This is the letter Luis Argueta, director and exec producer of "abUSed: The Postville Raid," has sent to his supporters
At a time when I should be very happy, I am really upset.
I am writing to seek for your support in addressing what I consider a serious act of censorship on the part of Iowa Public Television (IPTV). On December 2, 2012, abUSed: The Postville Raid will finally get its national broadcast premiere as part of a new PBS series,America ReFramed but Iowa Public Television (IPTV) is censoring its presentation. While PBS stations nationwide, will show the film at least three times on that day, IPTV will only show it once, at 5 a.m, a time slot which ensures that very few of you will see it. However, as you can see from IPTV's schedule, they will air all the other documentaries in the series three times:
http://www.iptv.org/series.
Because this feels like censorship to me, I contacted IPTV Program and Operations Manager, Rebecca Ketcherside, to inquire about this discrepancy. She told me that they had requested a preview copy from the series producers (WGBH in Boston) to "determine if the film had been fixed" because they had found abUSed: The Postville Raid "unbalanced" when I approached the station in 2010 and offered them the national broadcast premiere. She said that IPTV's annual fundraising campaign on Dec. 2 would cause America ReFramed showings of abUSed: The Postville Raid to be preempted for other programs.
America ReFramed is a series that "takes an unfiltered look at relevant domestic topics (healthcare, immigration, the workplace, and politics)" and "tells the many stories of a transforming American culture and its broad diversity" through "independent, personal and opinionated films," like abUSed: The Postville Raid. abUSed has been an official selection of 16 international film festivals and has received three awards, the most recent being "Best Documentary" at the Cinemaissí Film Festival in Finland.?? We are seeking equal treatment by IPTV: to air abUSed: The Postville Raid the same number of -and at comparable- times as the other films in the America ReFramed series and to give you the same opportunity as the rest of the country: to see a local story that has captured the national imagination. I welcome a healthy conversation on this important topic and encourage IPTV to include a panel discussion following my interview after the film is broadcast.
- Call IPTV at (515) 242-3100
- Email IPTV at programming@iptv.org
- Leave a message on the abUSed: The Postville Raid page of the IPTV website: IPTV-abUSed
- Post a message to their Facebook page: IPTV Facebook Page
- Write a letter to your local newspaper editor
Suggested letter:
I just learned that IPTV will only be showing abUSed: The Postville Raid as a part of America Reframed show once (at 5 am!), but you will be showing all of the other 26 films in the series three times. As a person who lives in Iowa and would like to see a film about Iowa, I am calling to register my complaint about this poor decision. I urge you to reconsider and show abUSed: The Postville Raid two additional times that are comparable to the times you are showing the other films in the series. I see on your website that the other films are being shown at 7:00pm on Sunday evenings, which would be an ideal time for me to watch it with my family. I am very disappointed in this decision by IPTV and will be calling my friends and asking them to contact you as well. Fair is fair.
Amig@s, please forward this to anyone in Iowa that you think believes that this is wrong and a very bad precedent to set. Thank you for your friendship and continued support.
Luis Argueta
