01/02/06 America`s Heartland expands

01/02/06 America`s Heartland expands

It was last September that a new program scheduled to air on Public Broadcasting System affiliate stations was threatened to not be aired at all. The controversy of "America's Heartland", in the eyes of several environmental groups that lobbied and wrote letters to those affiliates, was that because it had a major agriculture chemical company, Monsanto, as a sponsor, it would only focus on big production ag. Five months into the first airing of the series, the content of "America's Heartland" has proven that could be nothing further from the truth. And as series producer Jim O'Donnell points out, so does the growing audience for the program. O'DONNELL: "America's Heartland" is now seen on more than 150 stations representing just about 45 million households and so we're very excited to be able to tell about the story of the people, the places, and the processes of our American agricultural landscape. And the broadening audience is both rural and urban in nature. Just last week, "America's Heartland" was added to the line-up of cable t.v. network, "R.F.D. TV". And urban markets such as Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Dallas continue to provide "America's Heartland" with its largest audiences. O'Donnell says the reason is the need for city dwellers to connect with urban America whether it is part of a viewer's roots, or because of the intrigue in a simpler, value driven lifestyle or the simple answer to the question, "where does our food come from?". O'DONNELL: They are coming to the show in great numbers. They are connecting themselves back to the source of their food and fiber and fuel. More and more, we are disconnected from agriculture and people don't understand the source of the products they pull off the shelf. And that response has also come not just in viewership, but suggestions to O'Donnell and the "America's Heartland" staff for future program material. O'DONNELL: We are certainly getting our share of ideas that are sent in through the website, but we are always looking for the right story. You know, we've already been in thirty states. We have plans to do all fifty within the first two seasons of the show. And there's a lot of opportunity left, and we really want to hear from people. Comments about the program can be directed to the "America's Heartland" website, www.americasheartland.org. The website also provides information on previous and future episodes, as well as a listing of affiliates and program air dates and times.
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