DF Communications Writing Sample: Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Donya Fahmy

Dead Head TV Celebrates Second Anniversary with Two-Hour Broadcast Special on Mid-Peninsula Cable Coop's Channel 6

Local Access Channel Pays Tribute to One of its Most Popular Shows

Palo Alto, CA . . . On Thursday, March 8th from 9:30 PM to 11:30 PM, Mid-Peninsula Coop Cable will present four half-hour episodes of what is fast becoming one of the area's hottest cable television shows: Dead Head TV. This special presentation will air on Cable Coop's Channel 6 where the show premiered last July and is seen regularly every Thursday night at 9:30 PM.

Viewers in Menlo Park, Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Atherton will have an opportunity to see the newest episode of the show (Dead Head TV #16) which will be released just in time for the event, as well as a Dead Head TV Presentation of the the Greenpeace video documentary "A Strand in the Web." Also included in this two-hour mini-marathon will be Dead Head TV #14 and Dead Head TV #15.

Episode #14 features an in-depth interview with Tim McQuaid, creator and organizer of last year's phenomenal In Concert Against AIDS, with highlights of the extraordinary stadium performances that made this fundraiser a huge success, including John Fogerty, Los Lobos and of course, the Grateful Dead. Also featured in this episode are a report on the Jerry Garcia Band trip to the Eel River and the Summer Solstice shows at Shoreline Amphitheater. Episode #15 provides an overview of how the band spent their summer vacation (i.e. a full report on all their performances from the East Coast Summer Tour to Cal Expo and the Greek Theatre in Berkeley) and a special feature on Creating Our Future --a Marin-based organization that teaches teens how to become social activists.

Dead Head TV is a half-hour news magazine for Grateful Dead fans and is produced monthly in San Francisco. Since it first debuted in March 1988 on San Francisco's Viacom Cable (Channel 25), the Dead Head TV network has grown rapidly, spreading like wildfire across the country, making it something of a community access phenomenon.

The show is currently carried by 34 different cable systems in 14 states and is seen regularly in over 200 cities, reaching a potential viewing audience of over 3 million. In addition to Viacom Channel 25, the show is also available on Paragon Cable (Channel C) in New York City, and on Century Cable (Channel 3) in the Los Angeles area, making it the only show of its kind to air in three of the nation's top five media markets.

The original creation of San Francisco video producers Scott Wiseman and Kathleen Watkins, the show was conceived as a travelogue designed to "Bring the Tour Home" to Deadheads everywhere; recreating the sights and sounds of the tour scene for them right in their own living rooms. The show regularly features interviews with Deadheads from around the world as well as with people directly involved with the Band such as lyricist Robert Hunter, sound wizard Dan Healy and lighting director Candace Brightman.

The show is the collaborative effort an eclectic group of video professionals who are Deadheads and Deadheads who are interested in video. The producers recruit and coordinate volunteer production crews and then edit the raw footage and scripts into one fast-paced half-hour show a month. The show is then distributed to its cable carriers free-of-charge. A team of approximately 35 people volunteer their time and contribute to the show on a regular basis.

Dead Head TV is an independent production dedicated to fostering community spirit while improving the content and quality of alternative television programming. It is not part of nor is it affiliated in any way with the Grateful Dead or Grateful Dead Productions.

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