Alan's Italy: the Birth of a Television Show

In the spring of 2011 it was suggested to me that with the thousands of photos which had been taken by my artist wife, Laura Gurton, during our many trips to Italy, that I produce a program in my hometown on Woodstock Public Access Television. Having been to Italy twenty times in an equal number of years, with many stories of my experiences, and friends I have made over the years, it seemed logical that a large number of people would be interested in seeing our images and hearing about my recollections. I agreed to begin to put together a show for weekly broadcast on the local television station. After months of preparation interrupted by some serious physical illnesses, I began to host Alans Italy weekly at 5 PM on Friday evenings.

That was the beginning of many adventures with broadcasting live on a station that was strictly maintained by volunteers, many of whom had a very substantial technical understanding of the workings of the studio. It was at first suggested to me that it would be impossible to produce a weekly show for very long, since there were a finite number of photos available to me. As it turned out the show became a multifaceted presentation of all things Italian with several guests to interview. The audience grew, and with my involvement with Youtube, blogs, and local continuing education programs, my reputation grew.

Alans Italy: The Birth of a Television Show is the story of my quest to create, produce, write, perform, and maintain a weekly show. It is a very personal account of all the trials and tribulations that I experienced during the year and a half since the project began. Having had a career of forty one years in Mathematics Education, with no experience with television production the many challenges I have faced make for a fascinating true life story of how an idea suggested to me, out of the blue, on a spring day became a local sensation.

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