Programme makers of things like Telethon could avoid a lot of criticism and accusations of patronising them by liaising with disability rights organisations and disabled people themselves as to how their message should come across to the public as empoweringly, appropriately and as positively as possible.
The approach could be "How can we as fundraisers aid your current causes and values best? These are our existing plans and programme content proposals. Do you think we are steering our programme plans, style and content in the right direction for your needs? If not, how can we improve?"
If disabled people are put into the driving seat when it comes to Telethon then criticism by disabled people would I'm sure diminish.
I'm pretty sure I remember HTV West having it's own Telethon coverage. IIRC it just came from an office somewhere in the HTV building with people answering phones in the background and one of those 'totaliser' things on a wall... There might have been a studio too, but I can't really remember.
Interesting to note on the above picture that the three stripes on the wall, the blue, red and white are the same colours of LWT. Reminds me of You Bet with their blues, reds and whites.
Interesting reading, a few of points to clarify for those that know.
1. Am I right in thinking that 1 Telethon took place over a normal summer weekend, rather than the late May bank holiday?
2. I'm sure that one year Gareth 'Gaz Top' Jones presented the show in the early morning from the network studio at LWT, whilst Aspel took a rest (from memory it was only for a couple of hours)
3. I'm positive that H.M Goverment donated £1million to one of the Telethon's - and the 'minister on call' for that weekend presented a bog standard cheque over at a London based OB.
4. Wasn't 'Get Up And Give' on GMTV, the sort-of replacement for Telethon - I seem to remember it was?
Also way back on pg2, someone asked about the central television donation number. 021 710 was a special 'crush' number set up on an exchange that wasn't well used at the time and could therefore handle the big spikes of calls during the evening and day. I suppose if Telethon was brought back there would be one central dialled number, which would then be answered locally at the call center.
The first Telethon, done by Thames was reviewed by Clive James in The Observer back in October 1980, before the days when he was seen on screen as a presenter in his own right. He was not impressed by this new form of fundraising, and concluded his critic of the show with these thoughts..
Quote:
The only certain beneficiaries of a telethon are the corporations who secure cheap advertising time by putting up prizes or making tax-deductible donations. The audience gets little to enjoy beyond the unintentional humour generated by the technical cock-ups. As for the handicapped and under privaledged children, they gain some of the means of life - but life in what kind of world? To do what? To watch Benie Winters host a celebrity darts competition?
There has to be another way..
Also way back on pg2, someone asked about the central television donation number. 021 710 was a special 'crush' number set up on an exchange that wasn't well used at the time and could therefore handle the big spikes of calls during the evening and day. I suppose if Telethon was brought back there would be one central dialled number, which would then be answered locally at the call center.
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Well these were the days before 0345 so they had to give out local numbers so you'd avoid higher call charges by calling London. In the Telethon of 2003 they'd give out an 0845 number and calls would be routed to the nearest call centre (BT tower etc.) with a line available, thus the call would be a local one anyway and the Telethon wouldn't have to pay the difference for callers outside the local area should they be handling all calls in one place (silly idea). That's what they do for Children in Need and Comic Relief anyway. IIRC BT have in the past donated a portion of the call charge also and all the call answerers are volunteers.
I doubt if ITV could stage another TELETHON, especially on the regional basis.-- The big companies have striped the regions of skill and knowhow by now to pay for inept follies like ITV Digital, and Premiereship coverage etc.- This has resulted in more "consolodation", will lead to one ITV Company, which will eventually be owned probably by the Americans..... Sorry to be so gloomy!!
Interesting to note on the above picture that the three stripes on the wall, the blue, red and white are the same colours of LWT. Reminds me of You Bet with their blues, reds and whites.
The 1988 national studio had a massive red, white and blue stripe going along the top of it.
Quote:
1. Am I right in thinking that 1 Telethon took place over a normal summer weekend, rather than the late May bank holiday?
2. I'm sure that one year Gareth 'Gaz Top' Jones presented the show in the early morning from the network studio at LWT, whilst Aspel took a rest (from memory it was only for a couple of hours)
3. I'm positive that H.M Goverment donated £1million to one of the Telethon's - and the 'minister on call' for that weekend presented a bog standard cheque over at a London based OB.
4. Wasn't 'Get Up And Give' on GMTV, the sort-of replacement for Telethon - I seem to remember it was?
Also way back on pg2, someone asked about the central television donation number. 021 710 was a special 'crush' number set up on an exchange that wasn't well used at the time and could therefore handle the big spikes of calls during the evening and day. I suppose if Telethon was brought back there would be one central dialled number, which would then be answered locally at the call center.
1. Yes; the 1992 Telethon was moved from the May Bank Holiday as ITV were unsure whether that year's General Election would take place around that time period and clash with the event, so they held it on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th July instead - although why it couldn't have been moved to the more notable August Bank Holiday, I don't know.
2. He did, in 1988; I guess he was chosen as all the Children's ITV stars pitched up in the morning hours he fronted. He also stepped in for a brief spell in 1990 while Aspel freshened up and changed his clothing.
3. Yes; it was surplus tax following an Inland Revenue error, and handed over to Richard Baker at Battersea Park.
4. Yes, but I don't think that kicked in until a couple of years after the last Telethon, not withstanding the fact that it raises much smaller amounts of money.
Additionally, the phone system was made more complicated by the fact that people who phoned in to donate were allowed to leave a message or dedication to be shown on screen.
"Charity fatigue" may have been considered a spurious excuse for axing the Telethons back in 1992, but it's very real these days. Would the public tolerate another regular TV charity event?
And I'm not sure why some people seem to think that Year Of Promise was charity-led - it wasn't. Indeed, one of the reasons it failed to engage with the public was because said public *thought* it was yet another "give-us-yer-money" charity event.
A start would be to perhaps have a deaf couple signing to each other as extras in the Queen Vic or Rovers Return
And because it would stand out like a sore thumb, the broadcasters would immediately be accused of tokenism.
It's a very difficult issue, since although statistically one in eight people may well have a disability of some description, in reality most able-bodied people only rarely encounter people with disabilities in their everyday life.
I can't remember *ever* seeing deaf people signing to each other anywhere other than on certain very specific programmes on television. If I saw it happening in a real pub, I'd probably be fascinated; likewise, if it was happening in the background of the Queen Vic or the Rovers, it would be so unusual that it would probably steal one's attention away from the focus of the scene - and that would be no good, since I thought the whole idea was to show that people with disabilities aren't supposed to stand out from the able-bodied.
I can't remember *ever* seeing deaf people signing to each other anywhere other than on certain very specific programmes on television...
I believe there's a sequence on the opening titles to Midlands Today with deaf people signing to each other - Wolverhampton University, along with Bristol University do a degree in Deaf Studies.
