561-338-7475
Did you get a call from 561-338-7475? Read the posts below to find out details about this number. Also report unwanted calls to help identify who is using this phone number.
summer11 Sep 2008- Thanks for the heads up. I received a call today for a filming and I called back to get a voice mail at the above number. They too wanted to use me because I am an expert in my field. I thought it was a little strange not to get a live person when I called back, so I began to research the company.
Thanks.- Has anyone who has made a contribution to this Blog ever actually worked with this media company? It appears that we have a variety of people who want to be heard and believe it to be very important to share their opinions about this company. The information that is being provided is presented in such a way that would lead one to believe that the company's legitimacy is in question. There are a number of contributions from a number of bloggers, many providing negative information. Is this information coming from parties that have firsthand knowledge through an experience with this company that did not go well? This would be important for me to know, all considering that I may have an interest in pursuing this opportunity. I have witnessed trade libel first hand and therefore don't believe everything that I read on the internet. According to the BBB, this company does a lot of business that equates to a number of stories/ business relationships each year and still they have an A- rating. In addition, after calling the Palm Beach County Film Commission, I discovered that they are looked upon with good favor and are recognized for producing excellent quality educational programming. After further investigation, it is confirmed that indeed Mr. Hugh Downs is the Host of their series on Public TV. After a long conversation with their distributor Pat Wilson at American Artists, I discovered that American Artists has been distributing to Public TV for 44 years and are representing the media company. They distribute to all 355 Public TV affiliates and a majority of those affiliates are actually requesting the programming from them. With all of this information in mind, It's hard to imagine that the negative contributors to this Blog, who are not in favor of this company's business practices have information that could take precedence over the credible information that I've discovered in my due diligence. Not to mention, it is appearing to me all the more that several of the entries on this Blog that are not favorable to this media company's business practices seem to be coming from a disgruntled employee. It’s evident that there seems to be a personal attack on this company. If this is true, my reasoning is to disqualify that type of information because I realize that there is wrong motive driving the contribution of information. Anger has a way of distorting reality and especially if projection is in the equation. It's noticeable that certain bloggers are putting in way too much effort to get their point across or cause some kind of sabotage to this company's business. Do you give the benefit of the doubt? Is this the case or are these comments being made frivously with no authentication? The irony behind all of this is that being skeptical but logical as I am, I took it upon myself to contact other media/advertising companies to see if indeed I was really getting the right amount of media for my money. Let me put it to you this way, if you have any doubt about the value that you would be getting as a result of participating in this series, call for yourself. You will be blown away. I called a variety of ad agencies and media companies, different sizes and locations. The figures that were coming back my direction for the services claimed in their Project at a Glance were no less than $350,000 plus. I must admit, I was a bit surprised. Nonetheless, very true and you should check for yourself. With all of this information in mind, I intend to proceed with this media company’s project. I will keep everyone posted on the outcome of the program. Best
- I agree with you. It does not seem like the complaints that are highlighted here are from actual clients. I've read a number of these blogs and it seems like they are from people and companies that received a phone call about their program and had suspicious thoughts and concerns before doing any quality homework or due diligence whatsoever. And, I would not consider "reading a blog" quality due diligence. If they are a legitimate company this type of blog could be devastating to them. This "beware" character is obviously a disgruntled former employee. Anyway, I would visit their facility or speak with some actual clients before making a decision.
- The company is NOT legitimate.
Quick Recap of the Scam, though it should sound familiar to most of you:
1) "Producers", who are really telemarketers working off a list (they've never heard of your company nor care) cold-call you. They use poor Hugh Downs' name and 'documentary for Public Television' in order to get past PR and marketing people and directly to the CEO or President.
2) Read a script where they first ask you questions about your life's work, feigning interest and mentioning a fictious "national audience" in order to inflame your passion. The trick is to get you imagining a PBS-style documentary.
3) Tell you the 3 places this documentary airs
A) Public Television. (The truth is they mail these poorly made infomercials to hundreds of PTV stations, hoping they air. A very few do, most don't. And if you ask for a precise time or city a PTV station will air it, they dance around telling you "it's impossible to know", then follow that up by tellig you it airs hundreds of times. It doesn't.)
B) On the Internet. (The Truth is they post it on YouTube. Ummm, anyone can do that for free. And attach it to an email blast that would cost about $500 if you did it yourself. There are plenty of companies that do these blasts for you, especially in the 'one-time shot" form. So you could do this yourself for $500 or less. And keep in mind the poor quality.)
C) My personal favorite... on primetime, national TV. (The Truth is they send these poorly made infomercials to CNBC, Fox, etc., and hope they play it. That's why they show you POST-AIRING AFFIDAVITS and not the media buy itself. They don't buy the time. It costs the networks nothing to air these things, so they might have thrown one on at some point at on a Saturday night dead-zone. Point is --- there is an infintisimal chance it will air at all, and no chance at it airing the amount of time they say. It's the semantical game of "Distributed to." That's why they provide POST Airing Reports.)
4) They'll pressure you with some fictious deadlines (usually 4 days from the time of the call), when they'll send you a packet of fluff.
5) They'll call you back, usually with a "Vice President of Programming in the CLOSER ROLE, telling you that you have to move on this today and so forth.
Sound familiar? They've been running this scam under different incarnations for years now. Check the links I provided. They are helpful. And the fact that they keep posting nonsense here, as well as a Bartlett's-worthy post from their lawyer, should be more damning against them than anything I can tell you.
Stay away from these guys! Good Luck!- Here's a good way to start on you due diligence with these scammers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/us/16pitch.html
http://www.edelmandigital.com/blog/2008/08/ex ... ytoplay_pr.html
http://floridapayforplayexposed.blogspot.com/
And, for everyone reading this and all the people at Vision Media Television/VT Media/Giving Back Series/Heroes of Hope/National Business Report... or whatever they are calling your scam these days:
The information that I provide comes courtesy of someone who worked their for a short period and was diguested by their unethical practices. They way they preyed on small companies and laughed at those for signing up. The background information I provide in the links comes from places like the NEW YORK TIMES and THE CONSUMERIST... hardly entities which fall under the category of "disgruntled employees." I'm just trying to help people from falling for this scam. Check my other posts for names to google. And just remember: Where there is smoke...there is fire.- Look alive -- These people have gone so far as to change their phone number.
Be on the lookout for calls from (561) 826-0770. What does that say about a company who has to change their phone and company name?
One more thing I just learned:
They use umbrella "shows" where the telemarketers can focus on a particular type of business. For example, some guy might be doing a "series" targeting surgeons (after all, surgeons have money and, typically, egos) called THE CUTTING EDGE. But even THE CUTTING EDGE series (which, as we know by now, is not a "series" at all -- just a fishing hole for these people) falls under their "NATIONAL MEDICAL REPORT". They compartmentalize so if one vein of their scam is illuminated, they can just shift down another vein without having to start over. But, they do often have to start over -- hence the various name changes of their "media company."
So -- some of their umbrella "series" are:
NATIONAL EDUCATION REPORT
NATIONAL BUSINESS REPORT
NATIONAL CULINARY REPORT
NATIONAL MEDICAL REPORT
ECO-PLANET / NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
and some subsets to that are:
GIVING BACK SERIES
HEROES OF HOPE
CUTTING EDGE
HEALTHY PATHS
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
etc etc.
And this is just recent. Check the links I provided for more background.
Once again -- I hope this helps.- You must be extremely bitter to make this your life's ambition. We would be more than happy to discuss your problem with our company if you contact us. If you are willing to meet with us you can avoid future litigation. We realize that you want to avoid identifying yourself, but I can assure you that we are very close to obtaining your IP address. I can also assure you that we will file a lawsuit against you personally when we identify you, if you do not contact us now to discuss your issues with our organization. This is not a threat, its a promise. Unfortunately, the internet and blogs like this one provide a place to hide, but the time for honoring yourself on this blog will soon come to an end.
- I guess it must be PBS' life ambition also right?
http://www.pbs.org/aboutpbs/aboutpbs_faqanswers.html
Q. Does PBS have any affiliation with programs produced by Vision Media Television (or VM Television)?
Q. I've been contacted by a TV producer who claims that he will feature my company in a national public television program in exchange for a fee. Is PBS aware of this?
A. A number of businesses have contacted PBS to ask us about our relationship with the producers of various television programs carrying titles such as Giving Back, Learning About, and The National Report Series. According to representatives of these businesses, the producers have offered to feature the representatives' businesses in a television program and indicated that the program will be made available on national public television. Based upon representations made to them by the producers, the businesses were led to believe that the producers were associated with PBS and that PBS intended to distribute or otherwise endorsed their programming.
PBS wishes to clarify that it is not associated with and does not endorse, distribute programming for, review underwriting for or otherwise have any business relationship with the following production companies: VM Television, Vision Media Television, Paradigm Media Group, PMG, PMGTV, Infinity Media Group, Roadshow Productions, Family Television Studios, United Media Communications Group, American Review TV, Business Break TV, Event Media TV, or Global Television Studios. PBS does not oversee the production or distribution of any programs associated with any of these companies.
If you are solicited by a production company that claims or implies an association with PBS, please notify PBS.
- We are a full service production facility that provides a variety of media services and program opportunities for our clients. As it states in our Agreement, we distribute some of our programs to Public Television affiliates in all 50 states, free of charge. These individual stations receive broadcast rights to our programs and can air them for up to one year, at their own discretion. Vision Media does not distribute programming to PBS ( PBS also provides programming to the Public Television affiliates around the country ).
Many people make the mistake of assuming that PBS and Public Television are one and the same because they view PBS programs on Public Television stations. There are several major program providers that distribute content to Public Television. The major distributors are APT (American Public Television), NETA (National Education Telecommunications Association) and PBS (Public Broadcasting System). In addition to these major program providers, there is a plethora of small to medium size production companies, such as ours, that provide programming to the local and regional individual Public Television station affiliates.
We also provide media placement with national networks as well. This time is purchased and is unrelated to our Public Television program. We can provide airing affidavits upon request to any potential clients that would like to see them.
Please contact us if you have any questions.- BEWARE : THIS IS A SCAM. Vision Media or VT Media or National Education Report or Heroes of Healthcare/Sport/Etc... or whatever they may be calling themselves these days is your basic telemarketing fraud. I know... because I know someone who worked there briefly before she quit in disgust.
Here's the angle from the producer/telemarketer:
1) Come up with any kind of all-encompassing "story"
2) Look for "experts" by buying a list or creating one.
3) Read a script (these people are NOT television producers but telemarketers.) It will play to your ego and/or your passion in your work.
4) Pressure you into signing a production authorization in 3-4 days.
The key phrase in the production authorization (PA) is "DISTRIBUTED TO". Basically, they'll come out and shoot whatever story you want on poor quality film. Edit it with the same quality you'd find in high school video class. Then send it to individual Public Television stations around the country, which may or may not use them (probably not - and definitely not in the major markets -- call around and check for yourself). They'll also send it to CNBC, Fox, etc. where it is then up to the network to show it or not. That's why they offer POST airing reports, instead of showing you the media buy itself.
STEER CLEAR OF THESE PEOPLE. THEY ARE SCAMMERS. And don't, under any circumstances, send them money. Ignore their threats. They are scammers.
Some names to google: Bill Hough. Dr. Matt McMahon. Christian (Chris) Kelch. Michael Rawlinson.- Not only have they changed their phone number -- they've also changed their name again!
It's now VT MEDIA PRODUCTIONS
New Name, Same Old Scam.
Add that name to the list. For other incarnations, check this link.
http://floridapayforplayexposed.blogspot.com/
- Rating: +1 nonprofit - 23 Jan 2009
My organization received the same call and opportunity. I did bring this to my President's attention albeit a bit late. We have already signed on and have sent in our production expense and organizational information. I I also brought our concerns up to our Producer and she assures me everything is above ground. We have a shoot scheduled next month. We are/were excited about this. I'M hoping for the best, and will keep you posted.
Reply
Rating: 0 RR - 23 Jan 2009
I'm curious - in your contracts, are you guaranteed placement / distribution of the show on television, and if so, on what network and in what time slot. My concern was that they get you on the hook for a production, which may very well be legit, but can't actually place the show anywhere on TV or place the show on a channel without good reach and/or in a poor time slot . I hope that's not true for your organization's sake.
Placement on the internet shouldn't be one of the choices, at least not at the fees suggested in one of the earlier posts.
Reply
Rating: 0 nonprofit - 27 Jan 2009
RR
Yes we signed a contract,"Production Authorization", that stated all the commitments for both sides. Placements are to be guaranteed and we will get post airing reports from all the airings we receive. The networks are flexible to my understanding and everything is prime and peak time. We had the same concern about a 6:00 am time slot and was assured, as the contract stated, everything is a prime or peak time slots. We were most interested in the footage and e-mail format to get a message out. The company has an A rating with BBB so we are keeping positive. I have not heard or found any negative information regarding a organizations experience with the program as of yet.
hope this helps.
As you can see this is my third post. We just had our shoot. The Field Producer/Director Jen was extremely professional and a pleasure to work with. She had everything very organized. The lighting was exceptional, as I have experience in this area. I will send them a letter on my letterhead referencing the fact. I am looking forward to seeing our first edits. I don't understand all the post here, but it does seem someone has a personal agenda as the company has stated to me. Why would someone post, much less visit here that has had no contact or experience with the company? Again, I brought up the airings to Jen, though I'm more interested in the footage and the e-mail, and she confirmed we are guaranteed the number of airings stated in the contract. I also contacted the Palm Beach Phone commission and they were aware of the company and everything was fine.
- This is their new website.
http://www.vision-media.tv/
Everything I've heard of this company is scandalous. - Here is our scam email...
Enclosed are comprehensive materials regarding our documentary series hosted by Mr. Hugh Downs. As we discussed, our series is uniquely designed as educational content for Public Television for invited guests. Distribution for the project also includes commercial network airings on Fox News, CNBC, MSNBC, Voice of America and other equivalent networks based on your organization’s mission and message. As part of the project we include an email narrowcasting campaign utilizing web streaming from your own website via a digital file and a call to action.
We have three basic criteria by which we choose participants for this series:
1. A storyline that is educationally beneficial.
2. A targeted audience for the educational message.
3. A participant’s desire and ability to educate.
If you meet these criteria, and we invite you to participate on the program, we then have three requirements:
1. A one day structured onsite location shoot with interviews.
2. The Production Cost and Location Cost -
a. A $22,900 pre-production fee.
b. A one day one location travel expense if the story is shot outside of South Florida.
3. Adherence to time frames for the production cycle.
In the next few days we will be reviewing your organization’s story. Once you have reviewed the information attached in this email, please contact me as soon as possible, as we rely heavily upon the economies of scale that accrue when our timelines are met. We will be contacting you on the date we discussed to schedule the program.
To see video examples of our series online, and follow this link http://www.insightptv.com/ and click on your respective industry on the left hand side of the site. There you can view sample programs.
The information contained in this email is also available online in our Special Invitation Area. To view this information online click HERE, and then the arrows to turn the pages. The Project At A Glance portion will describe our conversation.
You will need a user name and password:
User = guest
Password = 2010
Please over-night any information to:
Insight
Jesse Gietz, Producer
595 South Federal Highway, Suite 600
Boca Raton, FL 33432
Our program is approved as reliable educational content and advised by many upstanding organizations. Please take a moment to review some of our references by clicking on the link under our Content Advisers section.
We look forward to working with you.
Best Regards,
--
Jesse Gietz
Television Producer
Insight Entertainment
Direct: (561) 503-6106
Fax: (561) 431-3799
Other phone numbers in the 561 area code