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Sonoma County. The chosen spot of all the earth as far as nature is concerned, according to the famed plant wizard Luther Burbank Diverse County, with 1,010,000 acres of land on 1574 miles of scenic roadways, Cinema County is rightfully famed for its agriculture did a culture, industry

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and recreation, as well as for the amazingly successful ethnic and economic mixture of its more than 340,000 residents on for the forward looking philosophy of its local governing bodies. Now we invite you to take a closer look at Sonoma County in the eighties with your host

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rich McGlinchey. Everybody, welcome to another edition of Sonoma County in the eighties. This is, Ah, rather unique program. We're gonna be talking to two persons who are involved with Channel 22 which is our public broadcast station here in Sonoma County and also the Station for Public

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Broadcast Station that airs our program. Only canon eighties that you're watching right now on the left of your screen is Nancy Dobbs, general manager of Channel 2200. On the radar screen is a gentleman you might have recognized in another rule at another time. It's Superior Court

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Judge Bill Bendinelli, who today is is judged a rather just build Bendinelli, a member of the board of directors of Channel 22. Uh, I'm glad you could come back up and be with us to find out what you people doing that board. I'm very glad to

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be here with you. I know you meet periodically, and I'm sure you do something else. Well, obviously, as as any non profit organization or any member of a non profit organization is the wherever you do a lot of policy and planning. And that's to do with

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the board of directors of Channel 22. Does Yeah, you know, Bill, it's it's interesting, and it's good to know that you are on the board of directors there because I know that you are, and I mean this quite sincerely. Ladies and gentlemen, I know you're a

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very, very busy Superior Court judge in this county. Everyone of our street project. It's a very, very busy person. But to take the time and be involved with the public broadcast station shows the a good, strong bit toward community service. And do you enjoy this? Oh,

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I enjoy it very much. Career wise, I've had to limit my contacts socially and publicly and charitably. And my goal has always been to have one or two organizations that I work with. And Channel 22 is such a valid and valuable organization. That's where my nonworking

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energies go at this time. Well, well, let's carry on you just a minute. Naturally, back to you in a moment. The station, PBS station, Channel 22 Care. CBC Just celebrated a birthday. Tell us a bit about It's the fourth year on the air of the of

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the station. Uh, as a struggling newcomer in the media market, the over the period of the last four years, the station has been moving forward to a point now where we can sit back and say, We're here, we're here to stay. And from now on, we

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benefit the area's best. We can. Uh, this is the fourth birthday of what we have now in the fourth doing into the fourth year, right? And that that's that's amazing in itself. You know, Nancy here knows heaven knows how difficult it is to launch a public.

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Well, if she didn't know, she started. No now wants a public broadcast station. What have you to say about that? Well, it's It's a wonderful opportunity to have gotten to this point is Bill says, You get over those first couple of scary years that happens for

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any small business that are you going to make it are? Are you going to reach enough people in the community fast enough and serve them so that they will support you? But of course, preceding those that sign on date four years ago, we were in the

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creation stage for a good three years before that, the getting the license, that getting the land, the basic start up money and support from the community, building our buildings and so on that that also took three years and was an incredible part of our history and,

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uh, sort of putting the roots down in our community that I think is meant a lot in terms of our ability to serve and relate to our North Bay community. Yeah, well, I think it's it's obvious that this is a wonderful time for all of you,

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but I think it's important to go back and look to Chinatown is do as you say, is just passing its 4th 2 year being on the air. But all that planning went before it. I know you also jumped from spot to spot the spot right. You

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found your present to You've got the president building the present location, and now, as he builds us, it's the fourth year you are planted there. You're established here in the community to stay, and that's to the advantage of the community. Because public broadcast in general offer

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so much more in many ways than commercial stations. Way like to think that public broadcasting really does provide a resource to the community and that it's a resource justice. Having a good library system or a good school system is a resource in the community and that

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the community can and should look to public television for information as a community forum as, ah, place where we replaced the notion of a town hall meeting where we all get together and discuss community issues and share our successes and so on. And public television ought

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to be that. And as I say, I think the community has a right to expect that we're certainly working very hard to make sure we deliver on that promise built, Um, you're gonna board of directors, and I know you work with programming. What's new at the

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station? Well, what's new? That at the station is not as important as what the station has been aiming towards since it came on the air. And that really is local programming, something different than the other Public broadcasting stations were in an area where at least three

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and probably four other public broadcasting stations were received by many homes San Francisco, Sacramento and us. And so we have to do something a little bit different. Uh, besides the core PBS programming, we want to do something where people can identify with Channel 22 as being

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their station. So there's a strong orientation to local programming En Camino and are locally produced. Major show their ideas and procedures of putting in on the air locally produced films and pieces done by local amateurs and local professionals, but produced where people here can say, I

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recognize that issue. I recognize that person. I recognize that location. I recognize that station. That's Channel 22. Did you feel it? That's what such channel Tony, too apart from the other PBS station. Totally. The identity and image of this station is we belong to the North

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Bay. Yeah, this is something that you started out with that precept, and it's being enlarged un now as best we can on production wise and cost wise. That's what we're aiming towards. I threw my public broadcasting period of have belonged to a San Francisco public broadcasting

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station. I was in a member of the Sacramento station because I thought its goals were closer to to mine. And now here with Channel 22 Sonoma County and North Bay is my core, and the station fits right into that idea. Beautiful. Would you had something, Anything.

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You Well, I think I think what Bill is saying is absolutely true in terms of our goal and objective in terms of serving the community through local programming. I think it's also important to point out that because doing our own production is so terribly expensive, that's

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something else that we tried to do is to find programming sources from other production facilities and so on around the country that suit our audience. Ah, and and rather than repeating what people may be able to get on other public stations. Choose things. A silly example.

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But one that's very, very popular is a sewing show that we found from, I think, a PBS station up in Washington. It's certainly not something that San Francisco station is going to carry. I mean, after all, they served millions and millions of viewers, and that may

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not be something that they would do. But it's extremely popular on Channel 22. Likewise, an oil painting show so trying to find those programs, even if they're from other sources and not produced ourselves. There are lots of ways that a public television station conserve the community

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that go beyond just doing productions in their own studio, and we're looking for those ways as well. I want to thank you for those kind words. Everything, she said, fits on a little program with exactly precisely right. Since the FCC deregulated the cable companies, though, there's

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been some channel shifts going on now. For instance, the in your area down there, the email cable company has another name now move from friendly of the lower tier was of numbers that were on all sense. I think you're on Channel 11 at that time, then

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you moved up to Channel 22. Now has that had an impact on you and the other TV stations? And if so, what impact and where do you stand now? Yeah, it does have a big impact. Deregulate The deregulation of cable is a very important issue because

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from the subscribers point of view from the receiver of the television shows point of view, it's frequently meant an increase in rates. Ah, and from the television stations point of view, it's met this shifting around on location. Basically, what it means is the cable companies can

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choose to do whatever they want to do in terms of channel lineups and so on. Haven't been given that that right in that privilege by the courts and by Congress, there could be a really big difference between the way cable companies and local broadcast stations interact.

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Cable companies consider, on the one hand can say we're going to do whatever we want to do, and it doesn't matter to us because you don't have any power anymore or they could be very supportive and very finding ways to work together with the local public

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broadcasting station. And I must say that post Newsweek as an example of the latter of a of a cable company that is trying to work very closely with us to make sure that the public knows where to find us, that they don't do anything precipitous. And

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they don't do anything that that that causes all of a sudden people to tune and say, Oh, well, I guess 22 is gone. So So how we all interact is very, very important. And and I think it's a larger issue. The issue of cable regulation and

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so on beyond 22 beyond our local broadcast situation is an issue of whether or not cable companies ought to be regulated at any level, and because they have become such an important part of our communications of our ability to communicate with one another and in a

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democracy. Obviously, information and communication is key, and and you don't wanna have situations where there is in any sense of monopoly or control over the information flow. And so there's a lot of consideration in Congress right now about how cable companies ought to be viewed. Are

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they more like a newspaper? Are they more like a public utility? Are they more like a broadcast station? What are they? What manner of beast are they? The situation gives us a challenge. Also, there's there's a bottom line, and that is the financial potentials on the

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cable network. Also, we have to make people let the cable provider know that they want 22 in an easily accessible position. So we have to sell the station and to make its programming acceptable by the people who tell the cable company we wanted in a readily

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accessible position on the channel on DSO. It gives us a challenge. We have to deal with it, whether there's regulation or deregulation. It just makes us work in a in a more positive direction towards getting acceptance of the programming Teoh to get the public input to

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the providers. Well, it's very important. And certainly, as you said, Post News because, as I know been worked closely with you and regard to this and you've been on the same spot there like that, people can turn their and there's 22 that's very, very good and

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any any other. Any other companies that have moved to stations around probably have inadvertently, one way or another done a disservice because people can no longer term where they were and find the program. But a say this. This is their prerogative. And if they choose to

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do it this way, I wanted to get into one other thing. We got a couple of food, take a break here, uh, in commercial television. It's the advertising, basically pays afraid. Correct, Right? Okay, Um and that also dictates the program. And we see, obviously, because they

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pay that now, how does it work with commercial Tokyo? I know because she's told, Well, it's really interesting. Basically, our budget, which this year is gonna be around $560,000 is made up roughly of 1/3 of memberships. That's people calling in and becoming members of the station

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as individuals, as business people, as families, whatever, um, that makes up 1/3 and a growing portion of our budget every year. Another almost third of the budget is made up by businesses in the community who say they want to support public broadcasting by supporting particular programs.

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They might say, I want toe be associated with MacNeil Lehrer. I'll call up in and and be an underwriter, a sponsor of MacNeil Lehrer. Or they might do Sesame Street or nature, whatever. That's an important part of our budget. It both gives support to the station,

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and it also gives those businesses the opportunity to be affiliated with quality public broadcasting. And so 1/3 of it comes from that. About another third comes from grants and from business that we do in the community. The important thing I think for people to remember is

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that public broadcasting, we're in business, and we have a commodity that we're trying to sell or interest people in supporting. But people can have it for free. You can tune in and you can get Channel 22 without paying. So our challenge is to say, this is

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important enough to our community, and without you, we can't make a go of it. So won't you please voluntarily become a member of the station or supported in whatever fashion? So we're finding that support in the community. In the last 20 months, our membership has doubled

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twice. So So we're finding that base we're getting to that bad support. Yeah, Yes, very, very, very good, All right. We're going to pause right here and the station. Bring the public a public service announcement. We come back. Let's talk more about 20 to where it's

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been, where it is and where it's going. Great. Back in a war with happy birthday care, you've been working hard for 40 years. You deserve a wish. Wish for food, for hungry people in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Wish for clean water, health care through firsts,

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improved roads and farm lines and wish for 40 more years of support from generous, caring Americans. Happy birthday care and may all your wishes come true when you helping hand you give yourself way, becoming something so much more than words could ever say. John Denver Asking

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you to make your united way pledge Now, Thanks to you, it works for all of us. United Way. Won't you give today the United Way? Bring happiness again. Hello, and welcome back to this tradition of cinema can in the eighties. We're talking to two members of

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the official Channel 22 camps, TB Public broadcast system, The general manager on the left of our screen. Your screen, rather, is Nancy Dobbs on the right. The screen is Bill Bendinelli today. Ordinarily, Superior Court judgment about, uh built Let's jump back over to you here. This

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is community public television, so cock in the community get involved. Community gets involved, first of all, by membership by joining the station as a member on, And that's obviously by paying something by sending a donation to the to the station that is a principal means of

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getting acquainted and involved with that membership. You will get periodic information about the station. You will get the programming guides. You will be a part of the process. From that. There are different directions to go if you want to become actively involved in the station. We

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have various community based groups, community based committees that that work with different parts of the station. And finally, if you move for further forward and really want to be involved with the day to day operations, there are abilities to move towards being on the board of

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directors and actually managing and controlling those areas. So that's how the individual can work just by subscribing. And by getting interested, probably the individual can first get involved by watching them. That's the most important part of community involvement. It does. It's no good to put the

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best shows in the world on if no one's looking at him, So so you watch, then you subscribe. And then businesses and others have the ability, as Nancy said a while ago, to underwrite, too to informally or formally sponsor participate in the presentation of a show

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which is similar to being a member. But it's by a specific commitment to be a part of the production or more presentation of each particular show on the station. Would you? Sure, I think I think they're Those ways that bill is mentioned are the basic ways.

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They're also a whole host of opportunities for an individual to become involved as a volunteer at the station. Channel 22 currently has 22 people on staff. But if you walked into the station at any day any time of the day, you'd probably find 30 or 40

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people in the station. And the difference is made up by a group of very, very committed, hard working volunteers, people doing everything from running camera to helping out with pledge drives to cooking food for our volunteers during auction to answering the phones and stuffing envelopes. We

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run Channel 22 with volunteers without a very interested, committed volunteer pool. The station wouldn't work, and and we do that both because of the economic necessity, but also because we're constantly trying to reach out to the community and say, What kind of programming do you want

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us to air? What? How do you want us to run this station? We don't want to guess Tell us. And volunteers are unimportant. Extension of the board of directors and and staff pool reaching out even further into the community and getting that that feedback. So that's

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a great way for someone to get involved. It certainly is. Well, given those numbers border, too. The station organizes a lot of fundraising events as well. I know they do. What are some of the things that you have planned to raise funds? Well, the next two

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things coming up this year that are of major importance are a, um, uh, membership drive in August and in November, an on air auction. Those air two very important ways for the station to raise money, But we also have activities in the community. We're doing? Ah,

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lecture in October with Sonoma State University with James Burke, who's the host of the day Universe stopped. Very good show. We're doing that in conjunction with them. We're doing a canoe trip at the beginning of June with Bob Trowbridge. Is Canoes up on on the Hill

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Zberg in Healdsburg on the Russian River. We do a lot of activities like that to both, again financially support the station and also give people an opportunity to just sort of test is out. See what the folks air like that are involved with the station. What,

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what what is television? That's run this way. How do I get involved? And that's a need opportunity for folks to do that as well. Did you get involved in any of these fundraising events other than as a contributor? I don't really. And it's not because of

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choice in my position as a judge, I'm not allowed to solicit funds, and so I have to contribute to the station time, energy and thoughts. But I can't be on the phone calling friends saying, Hey, do you want to contribute to Channel 22? So fundraising is

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a little area that I have to back away from, mainly because of some rules of the Judicial Council and being a judge, not because of preference or our feelings in relation to station. But he's the only board member we let get off the hook like that.

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That's unenviable cop out. I know how dedicated he is to that. How Maney person served with you. How many people are on a full board right now. There are about 12 I believe. I believe there are room for a couple more on the board. And as

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the station has been getting more active over the last couple of years, the board has been gradually expanding Aziz. The need for more committees arise and otherwise. But there are 12 members of the board of directors this time. What are some of the committees that you

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have? Two or three main ones? Well, obviously programming is a committee where we review what the station's ideas are there obviously produced and presented by the staff. But we put in information regarding that. There's obviously personnel committees. There's obviously fundraising committees. There are committees now really

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developing and designing the future of the station just to future planning of where we're going to go television isn't something you do in an hour or a day or a week. It's something you planned well in advance for. And that's one of our major concerns. Uh,

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you're certainly right. It isn't stuff you do in your heart. It's something you do forever. Public television gets involved in the community in a lot of ways, certainly other than providing quality television, which I know it doesn't tries to do. But that's ask you this. Nancy

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What? Or Billy's review movement? You both comment on this? What community outreach programs is 22 been involved with specifically, UM, two very important ones, one of those addressing the issue of literacy in In among our adults in our community and the 2nd 1 addressing the issue

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of childcare, the provisional quality, child care and sufficient quality child care in our community. What we've tried to do with those two issues is to recognize the fact that we are, of course, a broadcast station. We are a television station, and that's one of the main

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ways that we get involved in our community. That's one of the main ways that we try and discuss, discuss issues of concern in our community. But we're also a telecommunication center, if you will, that lots of other things can go on that aren't just what's on

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the air. So let me take, for example, the child care issue. That's an issue of current and growing concern in our community. Do we have sufficient quality child care available in our communities? Um, we've in addition to bringing the North Bay community programming from PBS on

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that issue, we have also produced local programming on the issue of child care. We've also worked very closely with community organizations in the North Bay, Uh, primarily Childcare Coordinating Council and Head Start in those kinds of organizations to do outreach to businesses. Teoh bring attention to

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that issue we've also sponsored. It's a Noma State University. A conference, a day long conference. It was phenomenally successful, planned on 350 people and had to start turning people away at 500 attendees. People wanting to come and talk about the childcare issue providers who wanted to

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know how to do it better. That was a phenomenal success. And then finally we had a teleconference with business leaders in the North Bay community who came to the station who were involved in a two way teleconference with head of the American Express Company, um, nationally

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talking about our issues locally and saying, What do I do about this? And how do so television convey? Be a hub of telecommunications activities, not just putting a show on and hoping someone catches it in that one magic half hour? And if they don't? Too bad,

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it's gone and we're on to the next show. So we're trying to develop Channel 22 outreach in our community in those kinds of directions. That's good. That's good. That's intelligent. That's good. PR. That's good. Everything. What communities do you reach with your broadcast signal right now?

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And what about those served by cable? Are broadcast signal actually reaches a considerable distance? We have members, so we know our signal is reaching as far us out this Palo Alto and as far East is, Mur said, S. O. R. Over the air signal covers substantial

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parts of the entire Bay Area on cable were on all the cable systems in Sonoma County and in northern Marin County, in Nevado and in northern Napa County in ST Helena, and Calistoga and Yonville were very anxious to be able Teoh get on the cable systems

00:26:33.970 - 00:26:46.740

in the rest of Marin County and in the rest of Napa County and back to our earlier conversation about deregulation. That's a slow process, but I think we'll get there. So we have, in our signal goes north as well. We have members up in Mendocino County,

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out on the coast and a few over in Lake County, so the signal's getting out all right. We got a couple of minutes left to respond quickly. Wanted one more thing. I want to be sure to get across working. People call to get more information to

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become a supporting member underwriter. 58585 to 2 gets a number that said so often in fundraising, pledging in the auction 58585 to 2. Okay, and I do want to underscore one of the things we are expanding the board of directors and we are trying to reach

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a cross section of the community in that area of the station. The volunteerism is important. People should call us with whatever interest they may have. The more people we meet, the better. The board is going to be responsive to the area and the better the station

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is going to produce what the area wants. Well, I'm certainly part of the effort to build was made and the success with which it's been crowned. I mean, it's a long way to go naturally, but we always will have, I guess. But the point is, I

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remember the struggle to get the license to begin with, to get the permission to located up here than the struggle to get on the air. Struggle to get a location from, wants to broadcast, getting the building, trying to get members, pledges, auction sales, all the grants,

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everything every way possible to make sure that Sonoma County and the North Bay had its own public broadcasters. On behalf of everybody in the county. I thank you and everybody else has worked with it, and it's certainly think that board of directors, which has done a

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great countdown we've been talking to Nancy God is general manager of 10 or 22 will you build Bendinelli, a judge Superior Court judge, will you be able back in Delhi who is also remember the border directors of Channel 22 Minor was rich McClatchy in the Program

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Cinema Canon eighties, seeing not only on post newsroom cable but on Channel 22 and I'll be back with you next week. But other members of the county government, family or important local agencies such as our public progresses. Dylan could let good night good help each everyone

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of you.