| OCR Text |
Show _TheSaltLakeTribune BUSINESS Sunday, Sep F2 15, 1996 . . .to Do Things His Own Way Broadcaster Left Big Time. . Seeds, Reaping Peace: The Worlds of Seeds of Peace.” He asks if he can comein. No”is the next. Getting a word, or a quesNEW YORK — In th: eraof the incredibly shrinking swund bite, the made-for-TVpolitical convention and the made-for-the-U.S.A. Olympies, Danny Schechter stands apart. A former civil rights organizer, former radio commentator, former TVreporter and former net- work producer, Schechter, with his partner and fellow network refugee Rory 0’Connor, produces the critically acclaimed series “Rights & Wrongs: Human Rights Television.” That alone might be enough for most, but Schechter seems unwilling, or unable, to take it easy. He’s putting the final touches on a new book, looking to resurrect his old radio personality, Danny Schechter, The NewsDis- sector,” and recently flew off on two day’s notice tofilm the Dalai Lama jouth Africa Those who know Schechterare usedto his drive. A successin network television, he gave up the money and the prestige to try working another way, developing programs with depth, different perspectives and an emphasis on his own particular set of values. “TI can’t tell you how many friends I have in the networks who feel that they're in golden handcuffs,” he said. Ask Schechter to discuss his work and his mindis off, quickly jumping from one thought to the tion, in edgewiseis a bit of a feat. Fortunately, listening to him can be quite entertaining. answer. Schechter shrugs andstarts to On how he becamea radio com- pad away when the door opens. mentator in 1970 at WBCN-FM in Boston: The vacancy wascreated, he recalls, when his predecessor was brought up on federal charges stemming from antiwar protests. They were later Heand the editor chuckle. Then the editor puts up a few minutes of the film on a computer screen. It showsIsraeli, Palestinian, Bosnian, Serbian and other children at Seeds of Peace, a summer camp,talking about their differences in a stunningly direct way. Schechter beams with pride. dropped. “So I got my first job thanks to J. Edgar Hoover.” About criticism that “Rights & Wrongs” hasn't been given the widedistribution that Schechter and 0’Connorseek because it advocates a position. He wondered aloud how series focusing on human rights could be advocacy? Who would comment forthe other side: “Hitler?” Such comments absent context might create the impression Schechteris simply a child of the "60s who never grew up. That would be wrong. An Emmy Award-winning producer at ABC's “20/20” andthe producer of CNN's first prime-time talk show, before “Larry King Live,’ the 54-year-old journalist and entrepreneur hasboth talent and so- Phistication. “He was innovative,” says Ed Turner, executive vice president of CNN and Schechter'’s boss shortly after the network was launched in 1980. “At a time when nobody knew who CNN was, he could get good guests.” ‘Turner, then CNN’s managing editor, admits the newsroomstaff “He’s a grassroots guy. That's what you feel about Globalvi- ‘The Associated Press Danny Schechterleft network TV to produce shows his own way,including “Rights & Wrongs: Human Rights Television.” sometimes kidded Schechter about his views,like telling him “I Have a Dream” speech. “Karl Marx is on the phone.” But O'Connor's company, is as far Globalvision, Schechter’s and it was all good-natured and Turner notes Schechter's politics from button-down corporate as is Schechter himself. It's housed on never seeped into his work at CNN. Given his formative years, the seventh floor of a nondescript though, it may have been inevitable that Schechter would cast off the shackles of network TV. He was born in the Bronx to a gar- ment-workerfather and a mother who wrote nine books of poetry. In the civil rights movement, he helped organize the march on Washington in which the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his sion,” says Vicki Gordon, an executive story editor at CBS News who worked with Schechter on a late night talk show in Bostonin 1980. “It's very down to earth. It's very down-home.” It’s also pretty low-budget, a well-worn path for Schechter. The show he worked on with Gordon at WCVB-TV, “Five All Night, Live All Night,” ran on just $100 an night for expenses. “Dunkin’ Donuts was our caterer,” Schechter says. Nonetheless, he managedto bring in big-name building in midtown Manhattan, above a mix ofstorefronts including two adult entertainment establishments that according to signs are “temporarily closed.” A short tour of Globalvision guests like musicians Bob Marley and Frank Zappa. demonstrates the company’s Africa Now.” The effort, which ran from 1988-91, won an Emmy character right away. Schechter, looking slightly rumpled, knocks on the door of a digital editing room, where an editor is working on Schechter’s new film ‘Sowing Globalvision’s first major success was the weekly series “South and a handfulof other awards for its probing stories about South Africa underthe regimeof racial separation known as apartheid. Schechter and O’Connor pioneered a new type of TV journalism to put the series together. ‘They trained black South Africans in the use of small, handheld video cameras to film news, and then sent them into areas where outside correspondents were denied access or where their inside status would give them an edge. “Our company’s missionis to do well and do good, and we're trying to combine those two things,” Schechter says. After almost nine years, Globalvision is profitable, though not exactly rolling in de- velopmentfunds.It does both forprofit and not-for-profit work but is looking to add morecash-generating efforts. For example, in addition to documentaries, TV specials and the like, Globalvision produces corporate video pack- ages for marketing and promotion. Going forward, one challenge for thestill-small companyis getting wider exposure for “Rights & Wrongs,” which is produced ona nonprofit basis and will be entering its fifth season this year. ‘The weekly series is hosted by Charlayne Hunter-Gault, perhaps best known for her reporting on “The Newshour with Jim Lehrer.” Sometopics it has covered: “Women’s Rights: The Fight Against Rape as a Weapon of War,” “Myanmar: The ‘Keep Quiet’ Regime,” “Child Prostitution in Thailand,” “Rwanda: One Year Later.” Life on a Corporate Hog Farm a Metallic, Loveless Pigout| After leaving their mothers, about 20 piglets are placed in pens. They will never reproduce, only eat. When the pigs reach about two months,oratleast 35 pounds, they are hauled to larger barns Their intensive weight-gaining com- mences. Automation dispenses fresh food and water on demand, around the clock. Other devices flush waste water under- BYDAVID A. LIEB THE ASSOCIATED PRESS neath the concrete slots where the hogs stand, washing awaytheir urine and manure every two hours. The hogs gain nearly 14 pounds a PRINCETON, Mo. — From pigletto pork chop, the life of a hog at this big \\ Nida pig processoris brief, loveless, and focused on getting fat. The average hoglives less than six day for four months. Theidealis a 245pound porker readyfor slaughter. monthsbeforeit meets the butcher. But its life is a swinish smorgasbord. At Premium Standard Farms, the nation's fourth-biggest Everything — from snoutto feet — is converted to food. ‘ Stomachs, tongues and reproductive organsare shipped overseas for human pork producer, hogs gobble nearly 30 different diets of feed: corn and soybeans, wheat and oats —and leftover candy and cake mix to sweeten the blend. This is hog heaven, but it’s also hog hell. These pigs are born in metal buildings, and live thereall their lives. They never wallow in mud, never even emerge into sunlight. They are pig pawnsin a corporate game plan to make more, meatier animals — 1.7 million this year. “We've started a revolution,"’ Premi- um Standard declares in a marketing videotape, promoting its high-volume fattening of hogs in secure, modern barnsandits efforts to deliver Missouri pork to plates aroundthe world. It’s a revolution that has spread nationally. In 1994, there were 66 mega- farmsin the United States, each of them with more than 50,000 hogs, according to Glenn Grimes, professor emeritusof agriculture economicsal the University of Missouri-Columbia Since then, that numberhas increased consumption. Ears and snouts are saved for pricey dog treats. Bones are ground Mike Stewart/The Associated Press Thousandsofsplit hog carcasses await further processing at a Premium Standard Farms plant in Missouri. where he wasraised, not far from the by as many as 15, he says. But as with all revolutions, not every oneis a believer. Small farmers complain that they are being pushed out of business, and that rural traditions are at risk. Environmentalists complain that the manure from 1.7 million pigs is too much. But most of the people of northern Missouri’s Mercer,Sullivan and Putnam counties are not disgruntled. After decades of economic and population declines, Premium Standard has brought sudden prosperity — 1,700 jobs and a $35 million payroil. Today, there are an average of 108 hogs for every man, womanand child in the three counties. Brad Riggs keeps tabs on 123,648 of the porkers. He lives in the same house Mercer County land where his great- grandfather farmed. Riggs is a farmer, too — but not on his own land. Hegets intohis pickup truck each day and drives to a 112-barn PremiumStandard complex, where Riggs supervises the systematic fattening of pigs. “Farming is not a very viable income," says Riggs.‘Had I been trying to be the independent family farmer,I'd probably be broke by now.’ Premium Standard’s expensive barns are the top ofthe line for efficiency and security. Entering the buildings requires a computerized card that opens an electronic gate. Each human entrance and exit from the grounds is monitored in Princeton. Employees must shower and put on protective suits and boots, even special underwear and socks, to prevent the spread of disease. When they leave for the day, they shower again and put on their own clothes. The males, cultivated for their good meat qualities, never meet the females but are nonstop piglet producers, thanksto artificial insemination. Theboars donate sperm an average of THURSDAY FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 19 SEPTEMBER 20 7PM 7PM THE FoRMER HOWARD JOHNSON HOTEL NOW BESTWESTERN DOWNTOWN 122 WEST SOUTH TEMPLE,SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH HANDMADEORIENTAL RUGS Large Stock of Fine, High Quality, Genuine Handmade Rugs From Around The World * No Imitations x NoMachine Made * No Lock-Alikes * In Recognition Of Our 16 Years Of Success In The Community 5% Of Your PurchasePrice Will Be Donated To A Charity Of Your Choice In July, Premium Standard’s credi- ing birth. sat.ds offish in rural waterways in 1995. the breeding barn three weeksafter giv- seven hog waste spills that killed thou- Meanwhile, piglets — destined to become someone's meal — proceed through a series of barns as they get fatter. And in late June, the governor approved new requirements for state and company inspections of hog farms and their plumbing. the most pphy day your life. The Utah Campusofthe University of Phoenixis pleased to introduce the Master of Counseling program with aspecialization in Mental Health. This program meets the educationalstandardsfor counselorcertification and licensure by the State of Utah and prepares studentstotake the NationalBoardfor Certified Counselors Examinationfor MONDAY National andState certification. You are cordiallyinvitedto attend an information meeting on Monday, September16th, from 6;00 to 7:00 p.m., at the Salt Lake Campusjust off 1-15 at 53rd South. Please R.S.V.P. at 263-1444 or 1-800-224-2844. COME ONE HOUR EARLY FOR PREVIEW, REFRESHMENTS & APPETIZERS | | Limited Seating | Reserve Your Place . | At This Special Event == np Michael Abdalla Call: 801-595-0141 (@—) "EE UT AUCTIONEER #: AUC-76 Personal Checks Free Parking But despite all appearances to the contrary — the massive farm factories, the 1.7 million hogs butchered annually — this silk purse has turnedinto a costly sow’s ear. 1.4 times a week. The sperm is placed into sows by technicians. Sows return to “This event allows Utah families to acquire authentic handmaderugs of exceptional qualityto cherish and keep for generations, All rags will be sold at a fraction oflist price, making this an excellent opporRaffi J. Daghlian tunityfor enthusiasts, collectors, inwestors andeven first-timepurchasers.” Enjoy a memorable # evening with the entertaining professionalauctioneer along with the more traditional hams, bacon and pork chops. tors and investors agreed to a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcyfiling that allowsits facilities to remain operating while shaving the company’s huge debt. Also this year, Premium Standard agreed to pay more than $1 million for This could be TWO DAYS ONLY up and eaten by other hogs. Pigs’ feet are eaten in American restaurants, | SEPTEMBER |
