The view from the other side

I recently told a group of my mother’s friends that I was interning at MPT for the summer. Their immediate reaction was a resounding “Tell them no more Celtic Woman!”

As an intern on the development side of things here, I didn’t deliver the message. Nonetheless, that encounter is pretty indicative of the general attitude toward pledge drive time. I remember watching the Simon and Garfunkle concert in Central Park with my family, and the annoyance that came every time it was interrupted with a request for money.

Now, though, I have the view from the other side of pledge. Last month I attended intern night for the pledge drive, and a group of interns staffed the phones for the evening. To be honest, it was a little surreal. You get so used to seeing that wall of phones, and it never occurred to me that I would be the one answering. It turned out to be really fun. I got to talk to some really sweet people who were pledging, and I got a chance to get chat with interns from other departments.

I think that’s the best part about MPT pledge: it’s an opportunity to bring people together. I recently had the chance to sit down with Joe Krushinsky, the Vice President of Institutional Advancement here at MPT, to ask him about his thoughts on pledge.

Pledge provides a way for those who work at MPT, like Joe, to speak directly to viewers and get immediate feedback. If a show is popular or appreciated, there will be more calls during its run. It’s also an opportunity for the organizations staffing the phones to get invaluable face time with public television viewers.

Joe talked to me about how state and corporate funding has been drying up, and MPT has been increasingly forced to rely on public support. Public television was initially funded with a grant from the Ford Foundation, which was based on the premise that the projects it funded, if successful, would eventually find ways to fund themselves. For public television, the answer was pledge. Pledge reaches exactly those who rely on and enjoy MPT, and acts as a link between the station and the viewer.

Now I’m thinking pledge is actually a pretty cool thing. It works, and because it works, it demonstrates that people want the kind of programming and public outreach MPT provides. However, I also think it’s important to remember that not everyone can contribute, and that’s fine. If your family can afford it, wonderful. But anyone who is struggling financially should remember that MPT still values them as viewers, even when contributing isn’t an option.

So what do you think? When you get past the annoyance of interrupting your favorite programs, is pledge a necessary evil, a valuable opportunity, or something else entirely?


Ruth Goodlaxson
Outreach Intern

Monet of the Moon

Twenty five years ago when I was reporting for a Baltimore radio station, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing one of the 12 men who walked on the moon: Apollo astronaut Alan Bean. It was one of the best and most memorable interviews of my career.

What made that interview in 1984 so special was that not only was he able to speak eloquently and evocatively about the impact his lunar stroll and flight to the moon had on his life, but that he actually started a new career as an artist!

This hot shot rocket ace and moonwalker turned in his resignation at NASA in 1981—while training to fly the Space Shuttle—to pursue his passion as a painter. Colleagues thought he was having a mid-life crisis. But his unique perspective and experience allows him to paint what only a select few have ever experienced: flights to the moon. His impressionistic moonscapes capture some of the untold stories of man’s first exploration of the moon along with some that are pure fantasy.

It was my pleasure again this week to meet Alan Bean at the opening of a new exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum, entitled “Alan Bean: Painting Apollo, First Artist on Another World.” I tagged along with our State Circle crew as Alan provided a guided a tour of the exhibit for reporter Cilinda Pena. What you’ll see when the program airs tonight at 7:30 p.m. is a charming man and a very talented artist who makes his incredible journey accessible to all of us. The exhibit will be open to the public until January 2010.


Mike Golden
Managing Director, Communications
(That's Mike, on the left, and former NASA Astronaut-turned-artist Alan Bean on the right, 25 years after they first met. Bean will be on tonight's State Circle as the nation prepares to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first manned moon landing. To see more of his art, visit www.alanbeangallery.com)

Why didn't they teach economics like this when I was a kid?

Bizkids.com, the website companion to the BizKid$ TV show, really is a fun place to spend time online. (And not just because there’s a really addictive lemonade stand simulator that tells me what factors affect my credit score. Though I must admit it’s a draw!)

Every episode is available to watch for free online (some are even available in Spanish), and the site includes supplemental classroom activities. The show teaches kids about entrepreneurship and community service, with tools available for starting their own business or service project. Every episode is also entertaining; they are fast-paced, funny, and feature real young people with interesting stories about their “biz.”

I remember taking economics as a high schooler, and honestly, it was just boring. We learned how to balance a check book. We read out of a text book about bear markets and bull markets. We learned about a lot that just seemed like it didn’t apply to any of us. After all, most of the students in the class didn’t come from families that invested money, so why should we care about that stuff? The part I remember most was this horrible video about an island and the people who lived there, which was meant to teach us about how market economies evolved and function.

I’m really glad someone has finally moved past this model. One of my favorite episodes of BizKid$ highlights the story of a group of high schoolers who set up their own recording label. Another features a boy who raised money to buy rocking chairs for his local hospital. BizKid$ somehow manages to teach economic concepts without alienating kids and teens, its target audience. It also emphasizes financial literacy in terms of the larger community, rather than just the individual. There are resources available for download for classroom activities, and suggestions on how to best use the show in a classroom setting. So, teachers, take a look!

My record for the lemonade stand game was $352. Give it a try and tell us your high score!


Ruth Goodlaxson
Outreach Intern

One and done...but at what price?

Left to right: O.J. Mayo, former guard for the USC Trojans, and
Tim Floyd, former head coach of the USC Trojans

It has come to my attention recently that, when it comes to college basketball, the players that make the most appearances on ESPN’s Sportscenter highlight reels, or have gotten the most hype before an NBA draft (i.e. Derrick Rose, O.J. Mayo, Kevin Love) are the players that have utilized the infamous “One and Done Rule.”

The rule states that men’s college basketball players may attend college and play basketball for one full year and then declare themselves eligible for the NBA. As long as they don’t sign with an agent, these players are given the option to return to college if they are not satisfied with their draft status, or even if they have doubts of getting drafted at all.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking any of these players or their abilities. Some of them are already off to a great start in their young professional careers, and there are other players who either left college after one year (Carmelo Anthony), or went to the NBA right out of high school (Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett), and have enjoyed a tremendous professional career. However, no one can predict how long an athlete’s career will be. All it takes is one ACL tear or one herniated disk, and an athlete’s career is already in jeopardy. Better yet, give a professional scout a chance to find a player who is younger than and just as skilled as the current star player of a professional team, and that star player’s days are already numbered.

Therefore, I present this million-dollar question to potential future NBA players who are contemplating the “One and Done” rule, and also to young, current NBA players on the rise: Do you have a backup plan? If the bright lights of your young professional career suddenly go off and you’re no longer able to play basketball, do you have that degree in education or economics that you can turn to?

If I’ve learned anything in my young life thus far, it’s that education is something that should never be taken for granted, especially since that degree in education or economics can take you far in life, both mentally and financially—the same way that basketball can. For some athletes, a college degree turns out to be the saving grace that keeps them from falling into financial ruin.

I also ask, in light of the recent scandals that have come to light in the world of college basketball, just how much does the success outweigh the risks?

For Tim Floyd, former head coach of the USC Trojans college basketball team, was all the success and fame with star player O.J. Mayo, which included a trip to the NCAA Tournament during the 2007-2008 college basketball season, worth it? Recently, Floyd resigned as head coach after allegations of having paid up to $1,000 to Mayo’s “handler” two years ago before Mayo started attending USC.

Along with that, for University of Memphis and former Tigers’ basketball star (and newly crowned NBA rookie of the year) Derrick Rose, was all of his fame and success truly worth it? If allegations against Rose are true—that he did not take the SATs and instead had someone take them for him—Memphis will be in danger of having their 38 wins and trip to the 2007-2008 Final Four and National Championship game all taken away from them by the NCAA.

Should something be done about the “One and Done” rule? If so, what? Are the players and families who follow this rule making the right decision? Would you ever support the rule if your child was, or is, a potential professional basketball player?


Ricky Howard
Institutional Advancement Intern