5613387475

I was contacted and they expressed an interest in my company. After the initial call I wanted to do some due diligence. They checked out with the BBB and have an A- rating. I also spoke with some references and they actually had good experiences overall. There were a couple of delays, but nothing out of the ordinary. We decided to give it a shot. Everyone that we have dealt with has been very professional and I have no complaints at this stage. The scripts were also very good and we have a shoot date coming up soon. I will keep you posted.

I got a voice mail yesterday about a security show needing my expert advise and returned the call this morning. Then I saw this posting. I got a call from Cathy Proctor while I was reading this. I gave her some information and she asked me a few questions. I told her I was mainly involved with the federal government and did not advertise. She basically gave me the brush off and told me to look at the website below. It is very similar to the one at the top of this post. Not sure one way or the other if this is legit, but like daddy always said, if it sounds too good to be true...

http://businesstrendstv.com/

They have an A- rating with the BBB because they change their name every few weeks. See the link I provided. And the question is not whether they will come and shoot your story, it's whether it actually gets aired. Here's some free advice: IT DOESN'T. So if you wanted to hire a production house to produce a corporate documentary for your website and link it to an email blast -- it would cost you less than 10K. Better quality,too.

Can't say you weren't warned. But I guess that old adage still rings true: "There's a sucker born every minute..." Without it, these people would have disappeared a long time ago.

Good luck!

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.

what do you advise if we were already sold? Is there a legal way of the contract? No money has yet been given.We were contacted before we saw these posts, and beleived them, stupid or not, I, personally am not used to being lied to, yet no tape of this conversation is available, and it is my own bad jusdgement to have signed "under pressure" for a delayed production reason of any kind.(it occurred due to a miscommunication with development team about the negotiated contract and while the "pressure was on"...PLEASE ADVISE...

Clearly the "sell" will NOT produce the air time...how do we get out of this? We cannot afford the court defense.

Sorry to hear that.
I checked with my friend who used to work there. She says that clients "dropping out" after signing the production authorization is a semi-common ocurrence. What happens next is that they will send threatening letters full of sound and fury, but signifying nothing. They'll be from lawyers they keep on retainer for this kind of thing, as I'm told it happens a few times every month. HOLD THE LINE! The last thing these people want is a protracted fight when they do 20-40 "deals" a month. After some bravado, which is all these simpletons have, they'll slink away and focus their attention elsewhere.

If it helps -- here's an article THE NEW YORK TIMES did on them a few months back. You could contact them as well.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/us/16pitch.html

Check my previous link for more info on these guys. Let me know if I can help further!

Helpful links:

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 it's not that they "lie". They would have gotten busted by the police by then, although, they did have to pay some hefty fines a few years back. What they do is play semantical games. "Distributed to" being the prime example. They play word games that
1) paints a certain picture in your head of PBS-style documentary
2) make you believe this will be seen by millions of people  
3) protects themselves legally.

So, their charade, while not technically "illegal", is only highly unethical. Only glad to help. And, rest assured, all these posts "praising" VT Media/Vision Media/Heroes of Hope/Giving Back or whatever they try to con you with...is only them skulking about. If they were real, they wouldn't bother.

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.

I checked the BBB and they have been listed there for a while with only 2 complaints and they were both addressed according to the BBB. I am still unsure if this type of project is a good fit for a small school.

Has anyone contacted the Palm Beach Film Commission. They would know if they are a legitimate company.

Please contact us directly and we will provide airing affidavits and sample segments that highlight our production quality.

I was also contacted by one of your producers. If I contact the producer ( Linda ) can she send me these airing affidavits? I do not believe everthing that I read on the internet and if your company can provide this information, I may consider the opportunity.

Our small business who provides therapy to individuals with special needs got a call this week from tv producer,Janette Morrison, asking us to take part in the documentary Heroes of Hope, hosted by Hugh Downs.  I'm so glad I looked into this b/c they were asking for close to $26,000 ($22,900 for pre-production cost and $3,000 for something else fishy)...money we don't have.  I thought it sounded sketchy, and was not impressed with their website www.heroesofhopetv.com which had uninformative video clips (opposite of their "educational" message) that looked of unprofessional quality, and the website had TYPOS.  Can someone tell me how Hugh Downs allows his name to be a part of this?  Does he consent to this scam, or is he also a victim?  The numbers that have called us are:  561-826-0072, 561-826-0070.  I think it's unethical and disturbing that they can legally misrepresent themselves and take money from hard-working idealistic businesses in the name of individuals with special needs.  I would not want their karma.

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

A follow up email from a phone conversation. If they dont spend the time to punctuate correctly then what would they do with $22K?

Leon Grober to andrew
show details Feb 10 (1 day ago) Reply


As per our conversation I am fowarding you the user name and password the username is eco and the password is 2009.if you need to reach me call me at 561 826 0770 ext 240 call me if you have any questions.
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Andrew Michler to Leon
show details 5:11 PM (23 hours ago) Reply


Sorry Leon, perhaps if you speek slower you'd be more convincing, but I am not a sales expert.

Andrew Michler


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Leon Grober to me
show details 6:49 AM (9 hours ago) Reply


Cant really understand what you mean by that but if your calling me a fast talking salesman then you completly do not have a clue as to what I was offering.So please do your research and then (I might not have to sound convincing to you)I was offering your org. the chance to reach 40 million people.have a great day

I proudly represent Vision Media. It is a reputable 22 year old production company. I am an IP/internet lawyer and I am tired of cowards sniping from trees of anonymity and ISPs who think they can always hide behind 230 immunity. It seems to me that there are many sophmoric and bitter people out there with nothing better to do than to bash and judge others. The situation brings to mind the cowards who purposely carry a pen into a bathroom to write baseless, defamatory things about others on the walls. It is simply irresponsible, and gives bloggers a bad name. I have first hand knowledge with regard to this company, the nature of their business and the folks who have been operating it for last 22 years. It is so easy to be a do-nothing critic, but we should listen to President Teddy Roosevelt: "It is not the critic who counts, not the person who points out how others stumble or how the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to those in the arena; whose face is marred by sweat and blood; who err and come up short again and again who know the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spend themselves in worthy causes; who at best know in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at worst if they fail, at least fail while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those timid and cold souls who know neither victory or defeat." Rather than hiding behind the anonymity of these pseudonyms why not post your real names, addresses and phone numbers  so we can have a real dialogue. Vision Media is not a scamming telemarketing company they are a reputable television production team.

@Lee are you suing the New York Times and the Consumerist as well?
http://consumerist.com/5041813/so+called-pbs- ... -for-20-million

Hugh Downs is semi-retired, no longer employed by any reputable news organization.  He has also done infomercials in recent years.

Even when he was co-hosting the Today show, he also hosted a game show (Concentration).

This is just a high tech version of the "puff sheet racket."