TeleVISIONS (January/February 1976)

2 FEEDBACK Combatting entropy in our information system . Courtvid vs. The Poor Your recent article, “Mr. Mason, You're Overruled,” demonstrates an important lack of analysis of an issue which goes beyond the subject of this particular article. The article accurately describes recent video technical advances in courtroom litigation but it fails to consider the political consequences of these “reforms.” | had thought that progressive persons in this country had learned the dangers of supporting technical achievement for its own sake. But the authors here did not even ask the questions which should have been obvious: who benefits and who pays the price for these technical advances? In the field of courtroom litigation poor and working people and particularly third world people will lose heavily if many of these proposed video innovations are widely instituted. It is true that the court system is archaic and filled with time wasting procedures which operate to prevent the timely trial of important cases. But it is also true that left lawyers in recent years have been able to use the court system to win important vic tories for oppressed groups inours ; Since the legal system is supposed : preserve existing economic and social relationships — those persons who control the system have been attempting for several years to remove the loopholes and abberations which have enabled the left to. use the legal system against itself. Every. attempt to stifle the left and its lawyers has been dressed in the clothes of “court reform.” I’m sure the authors of your article recognized the more blatant attempts for what they were, for example, the efforts to remove the right to a jury trial. Yet the arguments are the same as those contained in their article. Their article correctly states that a trial which has been sterilized and videotaped can be shown to a jury in a shorter period of time. But it is the very parts left out that give poor and working people at least a fighting chance in the court system. When representing a third world client a lawyer must educate the jury in regard to the overall racist nature of the circumstances which forced the third world person into the court. In a criminal case it is the racism of the police and the racist nature of the prosecutor who asks life imprisonment for robbery of a liquor store and probation for politicians who commit theft of millions. This education occurs in part during the course of the argument between lawyer and opposition and judge. The lawyer is usually over-ruled: ‘Mr. , the police are not on trial here . . .” But often the jury sees and agrees with the defense attorney’s point. Under the video system all such opportunities would be lost. Another problem concerns the prejudices of the jury itself. Most juries in this country are dominated by white middleaged middle-class persons, who usually begin the trial assuming that the representatives of authority are telling the truth and that the poor or third world witness is lying. Sometimes these prejudices can be overcome in the face to face confrontations within the courtroom such as when the client takes the witness stand and looks the jurors in the eye. The distance and impersonal nature of a video trial prevent the client or his/her lawyer from building a relationship with the jury. The important point concerning _ all technical and reform proposals is to analyze their political effect, before accepting them with open arms. Technical advances are no more objective than any other changes proposed for our society. Martin Eichner Menlo Park Law Collective. Plagiarism in L.A. We enjoyed reading the issue, “Beyond Open Channels — The Second Stop: Production as Process” in v. 3, no. 4 (Oct./ Nov. 75). The Multi-Media Center of the Ramah Navajo Schools looks forward to contributing a story on the uses of VTR in an off-reservation Navajo community. We are, however, quite disturbed by the inclusion of the article written by Dick Barton, “Los Angeles Parks Department Uses Videovan.” This report raises an ethical issue central to all published reports, namely the matter of authorship and its responsibility for acknowledging fully the contributions of others. For instance, soi bs has Re al ireatwetaens fact authoring articles or reports describing research actually undertaken by their students. Such practice has recently come under indictment and is being investigated by at least one professional organization, the American Anthropology Association’s Ethics Committee. In some respects, the Videovan article represents a structurally similar situation in which Dick Barton, the Program Coordinator, has ‘‘we’d” an article while neglecting to credit the Project Director, Ronald Rundstrom, who actually was responsible for the video tapes cited in the article. Mr. Barton clearly left the impression of full responsibility for the Videovan project, although his actual position was primarily one of administration for the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. The project was, almost in its entirety, developed and implemented in a field situation by the director, Ron Rundstrom and his assistants, most recently Pat Rosa. As a co-writer of this letter, |, Clinton Bergum, am personally saddened that it should have to be written. | know Ron Rundstrom and Pat Rosa personally from joint film projects in San Francisco. Numerous times during the first two summers of the project, | accompanied the Videovan on outings to Watts, Little Tokyo, and East Los Angeles. During this period | met and got to know many of the teenagers responsible for making Eddie’s Love and Pelado. However, not until this year, 1975, after the demise of the project, did | ever meet Dick Barton. His article in your October/November issue is a blatant case of career building, outright plagiarism of the work of others. The article you have published is clearly a situation in which a supervisor has ripped-off the work of his subordinates. Clint Bergum, Ron Light Instructors, Multi-Media Center Navajo Bilingual Bicultural Education Program Ramah Navajo High School Power of Self To Joan Goldsmith: | read with great fascination and excitement your article “Seeing Ourselves to Change Ourselves” in TeleVISIONS. It arrived at a time when | was creating a course, Power of the Self, for K-8 teacher in-segvice. My hesitancy to explore use of video tape equipment was overcome with your vivid description of video tape work. Now into our fourth week in Power of the Self, videotape has been a dynamic instrument. Thus far, each participant has experienced being taped while talking on a selfchosen emotionally laden subject while other participants acted as audio, video, affect receivers who give feedback followed by other fishbowl feedback. And finally a round of “behavior seen as an asset’ and ‘“‘behavior to work at achieving or changing.” Later each participant comes in to privately view and discuss the tape with myself and co-leader. The openness in feedback exchange has been significant and of some depth. We are very pleased ‘with this beginning. And certainly appre ciate your intelligent article and consequent inspiration here. (Mrs.) Carole H. Franks Educational Consultant — In the Oct/Nov issue, Theresa Mack wrote about ‘‘Video Penpals.”’ Your readers might like to know about a project called Student Video Explorations: Report and Directory to Schools Exchanging Half-Inch TV Tapes. |It was begun and co-ordinated by Kathleen Busick, who was working for the Department of Education, Educational Television, 1211 Waialae Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii 86816. She has since moved to Rhode Island, but continues to co-ordinate the project, and |’m sure Hawaii would forward any inquiries. The project’s aim is to put schools interested in exchanging student-made halfinch tapes in contact with each other. The directory lists the schools, which range from elementary to university level, along with basic information: what teacher or administrator to contact, what video equipment is being used, the subject areas of the tapes, and a brief description of the school and community. The first directory contained primarily schools which had already found penpal partners, Ms. Busick having served as a clearinghouse to match them. But | believe the plan is for future directories to serve: this matching function. Participation in the project is free, and | found Ms. Busick most enthusiastic and helpful. Should you wish to publish this information, it would probably be best to obtain her Rhode Island address. Marilyn Freund Oakland. Calif. Unemployment In Vol. 3, No. 3 of TeleVISIONS, your article on survival discusses Avrutis’ How to Collect Unemployment Benefits. There is a much better book on the subject you may be interested in: Your Legal Guide to Unemployment Insurance by Honigsberg (Golden Rain Press, available from Book People or RPM Distributors). —Living Batch Bookstore, Albuquerque, N.M. Teachers & Writers “Real-Life Soap Opera” and ‘Creative Video Uses”, two articles by Theresa Mack which appeared in last month’s educational issue, were reprinted from Teachers & Writers Collaborative publications. Teachers & Writers Collaborative sends writers and other artists into public schools to work with children and teachers in the areas of creative writing, drama, art, filmmaking and video. The Collaborative publishes. a magazine and books on their activities and the children’s works. Teachers & Writers Magazine (3 issues / yr.): 3 issues/$5; 6 issues/$9; 9 issues / $12. Back issues with video articles: Spring '73; Spring '75; Fall 75; available for $2 each. For publications or further subscription information write: Teachers & Writers Collaborative. 186 West 4th Street, 5th fl. N.Y., N.Y. 10014 (212-691-6590). San Jose Goof | am writing on behalf of the Cable Television Outreach (CATVO) Project staff to a a Statement 0 ana to Barry Verdi J. min th he Octobe Novetiber issue of Tele VISIONS. In order to avoid further misunderstandings and to reassure interested readers that CATVO is in no way a rival project to Mr. Verdi's, | would like to point out that state and local officials do not fund our project nor did the City of San Jose initiate our project in terms of approving it over any other proposed project. al Ours is a federally funded project whose monies come from the Library Services and Construction Act; our function is to experiment with library oriented television programming. We are headquartered at San Jose Public Library and are administered by the California State Library through our local South Bay Cooperative Library System. CATVO shows many of its programs on Gill Cable Company’s Government Channel 9B in San Jose and Campbell, each week. . . . and by Teleprompter of Milpitas, anearby community... . We all enjoy reading Tele VISIONS! Ms. Virginia Carpio, librarian CATVO Project N.J. Update Update on the Morris County Video Project described by Chuck Anderson in Video Power: in the two years following the disbursal of $61,250 in federal and local funds, Thomas Elliot, coordinator of A-V services, reports that only now will the system become available to community groups and qualified individuals. As of this writing, there is no indication whatever that the electronic town hall concept advocated by Elliot is even in the planning stages. | am currently seeking funds to cover expenses of color videotaping a mythological exploration tour of Greece with Joseph Campbell. Costs of the tour alone total $3,300. Anyone interested in this project may contact me at the above address. John Downey Morris Plains, N.J. ¥