interesting point. Public TV NEEDS YOUR HELP. The
good old government is cutting public TV out of their budgets, and for
it to survive the public sector is going to have to take up the burden.
Public TV brings a lot of high quality TV to the general public. It has
also gone much further than the networks in bringing high quality SF and
Fantasy to television. Public TV is responsible for bringing Dr. Who to
the U.S. It first brought us Monty Python's Flying Circus. It is about the
only place where The Prisoner is re run for our enjoyment. They have also
produced such original SF pieces as last years 'Lathe of Heaven'. When you
consider that Networks have given us such enlightening things Space:1999,
Starlost, Lost in Space, and Land of the Giants, doesn't public TV deserve
some support in return?
Here are some figures: if you are an average person, you spend $64 a year
supporting network TV. This is a hidden figure, because it is levied against
you by the advertisers who pay for their commercials. Even if you don't
watch ANY TV you still pay (talk about taxation without representation...).
For every 'Hill Street Blues' that network gives us, we seem to get five
'My Mother the Car' quality shows. You can usually get a membership in
Public TV for as little as $35 a year. (By the way, if you happen to be a
member and write in suggesting that they show the Prisoner re-runs, they are
MUCH more likely to listen. *hint-hint*).
Besides being a member, there are a lot of things that SF can do for public
TV. They ALWAYS need volunteers for their pledge drives and auctions and
things. This is something that a Fannish group could do, and it works to the
benefit of both groups, because you would get on-tv credit for your
volunteerism. This gives the group a wider exposure and may help you get
new members (there are potentially a lot of people out there who aren't
members of the local SF club simply because they don't know they exist!).
Beyond that, donate stuff to the auctions! How much do you think a pair of
Westercon tickets would have gone for? Besides that, Westercon would have
gotten a fair amount of FREE PUBLICITY to people that normally wouldn't
have heard of it. Its REAL easy to get the current SF fans to a con. Its
much more difficult to get NEW fans to a con. Publicity never hurts, and
any donations are tax deductible.
{{{end commercial}}}
Finally, I think I should point out that SF is in the business of the future,
but sometimes I feel that we tend to get so busy dreaming of the future that
we forget to work at it. One small way to do that is with Public TV, but
there are many other areas of charity that could use the help of people and
organized groups that want to make a better future. One place is space, of
course, but even such 'mundane' things as the United Way Foundation in your
local community help. Most cons now have Heinlein Blood drives, which is
a good start, but that is all that it is. With the exception of the
Spellbinders group (of Ocotocon fame, a don't miss con) I can't think of
any other conventions who donate their proceeds to something other than
the next con.
{{{end flame}}}
chuck 'Duck!' Von Rospach
ucbvax!amd70!packet!cfv