FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
Meg Fullwood
Public Relations Manager
KERA, KXT and Art&Seek
214-740-9377
mfullwood@kera.org
March 29, 2010
20 YEARS OF MCCUISTION
ON KERA-TV
DALLAS/FORT WORTH – The topic-driven interview program McCuistion is celebrating its 20th anniversary on KERA-TV with a series of special programs. 20 Years of McCuistion airs Sunday, April 4 and Sunday, April 11 at 12:00 noon on KERA-TV. The specials highlight some of the program’s top interviews of the last 20 years on topics ranging from education to leadership and the environment. All programs can be viewed online after broadcast at http://www.frtv.org/series/20-years-of-mccuistion/.
“The power of television when combined with an understanding of important issues can make significant, positive differences in the lives of people who watch,” says Executive Producer Niki McCuistion. “The team brings that mission to every program they have produced.”
Federal Government Debt, Credit Issues and Foreign Policy
On Sunday, April 4, 2010 at 12:00 noon on KERA-TV
An encore presentation of the first McCuistion TV program taped in 1990 features the late Senator John Tower on the Cold War and negotiating with the Soviets. It also explores the banking crisis of 15 years ago and brings the issues of government spending, corporate fraud and the economy to date with interviews with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, SMU’s Dr. James Hollifield and David Walker, the former comptroller general of the United States.
Healthcare and Wellness
Sunday, April 11 at 12:00 noon on KERA-TV
This program features interviews on the present health care system and the new legislation with Dr. John Goodman, father of the health savings account, and explores the new technology of wellness. Christopher Kennedy Lawford, an activist and recovering addict is also interviewed.
ABOUT McCuistion
The McCuistion television program is independently produced by host Dennis McCuistion and Executive Producer Niki McCuistion. The program focuses on the economic, political and social issues that have an impact on our daily lives.
ABOUT FRTV
The Foundation for Responsible Television is a 501 (c) (3) which was founded in 1994. The mission is to raise funds to produce and promote the McCuistion Television Program on Public Television. Funds are provided by foundations, corporations and individuals. Visit www.mccuistiontv.com for more information.
The January-February issue of Texoma Living! Magazine, featured an article, After more than 500 shows, Dennis McCuistion and Niki Nicastro still do programs about “… things that matter with people who care.”
Below are the first few paragraphs of the article. Click here for the complete PDF on the McCuistion Program after 500 episodes.
About ten minutes into the program a loud, chirping fire alarm went off in the studio at KERA-TV, Channel 13, and everything came to a halt. There was no fire, just noise. After a minute or two, the alarm stopped, only to start again in a few moments. It was ten minutes before things were sorted out.There was a benefit in the mishap, however. The guest, a man in a gray suit and baggy brown socks, had been hit with an attack of flop sweat when the red light on the camera blinked on. The perspiration had beaded up on his face, and his forehead was glistening. The interruption gave the makeup woman an opportunity to come on the set and dry him off. Taking off his jacket and complaining loudly about the heat from the studio lights, the guest, who had been thirty minutes late for makeup and was grumpy, decided to finish the show sans coat.
The floor director politely pointed out that when the show aired, it would appear that the jacket had suddenly —magically it would seem to the viewers—disappeared, so the coat went back on. Finally, all was put back in order, the imaginary fire extinguished, or at least the alarm thought so, the guest acclimated to the lights, which weren’t all that hot after all, and the taping started again.
The host, Dennis McCuistion, who has been doing this sort of thing for twenty years and is well schooled in the vagaries of television, was not particularly bothered. He watched the rerun of the tape up to the point the alarm sounded, and when the floor director gave the countdown and the action sign, he looked into the camera and restated the question the guest had been answering. The guest, who was prepared to name names in the collapse of the housing market, soldiered on, and in forty-five minutes or so another McCuistion Program was in the can.
A celebration of 20 years of McCuistion Television Programming…
Thursday, November 19th at 7PM- Arlington Hall at Lee Park was the site of a gala event – the very first, celebrating the McCuistion Program’s success and 20 year run on KERA, Channel 13, Dallas PBS. A success from start to finish- from harp music at the welcome reception, to desert, conversations and a standing ovation for the co-founders, Dennis McCuistion: Host of the program and Niki Nicastro McCuistion: Executive Producer/Producer. Guests included program panelists, loyal viewers, funders and board members.
The event was emceed with grace, humor and style by former board member and close friend, Terry Brock, CPAE, an internationally renowned marketing coach and consultant. He illustrated the last 20 years with inside stories that captured audience attention and highlighted the social media work made possible by a Searle Foundation grant. Terry walked us through the new website and blogging Niki has spearheaded with Orangecast, our new social media consulting firm. He showed us how to easily access past and present programs, comment on blogs and stay tuned even when an airing is missed. This work takes the program to another level, yet is still in progress so we hope you join us, comment and Twitter your friends and associates to follow us.
Conversation at each table was hosted by a lead person and included:
Hasan Pirkul on education, Jerry Fullinwider on oil and energy in Russia, Iran and Iraq, Ed Wallace on world history, John Goodman on healthcare, Terry Brock on technology, Cary Clayborne on capital markets, Steve Pejovich on the Berlin Wall, Larry Steinberg on the Middle East, Dennis on the credit crisis and Niki on terrorism and the Roots of War documentary.
A video of the best of the last 20 years programming Niki had produced for the evening’s event included comments from program guests and supporters from, Christopher Kennedy Lawford, Gail Cooksey and her team and Jim and Carol Young congratulating the host and producer on their 20 year TV anniversary. Highlights included candid clips of what goes on behind the scenes to make the program production work. A fun and surprise ending featured Dennis in makeup, commenting that he didn’t look one day older than when the program started, and attributing it to good makeup and shots. The video is posted at the top of the page.
Terry Brock interviewed Niki as the filmmaker- co-interviewer on the controversial Roots of War documentary. Scheduled to air on KERA in January of 2006, the documentary was funded in part by the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation, one of our major TV funders. It aired first at the Angelika to community leaders. Protested by the Freedom and Justice Foundation, the KERA airing date was postponed. Niki spoke to what had occurred and what was done by her and Phil Smith, lead camera and co-editor of the documentary, in the ensuing years to get the program back on KERA. She felt compelled to honor the funder’s expenditure and trust and took her own time and money to do so. More of this story can be seen at www.therootsofwar.org. The documentary is going to be posted online as well.
Dennis capped off the evening by talking about the future of the program, its collaboration with the University of Texas at Dallas (http://som.utdallas.edu/iecg/) School of Management and the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance and how the program will benefit and grow as a result. We recently taped several programs with their assistance in providing us the very best panelists from around the world. Take a look at programs 1807 (Corporate Governance) to 1810 (Wall Street: Capitol of Greed or Builder of Capital – airing on December 27th) for programs that profoundly affect our daily lives.
And of course what would the festivities have been without the host introducing key guests who have been part of our success, from Willis Duff to John Goodman, PhD, CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis, among others you’ll see on the 
upcoming excerpts of that night. A sterling moment highlighted energy guru Jerry Fullinwider, who in 1942, played with his then band in the very room the evening’s gala was held in. Paid the royal sum of $25 for the evening, Jerry had to spend $5 of that fee to buy the music they played. We learned Jimmy Dorsey had tried to hire him but Jerry decided to stay in college and eventually go into business. As one of our benefactors, we’re sure glad he chose that route. But to show he did indeed have talent then and now, a trumpet magically appeared and Jerry played a few bars to resounding applause.
The evening ended with a standing ovation for the co-founders, Dennis and Niki and a promise of more good programming. Stay tuned where as always we talk about things that matter with people who care…
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Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/Producer
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