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Sep 19, 2007
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'The War' At Home
Grants enable public TV stations to showcase local stories of WWII
by Lisa Horan
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Some six decades after the cataclysmic events of World War II, its images continue to saturate our society through motion pictures and various media. While the global effects of the war have been thrashed out relentlessly, the local perspective has largely been ignored.
Thanks to one of the most comprehensive community engagement initiatives ever created by public television, however, these stories - the stories of people from towns across America whose lives were affected by World War II - are finally being told. Not only are they enriching our historical base of knowledge, but they are also bridging the gap between generations.
On Sept. 23, PBS stations across the country will begin airing The War, a 14-hour documentary from prolific filmmaker Ken Burns. The film explores the human dimension of World War II through the personal accounts of men and women from four American towns.
To accompany the national airing of the documentary, PBS and member station WETA in Washington, DC, launched an unprecedented community engagement effort funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The initiative offered grants to public television stations in all 50 states to not only produce local programming, but also to conduct community engagement and educational outreach activities.
"Typically, public television is able to offer projects that work well for some stations but not for others," explained Anne Harrington, WETA's director of outreach and interactive media. "This project, however, is one that every station can take part in because World War II is an event that is still resonating with people today. And the fact that a person with the notoriety of Ken Burns is involved has certainly provided immediate recognition."
So much recognition, in fact, that Harrington reports that 117 stations have received grants (of either $3,000 or $10,000). Because of the tremendous interest in the project, even stations that were not grant recipients are finding a way to participate.
"To actually have the opportunity to talk to people from our own communities who lived through the war and hear and capture images of them telling their stories is a very powerful experience," said Harrington. "I think that's one of the reasons why stations around the country have absolutely embraced this initiative."
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| The War took more than six years to produce, including more than two years of editing. |
Moving Images
Embraced might not be a strong enough word to describe the reaction from many stations. According to Bill Stotesbery, CEO and President of KLRU in Austin, TX, his station began the planning process as soon as the initiative was announced -- before any grants were awarded. "We decided that we were going to do something in conjunction with the documentary whether or not we received funding," said Stotesbury. "We knew it was that important."
Ultimately, the station was awarded a grant, which enabled it to further develop its plans. But no one could have predicted just how greatly these plans would evolve as a result of the tremendous interest from the community.
"Initially, our goal was to produce two 15-minute segments featuring veterans that would be incorporated into a local show that we air," said producer Dominique Bellavia. "Once we started the interviewing process, though, we realized just how many people wanted to share their stories and how important these stories were, so the original 30-minute piece grew into a two-hour documentary."
With interview footage shot using Ikegami DVCAM camcorders coupled with stock footage, The World, the War, and Texas intertwines the atmosphere in Central Texas during the war with personal experiences of veterans, viewpoints from historians, and a snapshot of global events.
"What made this piece so unique were the many interesting stories we covered of those with ties to Texas," said Stotesbury. From a Texas Marine who served as a Japanese translator, to a highly decorated European veteran turned leading Texas attorney who had never talked about his war experience, to University of Texas graduates who had been on the British passenger ship that was the first sunk by the Germans, the documentary is flavored with never-before shared stories and nuggets of intriguing information. At press time, nearly 60 hours of footage had been logged.
When Chicago's WTTW Producer Colleen Finn began promoting the project, she was convinced she would wind up with little footage. "When we first asked for submissions from our viewers, I honestly didn't think we would receive that many," she admitted. "We were overwhelmed to find out that there are so many stories out there that we didn't know about, from veterans who, for instance, were at D-Day, flew successful missions, were highly decorated, and were prisoners of war. To have our viewers willingly and gladly share them with us in person was truly inspiring."
In fact, the station has received 100 story submissions, which it will use to air one to three-minute interstitials between programs. It will also package the stories into 18 and 20-minute segments that will air in conjunction with The War, and plans are also in the works for a 30-minute standalone piece.
Similarly, as a result of on-air and online requests for personal accounts, St. Louis' KETC had no problems collecting footage -- or its share of fascinating stories about the city's war history. "St. Louis was not only a significant supplier of munitions during the war, but it also built and tested amphibian vehicles used by the Navy and was a major supplier of several resources used by soldiers, including bed frames and shoes," explained KETC president and CEO Jack Galmiche.
The stories of those who were involved with war-related activities at home are highlighted in the documentary, Homefront. In addition, the station has added a segment featuring local war stories to its weekly program, Living St. Louis, and is also running 50, two-minute vignettes of veterans.
The Right Time
Along with a series of short vignettes featuring local veterans, WSRE in Pensacola, FL, is producing two documentaries that will begin airing late this month. The Kaki Coast explores the history of the Northwest Florida panhandle and the impact of the region on the WWII effort, and Gulf Coast War Memories highlights the stories of veterans and others who were in one form or fashion connected to the war.
"Every person we talked to had a different, unique, and unbelievably powerful story to tell," said Jill Hubbs, the station's director of educational services and community outreach. "As an educator, I thought I knew a lot about World War II, but I have learned so much from the stories that these folks have shared with us."
Beyond educational aspects, the stories have also struck an emotional chord with those involved in the production process, especially Hubbs, who lost an uncle in World War II and whose father went MIA in Vietnam. Even those who initially felt no connection to the war have since become attached to the project.
"To be perfectly honest, when this project was first announced, the small staff at our station, who are all under 30, didn't exactly jump at the chance to work on it," said Alabama Public Television producer Amanda Shaw Newsome. "Now, we are all in love with it. Spending time with and listening to the stories of people from Alabama who have links to the war has really been a moving experience for everyone involved."
With 30 hours of archival footage obtained from the Library of Congress and Wisconsin Public Television, as well as interviews of 60 veterans that were primarily taped in public libraries, the station is producing a one-hour documentary. According to Shaw Newsome, the two-camera technique that was used makes for very compelling images.
"By having interviewees look directly into the camera to tell their stories, viewers can really see the fear, stress, and sorrow in their faces," she explained. "Because these images are so compelling, we won't cover them with video or do a whole lot with them -- they will speak for themselves."
Equally compelling is the timing of the project. "Because it is estimated that between 1,000 to 1,500 war veterans are dying every day, it is really important that we get their stories as quickly as possible, and this project has given us the opportunity," said Maury Sullivan, KLRU's vice president of marketing and communications.
"We came to recognize the realities of time and that these people want to tell their stories very badly, so the project has provided public television the opportunity to use our unique set of tools to go out into the community and collect this vital information," added Stotesbury.
Beyond Television
The Internet has supplied further expansion of community outreach efforts. From the PBS "Share a Story" online module, which provides a simple way for users to send photographs, video clips, and other materials to Web pages devoted to locally-based accounts, stations have not only promoted the project but also reached a younger generation of Americans.
In St. Louis, the Internet was used in another way. After booking a 700-seat theater for an event at which Ken Burns was to appear, Galmiche realized that there was so much interest in the event that he was not going to have enough seats to accommodate everyone. His solution: create an online webcast of the event.
"By offering the webcast, we were able to expand its accessibility to anyone with access to the Internet," said Galmiche. Not only were Internet users able to view and hear the event, they were also able to participate. "We set up the webcast so that online questions could be taken in addition to audience questions." The station is also creating a digital war memorial that will feature a newly compiled list of the names of 5,000 individuals from St. Louis who lost their lives in the war.
APT, which shot its interviews using Sony HDCAM equipment, is joining forces with the Alabama's public radio station to broadcast a series of radio stories that will be excerpted from the original interviews. "Not only will this be great promotion for our station, but the interviews will be a perfect fit for radio," said Shaw Newsome.
In addition, stations have formed partnerships with local museums, veterans groups, and other organizations, teamed up with public schools to provide educational materials for students, and taken part in community events to solicit war-related stories and promote this unique project.
"At the end of every interview I would conduct, I would say, 'Thanks for serving our country and thanks for sharing your story.' It all made sense to me when one of the gentlemen I interviewed responded, 'Well, no one has ever asked me before,'" said Hubbs. "There have been countless movies about World War II, but what makes The War and the corresponding local programs so different is that viewers not only have the opportunity to experience history in a very personal way, but also from a whole new perspective."
MORE INFO
Alabama Public Television apt.org
Corporation for Public Broadcasting cpb.org
Ikegami ikegami.com
KETC ketc.org
KLRU klru.org
PBS pbs.org
Sony sony.com/government
WETA weta.com
WSRE wsre.org
WTTW wttw.com
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