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Pirate
TV Fundraiser
Update:
8/20/10
Dear Friends,
I’ve
been
getting a lot compliments on Pirate TV’s improved look. As of this week we have collected $1136.75
which includes all the money sent to me as well as SCAN through Pay Pal
and
checks. Although there still may be a
pledge or two that has not appeared, since we have recouped the $1100
cost of
the Cannon GL2 camera, I’m declaring the camera fund drive
officially
over. Yea!! I
did however purchase two used Panasonic 3ccd
cameras, one last month as well as another one in April for hundred
apiece. Because of the bigger chip, these
are significantly
better than the Sony Digital 8 cameras I had been using [except that
they have
smaller lenses]. But they are great for
close-up and medium range shots. They
can also be used as capture devices to load the video onto the
computers saving
wear and tear on the GL2’s expensive tape mechanism.
We’re
looking for professional tripods [for smoother panning and less
jiggling]. Our associate Landon found one of these
online for a
couple hundred which I borrowed. I was
amazed that it made a huge difference. A
high quality wireless lavaliere microphone would definitely come in
handy to
eliminate some of the need to string cords and cut out the inevitable
headaches
resulting from being at the mercy of PA systems.
That’s
the extent of big ticket items we need right now but the emergency is
over and thanks
to your generosity our team is adequately equipped to fight the
information war
well into the future. People are going
to continue to contribute and we’re looking into applying for
some grants and
maybe organize some fundraising events. So
we will be continuing to purchase this other stuff whenever we can find
it (cheap).
Thanks once
again to all our friends for your generosity and many kind words!
Ed Mays
Director/Producer,
Pirate TV Seattle
Pirate TV Fundraiser
Update:
7/24/10
Dear
Friends of Pirate TV,
I’ve been so busy, I have neglected
to stay up on reporting on the status of the fundraiser.
As of this week -thanks to all your generous support,
if all the people who pledged send in their checks, I calculate that we
are only
$45 short of the 11 hundred dollars needed to cover the cost of the
Cannon GL2
camera! Thanks again for your quick
response and all the kind words. I’m
feeling
overwhelmed with gratitude and once again renewed to continue the
struggle of
challenging the corporate [monopoly] media blockade!
Ed Mays
Director/Producer,
Pirate TV Seattle
Special appeal: We Need Your Help!
6/11/10
Riding my bicycle to the Green Festival, one of my bike bags fell off
and landed in a puddle. I stopped and ran over to pull it out and
the weight of the other bag caused the bike to fall over the other
direction which bent the front brake. Nothing appeared to be
damaged in the bags except my Peter Ward book and my I-1098 petitions
which got soaked. I was able to get to the main stage in time to
tape Thom Hartmann, John Perkins, and David Korten. Luckily the
good folks from Belltown Pull-Apart who were there fixing bikes took
care of my bike for free so that I was able to get home.
Getting home I found out that none of the videos I had taped turned
out. The jarring had apparently damaged the tape mechanism of my
Sony Digital 8 camera. This is a camera I had bought a year or
two ago on Craig’s List for a hundred bucks. It’s not
the greatest but it’s the last one I had in perfect working order
that has a 25x lens which is what I need for taping from far away such
as upstairs at Town Hall or other large venues. [I was only able
to raise about 250 on the last fundraiser –a bit short for what I
needed so I had bought a Panasonic 3ccd –big chip but small
lense.]
Luckily, Bill Alford from Moral Politics was also there taping with his
Cannon GL2. I was able to get the video from him. (Notice
how much clearer and sharper this week's Thom Hartmann video is than
usual Pirate TV fare.) He’s been trying to sell me his
camera for a while. He had just spent $600 getting the tape
mechanism replaced so the camera is basically new. This is a
professional documentary level camera. Today I broke down and
gave him $1100 (cheap).
The problem is: I can’t afford it. My drum instruction
business slows down considerably in the summer and sometimes I have to
depend on what I saved up during the school year. This has been a
slow year and I need to recoup the money. There is also a
philosophical aspect to it. Producing Pirate TV is more expensive
than you may think. I just sent $350 to GoDaddy for web services
for instance. You have to have high speed internet to upload
video, that’s also expensive. I have to pay 50 bucks to
SCAN every year for the "privilege" of providing them
programming…etc. [sic!] Stuff is always breaking, it
seems like something breaks just about every month. I’ve
gone through 4 or 5 cameras, countless DVD burners, computers, you name
it. [Dan at Seattle Laptop is a fan of Pirate TV and deserves a
plug for donating parts and labor to keep my laptop cranking out
video.]
A couple years ago I tried to estimate how much in labor I’ve put
into this project. I came up with around half a million dollars
at that point since I started the Pirate Television production company
in 1996. The labor load has increased considerably since
then. Now I’m maintaining a website where people can watch
these videos for free and going through periods [like now] of doing two
shows a week.
I don’t mind donating my time but I have a philosophical aversion
to spending so much money out of my own pocket, especially for big
ticket items. Ralph Nader suggested I should hit up rich
people. He said find out where they live and go knock on their
door. –It’s the least they could do... If
any of you know some rich people with a social conscience please let me
know but I don’t know any right now.
I’m in the Citizen’s Climate Lobby. We were meeting
with Jay Inslee’s aide lobbying for a revenue neutral carbon tax
today and one of my friends said all I need is 50 bucks from 22
people. She said she just so happened to have 50 in her pocket
and gave it to me. Getting home, another friend called and when I
told him about it, he pledged 50 too! That’s when I
decided to give it up and buy the camera. I’m down to 20!
Friends, if you’ve been watching, you know how important
independent media like Pirate TV is. Like Nader said, “Who
else is going to get this stuff out?” There’s nothing
I hate more than asking people for money but it’s not fair that I
should have to pay the big bucks in addition to donating all this
work. If you are poor like me, don’t worry about it, but if
you can spare $50, I need it now! If you need a write off,
donations over a hundred bucks are tax deductible since as a member of
SCAN, Pirate TV is a 501C3, but you have to send the money to
SCAN. They will take 10% but let’s face it; SCAN is a
worthy cause too. Either way, here’s where to send
your checks:
SCAN
1125 N. 98th St.
Seattle, WA 98103
Make the checks to “Pirate TV/ care of SCAN”
You can also donate using Paypal, credit card, etc. on the SCAN
Donation Page were you can find out more information.
Be sure to put “for Pirate TV” in the “purpose”
box and let me know you made a donation so there is no screw up.
If you don’t need a write-off or want to donate less than $100,
you can send checks directly to me.
Ed Mays [make the checks to me]
6057 3rd NW
Seattle, WA 98107
[206 782 7605]
And thanks for “Challenging the
Corporate [Monopoly] Media Blockade!”
In Solidarity,
Ed Mays
Producer, Pirate TV Seattle
6/11/10
Support:
Operational Costs
Since Pirate Television is something I do as a form or political/media
activism in order to vent spleen and keep myself somewhat sane, I
don’t try to recoup compensation for my time and therefore Pirate
Television doesn’t actually need to raise much money. It
does take lots of time, however.
I estimate that each show takes at least 10 hours, more now that Pirate
TV
is online. Therefore volunteers are always welcome to
videotape
events and help with the website. If you live in the Seattle area
and
you feel like you would like to help, please contact me via the Contact page.
Although the operational costs are low, there are costs. These
include web hosting fees, high speed internet access, equipment repair,
digital tape, DVDs, gas, parking costs, etc. These costs can be
greatly offset by a few people purchasing DVDs and Video Tapes every
month. We
are currently running a fund drive to raise $1000 for a used
professional quality camera to get better resolution in low light.
Send checks to the address on the contact page.
Pirate TV
qualifies as a non profit
under the SCAN umbrella so checks over $100 can be used as tax
write-offs if you would rather have your money go to alternative media
than the war machine. In this case you need to make your checks
to SCAN: e.g: "SCAN/Pirate TV" and send them to me. I will
then take
them to SCAN and have them cash them. SCAN will make me a check
minus
10% which goes to support them. It's best to contact me first and
you
can also contribute things directly rather than give me cash. If
you
have some things like the items listed below or would like to purchase
them for Pirate Television please contact me directly so that we can
talk
it over.
Purchase Videos
Some of the material seen on Pirate TV is obtained from other sources
but most of it is locally produced and owned by me. I am offering to
sell copies of this material to support the operation. If you
would like to support
the Pirate Television project or just would like a copy of the show,
you
can obtain a copy of any of these shows for a $20 donation (includes
postage).
I plan to update the tape list in the archive page every now and then
as
new material is added. If there is a great deal of interest, I
will
begin posting lists from past years. To obtain tapes or DVDs,
contact
me directly by email. Sorry, online purchases are not possible at
this
time.
Big ticket items
Thanks to support from me and many generous contributors, most of the
big ticket items such as camera equipment, production computers and
hardware, software etc, have already been purchased long ago.
However, if you are flush with cash and just can’t get over the
idea of helping to challenge the corporate media blockade, there are
some things that would come in very handy:
1) A 3 chip or HD camera (preferably Sony) for better video
resolution
2) Better editing and other software
3) A high quality wrirless lavalier microphone
Honorable mention:
These are a few of the generous supporters of Pirate Television over
the years who cry out for acknowledgement:
Greg Palast
David Barsamian
Citizens for Overt Action
Barbara Zepeda
Richard Yount
Christine Hawkes
Fred Morris- Internet Plumber
Terry McCaw
Mitch Hofferber
John Parnell
Ken Slusher
Carl Chatski
A Sharp Music Company
Elliott Bay Bookstore
Seattle Town Hall
Seattle Laptop
Landon Hendee
Todd Boyle
Ben Collet
Richard Silverstein
J. Glenn Evans- Poets West