Inclusive Media Channel [with]tv: Vision for Authentic Window into Community of People with Disabilities
Pam Vetter
July 21, 2008
While [with]tv is still in the start-up stage, Renensland has received support from around the world.
"I've received e-mails from nearly every nation on our blog asking what they can do. We have a good core group of volunteers working hard. Our goal began to be a media channel for everyone including people with disabilities, broadcast from a perspective of the community of people with disabilities and to be an inclusive broadcaster, meaning any viewer of television would be drawn to our programming. Our programming would be from our community, not that much different from other lifestyle channels, be they lifestyles for young urban men and women, lifestyles for gays and lesbians or people of varying cultures. Our entertainment and news would be marketed toward all groups. We didn't want to be exclusive for disabilities only. We're a mainstream broadcasting channel, but we're broadcasting from our perspective," Renensland explained. "We're doing what no one else is doing. We're actively aggressively seeking ownership, partnership and employees in management who are people with disabilities. The community of people with disabilities represents anywhere from 20% to 24% of the general population and yet we're less than 2% of the workforce in film and television. There's a great disparity for a variety of reasons, none of which have anything to do with ability, talent or potential."
Gaining attention around the world is a new television series from the BBC, "Britain's Missing Top Model," which features eight models with disabilities. Renensland believes there's room to amass a variety of media from all over the world on [with]tv.
"We want to be a distributor and creator of that content whether it's from England, Australia, New Zealand, Germany or another country. We would provide a place for every piece of content in our community to mirror what's being done in general television whether it's a beauty pageant, reality, drama, news, sports, comedy, film, talk, variety, whatever the format, we have plans for programming to mirror all those formats. We think we bring something extra to the table and we certainly bring a perspective that is largely, if not completely, absent from the mainstream media."
Investor funding remains a key issue to getting [with]tv on the air.
"To gain funding it will take someone recognizing the value we represent in terms of a market niche, even though it would be the largest niche in media, and that there is no broadcast media in the world doing what we're attempting to do. We already have an Internet talk radio show that is a modest initial beginning of our programming. We're just entering negotiations with some individuals on the West Coast that want to develop some radio network series of programs for us and with us. We've got other negotiations going on. We're talking with a major Midwestern University to be based on their college campus to include university campus television and radio stations in our distributorship because so many young people with disabilities are now, for the first time, getting access to higher education. We're working with a company that has a satellite link-up that is desirous of getting our content, which would cover all North and South America, plus 28 nations. We're talking to a person who represents a cable channel in Europe that´s going into 8 million homes. We're talking to two other networks in the United States that are faith-based. We've got a lot of people interested in our content, but what we're lacking is the funding to develop that content. It's an expensive proposition whether you're developing it for IPTV or for broadcast television."
As a career actor who found great success in commercials, Renensland knows the challenges he faces in the entertainment industry.
"Television and film is a ravenous industry. Content is king. If you've created 'Desperate Housewives' or 'The Sopranos' you have dynamite content that everybody is going to want and everyone will pay dearly for it. But, you can only watch so many episodes before you say, 'I'd like to see something different.' Providers need to always be on the lookout of new forms of content. There have been some remarkably successful vehicles focusing on disability lifestyle issues, oftentimes celebrity based such as the life and story of Ray Charles. But, we also had 'Rainman,' 'Radio,' 'Sam I Am' and 'Riding the Bus with My Sister.' The most famous TV show was 'Life Goes On,' about a family with a son with Down syndrome. There have been other shows about characters with disabilities. We had 'Longstreet' and 'Ironside' and other shows, but largely, disabilities are treated like any other subject matter. Let's get what we can out it, let's do it well, let's get it on, and then let's go on to the next piece. People with disabilities complain there is no mainstream channel to market to them. We're trying to be that."
Renensland points out that people with disabilities complain that when they are seen on television and film it's often one of two stereotypes.
"When people with disabilities are seen, which is rarely, they're either seen as super-cripple or super-pity. Super-cripple raises them to a level of a superhero when it's someone who has a devastating challenge, yet somehow they have managed to overcome that disability. You see that super-cripple on a pedestal and role model, which some people don't mind being role models but some do. They're just human beings who live their lifestyle. The other side of the coin is super-pity. It's an individual with a disability in such a dreadful position that you can only thank God at night that it's not you. That's what you see on television. From a creator of content, you can see value in those storylines. One is going to make you feel good at the end and the other is going to leave you in tears. But, we're missing the other piece. The one where you get a laugh or a chuckle. That's the one that fits the human condition. Life goes on and you need to approach life through a positive vane," Renensland detailed. "As long as you can count them on one hand, as long as you can name every performer with a disability on television, for all intensive purposes, there's nobody on TV with a disability. You can't name every African-American on television, you can't name every woman on television. Television should mirror society."
Renensland realized he should do something in film and television, where he found success.
"If I can successfully start a media channel, we'll give people with disabilities jobs and make them independent. More important, we are now in the public eye. We are media, and film and television, which is viewed by everyone else. The content we create will be inclusive. We'll put people with disabilities behind the camera in a variety of positions. Our anchors will also be people who will be deaf, people who have cerebral palsy, people in wheelchairs, or people who are blind. You will see people with disabilities in all kinds of roles. All of our commercials will be closed-captioned for people who are deaf and narrated for the visually impaired. We're creating a media voice for 54 million Americans times three. If you look at the worldwide population, that's 600 million people with disabilities. Disability issues translate across geographical and language barriers more than any other issue. If you use a wheelchair in Alabama you may have more in common with the person who uses a wheelchair in Beijing than a person who lives across the hall from you."
While Renensland focuses much of his work on [with]tv, he also continues to make appearances as a public speaker on raising a child with disabilities and is busy writing a book, "Including Victoria."
"It's a memoir about the 24 years I've spent including my daughter, Victoria. People with disabilities are automatically excluded from the moment they take their first breath. We'd like to think we're setting up a parallel universe for them, but we're not. From day one, I learned in the trenches, you don't just advocate for your child's survival, you have to advocate for every aspect of their life. Raising a child is wonderful. It's challenging and it's doubly challenging when the child has disabilities because society is largely not accommodating. You have to advocate in a kind and disciplined way for your child's rights. It's like a full-time job with 70 hours of overtime," Renensland said with an honest chuckle.
"In the end," Renensland added, "I hope I've been a good parent. I hope I've been part of the solution and not part of the problem. I firmly believe everyone has a role in life and a purpose for being here. The legacy will be that [with]tv had a major impact on people with disabilities because we're starting a mainstream media channel that for the first time will include people with disabilities. This will bring the community of people with disabilities together while creating an authentic view into our community for everyone."
To access "A Different Perspective - Radio" go to www.webtalkradio.net/content/view/411/30/. The week of Monday July 21 Howard chats with Beth Haller, professor of Journalism and Media at Townson State University and a leading authority on how disabilities are portrayed in mainstream media and journalism.
Volunteers, potential investors, corporate sponsors, and those wishing to discuss speaking engagements with Howard are invited to contact him at HRenensland@with-tv.com
Please show your support for people with disabilities in the media and for their media platform by signing their support letter and leaving a comment at www.with-tv.com/support_letter.html.
Pictured: Howard Renensland with his daughter, Victoria.
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