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Spotlight; Special Event
Topic Started: Sep 19 2012, 07:44 PM (144 Views)
Samantha McClellan
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Spotlight is an educational program, which appears irregularly on USBS. The show seeks to put a "spotlight," on an event, issue, or holiday, providing viewers with detailed information about the matter at hand. A guest hosts each episode of Spotlight; Tom Brokaw hosted the series premiere.

Running Times: Varies

Production Quality: 1 ($350,000 per half hour)

History
Season 1
1: "Columbia"
2. "Scary, Creepy, and Horrifying True Stories"
3. "Democracy at Play"
4. "In Our Defense"
5. "The Game"
6. "Turkey Time"
Edited by Samantha McClellan, Sep 29 2012, 09:27 PM.
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Samantha McClellan
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Season 1, Episode 1
Columbia (2 Hours)
Tom Brokaw hosted the series premiere of Spotlight, a two hour special about the settlement of "New World." The program focused on Christopher Columbus for thirty minutes, then spent sixty minutes providing an overview of the European arrival in the Americas in the 15th through 17th centuries, and then spent thirty minutes providing an overview of the European impact on Native Americans.

Brokaw hosted and narrated the entire show, which included a number interviews with prominent historians. Brokaw ended the program by highlighting the many effects of decisions made by Columbus, and others, on the United States today.
Edited by Samantha McClellan, Sep 23 2012, 02:08 PM.
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Samantha McClellan
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Season 1, Episode 2
Scary, Creepy, and Horrifying True Stories (1 Hour)
Diane Sawyer hosted this special episode of Spotlight, which featured scary, creepy, and generally horrifying stories from the news. Sawyer provided in-depth but light coverage of the varying events with help from the USBC News division.

Sawyer kicked off the episode by providing a couple anecdotes of scary, creepy, or generally horrifying stories she's covered during her twenty plus years in journalism. From there, she launched into the main body of the program, discussing five real life Halloween esque stories.

#5. Hotel Room Smells because Body under Bed. On January 27, 2010, two car thieves killed their partner, apparently desiring to cut him out. The thieves hid their accomplice's body under the bed of a motel room, where it remained undiscovered until March 15, 2010, even though the room was regularly utilized. Motel management found the body in response to a guest complaint, reportedly the first to be made about the room. Sawyer noted after delivering this report that the discovery of bodies in hotel rooms was actually not especially uncommon, reporting several similar stories. ((Source.))

Sawyer then threw to commercial but, before she did, she asked viewers a question on the topic of death. During the middle ages, bells were used for what horrifying purposes?

Sawyer welcomed viewers back from the commercial break with the answer to that question: they were hung above graves, with the string run into the coffin, so as to help individuals accidentally buried alive. Apparently, accidental burials occurred commonly enough prior to the twentieth century that steps were taken in over a dozen nations to assist those caught underground. Sawyer noted that President George Washington ordered his servants not to bury him until two days after his "death," to prevent live burial. ((Source))

#4. The Call is Coming from Inside the House. In 1983, a babysitter left in a rural home to watch two children had put the children to bed and was watching TV when the phone rang. The babysitter answered to hear a man saying "I'm with the children upstairs, you should join us." She hung up, thinking it a prank, but he called back a few minutes later, repeating the same statement. She hung up again, and turned up the TV, but he kept calling back. She finally phoned the phone company, complaining and asking that they trace the call and report the caller. An operator promised to trace the call if he called back again. A few minutes later, he called back again. After she hung up, the operator called, and told her to "get out of the house straight away, he is on the other extension." The girl then fled the home as she heard someone coming down the stairs. Police arrived on the scene just as the girl was fleeing; they apprehended a man with a bloody butcher knife, who had just killed the two children. (([url="http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/babysit.asp"]Source[/url])).

#3. Halloween Ornament Actually a Body. Hundreds of drivers thought that a body hanging from a tree in Federica, Delaware was merely a decoration. The body actually belonged to a middle-aged woman, however, who hung herself the night before halloween. Her body hung from a tree by a regularly used public road for hours before police were alerted to the situation. Sawyer reported a similar story from Los Angeles, California, where a woman's dead body remained on her porch for three days before someone alerted police. A news cameraman, when interviewed about the matter, admitted that from a distance, the woman's body looked "pretty unreal, to be honest." ((Source and Source)).

Sawyer then threw to commercial but, before she did, she asked viewers a question: why do some photos of deceased relatives look especially creepy?

Sawyer welcomed viewers back from the break with the answer to that question: because during the nineteenth century, it was common to take photos of (and paint pictures of) an individual soon after his/her death. Sometimes, family members would even take pictures with their deceased relatives, propping them up to appear alive. ((Source)).

#2. Toxic Blood. Paramedics rushed a thirty-one year old woman to the general hospital of Riverside, California on February 19, 1994. The woman, Gloria Ramirez, was struggling to believe, and unable to coherently answer questions. A medical team scrambled to treat her and, as part of that effort, drew blood from her. Within a minute, two of that medical team had collapsed, and within five minutes, a half dozen people had fallen. The hospital declared an emergency and evacuated the emergency room, except for Ramirez, two doctors, and two nurses, who volunteered to stay behind in an unsuccessful attempt to save the young woman. By the time county HazMat arrived to address the issue, Ramirez's blood had put one person in critical care, hospitalized five more, and afflicted a total of twenty-five of the thirty-seven Emergency Room staff members and patients (not including Ramirez). Researchers remain unsure what caused the incident but the leading theory is that a chain of chemical reactions turned Ramirez's blood into nerve gas, dooming her to a slow death, and nearly killing many of those around her ((Source)).

#1. Girl in the Closet. A man has the unmistakeable feeling that he is being watched while at home. He notices that objects seem to move around when he is not at home, that food disappears even though he has not used it, and strange noises at night. Whenever he checks, though, no one is in his home, and his windows and doors are securely locked. Creeped out, the man purchases several small cameras, and installs them around his house. The next day, the man sits down to watch the footage, thinking he'll catch a few pranksters breaking into his house. Instead, he watches a woman emerge from his kitchen cupboard, then spend the night chilling in his house. Then, creepiest of all, the woman crawls back into the cupboard -- which is just a few feet from where he is sitting. Thinking she must've gone in there to hide temporarily, the man calls to police to report a break-in. But the police note that his doors and locks are all still locked (except for the front door, where they are standing), meaning that the woman must still be in the house. Sure enough, upon searching the premises, the police find a young woman huddling in a the Kitchen cupboard. She confessed that she'd been living in the man's house secretly for approximately a year, eating, sleeping, and generally living there.((Source)).

Sawyer threw to commercial after that story, but not before asking another question: do you have a creepy story from your life that you think is on the same level as these? She invites viewers to call in with their personal stories.

Following the commercial break, Sawyer conveys a couple of the best stories, before closing out the program by thanking viewers for watching. She closes by relaying typical warnings to parents, and children, regarding Halloween.
Edited by Samantha McClellan, Sep 23 2012, 02:13 PM.
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Samantha McClellan
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Season 1, Episode 3
Democracy at Play
Stephen Colbert hosted this special episode of spotlight, which provided a comedic perspective on the 2010 mid-term elections. Colbert provided viewers with some actual information about the elections but, for the most part, focused on the absurdities of election night. Colbert portrayed himself as he normally did on The Colbert Report, as an extremely conservative political analyst.

((Cannot provide more specific information because elections have yet to occur at TAR.))
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Samantha McClellan
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Season 1, Episode 4
In Our Defense
Ted Koppel hosted the Veterans Day episode of Spotlight, a two-hour special on American veterans. Koppel provided a brief history of "Armistice Day," as Veterans Day was originally known, but he largely discussed the challenges faced by veterans today.

Koppel spent the first hour of the program discussing the mental health challenges faced by veterans today. Koppel first discussed the problem: that an average of eighteen veterans commit suicide every day. Koppel next described the causes: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury. Koppel lastly talked about efforts to address the problem, both past and present, and asked experts what more needed to be done.

Koppel spent the third half hour of the program discussing the physical challenges faced by veterans today. Koppel first discussed the problem: that veterans programs are overwhelmed attempting to support disabled veterans. Koppel next described the cause, the advancement of medical technology that allowed hundreds of thousands of veterans to survive previously horrid injuries. Koppel lastly talked about efforts to address the problem, both past and present, and asked experts what more needed to be done.

Koppel spent the fourth half hour of the program discussing the economic challenges faced by veterans today. Koppel first discussed the problem: the high rate of unemployment amongst veterans and the increased rate of homelessness amongst veterans. Koppel next discussed the causes: the recession, the difficulty adapting to civilian society after years at war, and the reduction in government positions that veterans previously relied upon. Koppel lastly talked about effrots to address the problem, both past and present, and asked experts what more needed to be done.

Koppel interviewed dozens of experts during the program, most notably the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the National Commander of the American Legion. Koppel ended the program by exhorting viewers to donate to one of several veterans' support organizations.
Edited by Samantha McClellan, Sep 23 2012, 06:07 PM.
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Samantha McClellan
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Season 1, Episode 5
"The Game"
Pat O'Brien and Erin Andrews co-hosted this special episode of Spotlight, which provided an overview of each of the 2010 "Thanksgiving Classic" football games. O'Brien and Andrews first covered the close game between the New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys, then discussed the slaughter of the Detroit Lions by the New England Patriots, and lastly talked about the New York Jets' defeat of the Cincinatti Bengals. O'Brien and Andrews briefly presented the history of the "Thanksgiving Classic," as well.
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Samantha McClellan
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Season 1, Episode 6
Turkey Time
Tom Brokaw returned to Spotlight to host this documentary of Thanksgiving history. Brokaw provided an extensive history of the Thanksgiving holiday during the first hour, touching on everything from the Pilgrims celebration to Lincoln's formal decree to Roosevelt's changing the date to stimulate economic growth, and also documenting the pardoning of the Thanksgiving turkey. Brokaw talked about noteworthy Thanksgiving events during the third half hour before discussing the controversial nature of Thanksgiving during the last half hour.
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Samantha McClellan
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Advertisement
Level -- 1 ($1,000,000)
Show/Episode -- Spotlight, S1, E2

To be run the week before Halloween, this advertisement exhorts viewers to tune in for the best Halloween coverage, provided by none other than Diane Sawyer. The commercial notes that, on October 31st, there is nowhere better than UBCS to get "scary, creepy, and horrifying but true stories."

Advertisement
Level -- 2 ($2,500,000)
Show/Episode -- Spotlight, S1E3

To be run in the week before the elections, this advertisement exhorts viewers to tune in for Democracy at Play, Stephen Colbert's special report on the elections. The commercial notes that there is "no source more unimpeachable," than Colbert and that "anyone that doesn't tune in is simply unAmerican."

Advertisement
Level -- 1 ($1,000,000)
Show/Episode -- Spotlight, S1E3

To be run in the week before Veterans Day, this advertisement exhorts viewers to tun in for In Our Defense, Ted Koppel's special report regarding the nation's veterans. The commercial notes that eighteen veterans commit suicide everyday, that hundreds of thousands are disabled, and that tens of thousands are unemployed or homeless -- but that a great deal can be done if the American people commit themselves to repaying those that've fought for this nation.

Advertisement
Level -- 1 ($1,000,000)
Show/Episode -- Spotlight, S1E4

To be run in the week before Thanksgiving, this advertisement exhorts viewers to tune in for The Game, the spotlight special on this year's Thanksgiving Classic. The commercial notes that two of the leading voices in sports, Pat O'Brien and Erin Andrews, will be hosting the episode.
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Samantha McClellan
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S1, E7
Remembering The World War
Betty White and Charles Durning host this episode of Spotlight on Pearl Harbor Remembrance day.

Durning and White discussed the Battle of Pearl Harbor for twenty minutes. The two detailed the Japanese attack on the base, which killed 2,402 Americans, wounded 1,247 Americans, sunk six ships, destroyed 188 aircraft, damaged thirteen ships, and destroyed 159 aircraft. The hosts detailed the lack of preparedness of the base's defenders, who destroyed all five submarines dispatched by the Japanese to attack the base, but shot down just 29 of 353 Japanese aircraft (causing 64 Japanese casualties). Durning and White discussed the causes of the war, notably the American embargo on Japan. The two noted that Japan did not declare war prior to the attack, despite the desire of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, because of a conspiracy on the part of other Japanese military officials. The hosts made sure to mention that the United States did discover intelligence indicating an attack, but failed to act upon it. Several survivors of the attack, including one Japanese airman, were interviewed for this segment.

Durning spent the next twenty minutes discussing the war itself, providing a brief overview of the African Front, European Front, Naval Front, and Asian Front. Durning discussed his own experiences at Normandy in detail, but also interviewed veterans about Italy and Iwo Jima.

White spent the next twenty minutes discussing the home front, where she served in the American Women's Voluntary Service. White talked about the hardships faced by American citizens, but she also talked about the contributions that women made, both at war and on the front lines.

Durning and White concluded by spending a few minutes discussing the positive consequences of the allied victory in World War II.
Edited by Samantha McClellan, Sep 30 2012, 05:51 PM.
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