FAT: What No One Is Telling You Monthly Outreach E-Newsletter

February 2007

“Weight loss is not a simple balance between energy in and energy out. If it were, we would have solved the obesity problem long ago.”  Dr. Lee Kaplan

In this issue:

• Welcome from Executive Producer Naomi Boak
• What is FAT?
• TAKE ONE STEP Grant Recipient Spotlight
• Outreach for All!
• Coming Soon
• Contact Information
• Subscription Information

WELCOME to the FAT: What No One Is Telling You Monthly Outreach Newsletter!

The two-hour special produced by tpt that premieres on April 11, 2007 is the second primetime special in the PBS Health Campaign, TAKE ONE STEP. We know that obesity, especially child obesity, is of great concern to all communities. We are very happy to have the opportunity to inform and inspire through both the broadcast and your community efforts. 

This newsletter will be a way to share information about the many opportunities for outreach surrounding this documentary special, as well as important dates and production milestones of interest to outreach, programming, promotion/communications and station development personnel.  Designed with you in mind, the FAT newsletter will also be a place where stations and partner organizations can exchange ideas. We hope to regularly hear from you so we can publish news of your successes and help resolve your questions.

Some important “big ideas” and news flashes about FAT outreach at this point:

• TAKE ONE STEP GRANTEES ARE MOVING FORWARD: As you may know, 15 stations nationwide received grant funding from PBS’ TAKE ONE STEP Health Campaign to create social marketing efforts focused on healthy eating and physical activity. Read more details below. 
  
  
• FREE RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE FOR ALL: In addition to the TAKE ONE STEP grants, tpt has partnered with the America On the Move Foundation to create online resources for all PBS stations. Downloadable tip sheets and an Outreach Toolkit are currently in the works and will be available on our station resource Web site at www.tpt.org/pbsfatinfo.
  
  
• MORE TOOLS ARE COMING SOON: As I write this note, we are in the online edit room, finishing the show. We will place promos, promotional materials, and clips from the show on the Web site for you. And speaking of streaming video, you’ll recognize a familiar voice in our clips: Meredith Vieira, star of NBC’s Today Show, is the narrator of the documentary!

I hope you find our online resources helpful as you work to build healthier communities, and I really look forward to working with you in the coming months.
Naomi S. Boak
Executive Producer

What is FAT?

Project Information

FAT: What No One Is Telling Youis a multi-faceted national project featuring four major components:

• FAT is on PBS. The documentary FAT: What No One Is Telling You premieres nationwide on April 11, 2007 at 9pm ET (check local listings), illuminating one of our nation’s most deeply ingrained and still-tolerated prejudices: obesity.  The film explores the myriad psychological, physiological and environmental factors that make weight maintenance a “hot-button” health issue, and features personal narratives and community stories about addressing and managing this epidemic.  Finally, FAT offers a healthy, hopeful message of prevention for our nation’s kids and families, and radically changes the American conversation on obesity. 
  
  
• FAT goes deeper. After the 90-minute documentary, Chief Medical Correspondent for NBC News Dr. Nancy Snyderman, hosts a 30-minute panel discussion in which nationally-recognized obesity experts and activists offer insight and practical answers for parents on what makes fighting fat so difficult on the personal and community levels.
  
  
• FAT is on the Web. The Web site for FAT: What No One Is Telling You helps visitors learn more about obesity and why it’s so difficult to maintain a healthy weight.  Streaming video shows the community challenge of dealing with this epidemic, and personal profiles of key documentary characters provide vivid snapshots of people living with, researching and educating about obesity.  Downloadable resources and online links also offer credible, engaging information on this public (and very personal) health issue.
  
  
• FAT reaches out.  PBS wants viewers to TAKE ONE STEP toward better health.  The TAKE ONE STEP outreach campaign, of which FAT is a key feature, is modeled on proven social marketing techniques and is based on the concept that small behavioral changes can add up to big wins. To kick-start healthy outreach initiatives, PBS created a grant program to help stations work with community partners to shape physical, social and/or economic environments to encourage desired healthy behavior change. 

TAKE ONE STEP Grant Recipient Spotlight

Thanks to the generous support of GlaxoSmithKline, CPB and PBS, 15 stations have been awarded grants for their outreach efforts. Congratulations to the following stations:  

We were very pleased to see that the programs stations have designed are as inspiring as they are diverse. They are also targeted to very specific populations and have well-defined goals that will offer measurable results. To find out more about their outreach plans, visit:  www.tpt.org/pbsfatinfo/grantees.html

Outreach for All!

FAT Fits with Ready To Lead in Literacy

Join a conference call on Thursday, March 1st at 2 pm Central to learn how FAT and outreach resources can help with on-going health workshops, including Spanish-speaking populations.  Hear about outreach opportunities with the YMCA and America On the Move, our national partners, about ways to tie in with their programs. If you’d like to participate in the call, please register with Sallie Bodie at s.bodie@comcast.net or Roselle Kovitz at rosellek@comcast.net. 

More Outreach

We all know that effective outreach springs from strong partnerships. Even non-grantee stations can jump onboard an existing health-related outreach activity, either within your station or in your community, to share the positive message of FAT: What No One Is Telling You. 

You could also invite organizations to join any station-based FAT activities you might choose to stage. Maybe you’d like to plan a more large-scale initiative, like a community health fair, or a smaller endeavor, like a brown-bag health lecture for your employees. Or perhaps you’d like to host something “in between,” like a screening of FAT for your station’s members and/or board. Inviting community health organizations to participate in such events brings a wider perspective, more expertise and additional resources, and helps build relationships for future outreach projects.

So start brainstorming. These examples might spark some ideas as you brainstorm about potential community partners:

• YMCAs and YWCAs
• Community Education
• Community colleges or universities
• Community centers
• Daycare providers
• After school programs
• ECFE or Head Start
• Girl Scout or Boy Scout Troops
• Boys and Girls Clubs of America
• Schools
• Parent organizations/PTAs
• Hospitals and clinics
• Complementary health practitioners (massage therapists, aroma therapists, etc.)
• Health insurance companies/HMOs
• Fitness clubs
• Major employers
• Small businesses
• Local retailers
• Faith communities

Coming Soon

Look forward to these items in future editions of this newsletter:

• Look for information on partnering with the YMCAs of America
• Station Outreach Toolkit created by our outreach partner, America On the Move
• Downloadable tools to enhance your event
• Program and promo feed times
• Low Cost/No Cost outreach ideas
• Production updates about FAT and our 30-minute follow-up program

Contact Information

There are many people who can assist your station’s outreach efforts or answer questions about FAT: What No One Is Telling You. 

• For questions about outreach and station relations contact Roselle Kovitz (roselle@mascomm.net) or Sallie Bodie (s.bodie@mascomm.net) of MasComm. Associates or Elaine Powell (epowell@tpt.org) at Twin Cities Public Television.
• For questions about promotion or promotional tools contact Karen Salerno (karen@kellysalerno.com) at Kelly & Salerno Communications.
• For questions about the production contact Jessica Bari (jbari@tpt.org) or Heidi Van Heel (hvanheel@tpt.org).

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