Nineteen years ago, Computer Chronicles was launched as the first ever weekly network television show devoted to personal computers. It happened because bulletin board sysops found out about the show (which was airing locally in the San Francisco Bay Area) and called their local PBS stations to ask them to carry the program. As a result of the efforts of local users groups, Computer Chronicles was soon being broadcast in more than 200 cities around the country.

For some reason, many PBS station program directors now think computer technology is old hat and that the excitement over the Internet is passe.

So we need your help, once again, to remind these television gatekeepers that the personal technology revolution is alive and well and that users like you want a weekly television program that delivers useful information on new hardware, software, and the Web.

If your local PBS station is not carrying Computer Chronicles and/or Net Cafe (our show all about the Internet) I would appreciate your assistance in contacting the station and urging them to carry both shows. PBS stations are very sensitive to the opinions of their viewers (and contributors) and a few calls or emails can make a big difference.

Computer Chronicles and Net Cafe have been recognized repeatedly for their journalistic excellence with a long string of awards and honors. The programs are viewed by more than a million people each week and are seen in more than a hundred countries around the world. They should be on in your town!

We've set up special pages on our web sites just for you so you can get updated contact information for your local PBS station. Please go to either:

http://www.computerchronicles.org/forug.html or http://www.netcafe.org/forug.html for program director email addresses and phone numbers.

Thanks so much for your help.

Stewart Cheifet
Managing Editor
Computer Chronicles / Net Cafe

David Fradin, Managing Director Pacific Management Partners: http://www.pacmanage.com Email: dfradin@pacmanage.com Please send him an email if you use this article. There is no restriction against any non-profit group using the article as long as it is kept in context, with proper credit given to the author. This article is brought to you by the Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an International organization to which this user group belongs.

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