[with]tv Guest Book

[with]tv would like your show of support to demonstrate to our potential corporate partners, advertisers and investors that there is not only a need for our service, but strong American and International support for our programming. Please read the support letter below, then let us know what you think.

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Howard Renensland
CEO and Founder
[with]tv

Dear Mr. Renensland:

I would like to express my wholehearted support for [with]tv’s mission of providing accessible television and Internet programming that, while appealing to broader markets, is focused on providing high quality, news and entertainment programming that meets the needs and interests of persons with disabilities, and those committed to them personally, professionally, and commercially.

People with disabilities have a global need as individuals and as a community for access to information, employment, artistic expression, and control of their image. The disability community, which in the United States alone is 54 million strong with a discretionary income of $220 billion, is a grossly underutilized source of both talent and market share for companies, making [with]tv a win-win solution for individuals, society, and business.

I intend to support your content, partners, and advertisers in every way possible. I congratulate you on the work that you and your colleagues at [with]tv have done thus far and wish you the best of luck going forward. Please keep me informed of your progress and let me know if I may be of any further assistance.

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To show your support, "Post a Comment" below  (or click "Comments") and fill in the form.  If you have a  URL you would like to share, please do.  Spammers will be reported and deleted.  View our original Guest Book, in use prior to today, November 8, 2007, by clicking here.

Comments

[Katy Lock]

Hi, WithTV sounds like a fantastic idea. Hope it's going well. I just wanted to let you know about a TV series we have made for the web in the UK following a group of friends, 4 with Down Syndrome and one with Williams Syndrome. It's called 'The Specials' and every week we post up a new 10 minute episode. Catch up on the episodes so far at http://www.the-specials.com. Hope you like it!

[melissa gates]

Hello.

My name is Melissa Gates. I just wanted to show my support to you and what you are trying to do. I kind of skimmed through your site but will return. I want to know if there is any place available for someone like me who has severe disabilities from top to bottom. Like your daughter my parents also fought for my place in the world through college...the real world. Although I was blessed to have a job, in the family business for awhile, they will be giving it up and I need to look for steady employment and the ability to feel as if I can stand on my own two feet. Reading your letter gives me that hope and I thank you. Have a blessed and great day.

Sincerely,
Melissa
Mizzieg@aol.com

[Philip S. Blake, BlackRock Financial Management, Aladdin Portfolio Services Group]

Dear Howard,

I would hope the benefits of having with-tv are as evident to others as they are to me.

Spotlighting the success of people with disabilities, which I am sure you would end up devoting a major portion of your content to, really helps everyone. It universally gives people the courage to succeed.

I also believe that this is a business with a great deal of untapped potential. As the general evolution of business, and certainly cable network programming, has been to deliver more customized products and services aimed at specific segments of the general population. Being the first of its kind, I believe there would be a very large and desirous audience.

Third, I believe that government sponsorship in some manner would be likely as well. Getting involved with a network offering content for people with disabilities would certainly generate positive publicity for politicians working to help the effort.

Lastly, the end result is the reflection of the people who run the network. Knowing you personally, Howard, to be a person with a very clear vision, a passion for making things better for people who have disabilities and well grounded working knowledge of the media industry, I can only see this effort being a true success.

Philip S. Blake

BlackRock Financial Management
Aladdin Portfolio Services Group
40 East 52nd Street, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10022

[Jim Reynolds, Actor, Days of Our Lives, CA]

[with]tv's mission statement, "A television channel of, by, and for people with disabilities and everyone else", encompasses the point, purpose, and feeling of this project. Television is simply not responsive to people with disabilities.
A miniscule number of characters on television or film are portrayed with disabilities. An even smaller number of actors are hired to play those characters with disabilities. And, of course, as with all sub set groups the entertainment industry hires almost no one to work behind the camera.

[with]tv will fill a tremendous void in the television landscape. However I must remind everyone that With-TV is not a niche network. Millions of Americans struggle daily with disabilities and the issues that affect the disabled. That also means their family and friends deal with these same issues. Ultimately [with]tv has a potential audience of over 200 million Americans who deal with disabilities on some level each day.

[with]tv is the type of network that the industry needs as it moves into the 21st century. The gain to the bottom line is obvious. Millions of ignored Americans with money to spend will first turn to [with]tv for news and programming This idea is ripe and hangs very low on the tree.

[Barbara Wurtz, Executive Director, Potential Unlimited, Inc., NY]

On behalf of the Board of Directors, participants and staff of Potential Unlimited Productions, Inc., I would like to take this opportunity to show resounding support of the vision and mission of [with]tv.

As an organization that has supported and promoted performing artists with developmental disabilities throughout New York State for over 12 years, Potential Unlimited recognizes that the time has come for equal representation of this (not so minor) minority to be seen and heard on our public airways.

In our work with hundreds of extraordinary performing artists with disabilities, we appreciate the diverse talent and unique awareness, each individual brings to audiences across the country. Their gifts demonstrate determination, generosity and hope in an age of cynicism, fear, greed and doubt.

I cannot think of a better time, in history, for individuals with disabilities to shine for us all.

[Vince Staskel, NY]

As you know, working on the development of [with]tv is a dream come true for me. As a young wheelchair user in the ‘70’s there weren’t many accessible opportunities for a career in the entertainment industry.
I have now come full circle in being able to help provide a fully accessible and inclusive media venue for performers, filmmakers, and journalists with disabilities.
It is a true labor of love for me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to participate in this wonderful and much needed project.

[George Ducharme and Pat Beeman, Communitas, Manchester CT]

[with]tv is an idea whose time has been long overdue. Individuals with disabilities, both children and adults, have much to share, much to learn, much to write, sing, draw, and talk about.
The question is, where is the venue that will welcome and nurture this yearning?
Howard Renensland and his family and friends have a vision to create this venue –[with]tv. In our walks with people who have both significant disabilities and significant gifts/talents, we spend much time seeking and creating ways for people to share their gifts.
We need [with]tv to open the way for some people we know in our small corner of New England, USA, but further for people all over the world. We look forward to contributing what we can to this great endeavor.
We encourage all investors to see the great potential of 50 million plus people in the US alone, their families and friends positively contributing artistically and financially to our communities and businesses.

[Nadine O. Vogel, President, NJ, Springboard Consulting LLC]

No matter how “advanced” a society we become, TV is still and will probably always be, a medium we look to for entertainment and information that reflects our own beliefs, interests and in the end, who we are as individuals.

This becomes evident just by taking a look at all of today’s unique programming, from network to cable. So, what’s missing?

Programming about and by people who either have a disability or who have a child or other dependent with special needs. Why so?

Because people with disabilities represent the largest minority market in the world, in the U.S., surpassing the Hispanic population by 5%. Because this segment of the population, unlike the rest of society is asking to be spoken to (but in a way that’s appropriate) which means targeted advertising to support the programs which in the end means revenue.

This community, unlike what most folks think, has money and wants to spend it. They have the same interests as everyone else in society though at times, with unique needs relative to those interests.

It’s a large, loyal population that today, is not being served well by TV and the TV industry is missing out big time!

[Tony Hughes, Investor, EVP, Burston-Marsteller Public Relations]

The sounds of progress for [with]tv are most heartening. Considering the fact that the disabled are a much larger and, in some respects, a more needy minority than Latin Americans, African Americans, Asians et all.

And considering the fact that your television proposals are timely, meaty, sophisticated and helpful and that they play against a back-drop of hundreds of channels that provide 24 hours of empty nonsense every day.

I think this is all about time. It is important to recognize the needs of the disabled in our society. And the desire and need to do something to help.

It is even more important to have a vehicle like [with]tv that can actually make a difference.

Plow ahead!

[Professor Stephen A. Kuusisto, English Dept., University of Iowa]

Recently, I was invited to The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. by the National Endowment for the Arts to speak at an “invitation only” gathering of artists and writers with disabilities.
The NEA is eager to support and embrace a ten-year plan to promote careers in the arts for people with disabilities. I spoke at this event about the timeliness and importance of the inclusion of people with disabilities in a broader national conversation, particularly as our nation is aging and as wounded veterans return from fighting overseas.
I spoke additionally about the terrible unemployment rates for disabled Americans and suggested that a new national coalition of publishers, broadcasters, journalistic venues, museums, arts administrators, and people in higher education should come together to envision new ways of presenting disability in our digital age.
I believe that [with]tv offers the best possibility for uniting these constituencies around an exciting artistic and social advancement—an enterprise that has the potential to create new kinds of programming by and for people with disabilities, their families, veterans, and yes, folks who are aging.
The time is right, the vision is here, and I am eager to join in making [with]tv into something much more than a visionary idea.