From Rudy Lutter
(Editor’s Note: When the excellent Ken Burns series “The Civil War” aired originally on PBS several years ago, the visual elements in each program were accessible because of video description. However, when the series was re-mastered, the descriptive narrative was left out.
When Rudy Lutter sat down to enjoy a long-awaited re-broadcast of the series, he was disappointed to find that the descriptions were no longer available. So, Mr. Lutter wrote the following letter to the president of General Motors, the corporation which funded the re-mastering of the series. We publish Mr. Lutter’s letter in case any of our readers would like to join with him in communicating to General Motors how important video description is to those of us who want to watch this, and future, Ken Burns re-mastered series.
According to Mary Watkins of WGBH, “Mark Twain” and “Thomas Jefferson” will include described video when those series are re-mastered.)
Mr. Rick Wagoner
President & Chief Executive Officer
General Motors, Inc.
300 Renaissance Center, Mail Code 482-C39B50
Detroit, MI 48265
Dear Mr. Wagoner:
I have been “viewing” the documentary, “The Civil War,” on PBS, produced by Mr. Ken Burns and made possible by the financial support of General Motors Corporation.
The programs are excellent. My thanks to Mr. Burns and you and General Motors for a top-flight, entertaining, educational contribution to our society. I’m sure there will be many re-broadcasts requested.
As a blind person, I note that there’s only one thing missing: video description. This is a system whereby a signal is broadcast on the secondary audio programming channel, giving a verbal description of what is happening on the screen when the narrator is not talking. The viewer selects the SAP option by pushing the SAP button on a stereo television set; those who do not wish to receive it need not choose it.
There are more than 1.3 million blind people in our country, in addition to many elderly people who have poor vision. I ask that you consider increasing your grant to Mr. Burns to cover the cost of adding video description, which, as I understand it, costs approximately $3,000 per viewing hour.
Again, my deepest thanks to you and your colleagues at General Motors.
Sincerely, Rudolph Lutter
cc: Mr. Ken Burns, Florentine Films, 2112 Broadway, Suite 403, New York, NY 10023