Hi, I'm Eric Greiling, director of friends of PBS Wisconsin.
Thank you for joining us for "Ken Burns: One Nation, Many
Stories" many stories. I think the title says a lot. The title
says a lot about Ken Burns's interest in uniting us, telling
stories that unite us, not divide us, and also creating
across a broad body of work, a rich tapestry of American
history. And these documentaries, dozens and dozens
of documentaries have really stood the test of time. One
media reviewer said, with simple narration and still photographs,
Ken Burns is able to evoke joy, sorrow, laughter and tears.
These sweeping documentaries keep coming to us, keep telling
us more about our American experience, and it's all made
possible by you, by your support. And we'd like to give
you a chance to offer your support to documentaries like
this right now. And we have some great ways to say thank you when
you use that QR code on your screen. When you go online, or
you give us a call at 1-800-236-3636.
>> Hi, I'm Stephanie Elkins. I am the host of Morning Classic
on Wisconsin Public Radio and a viewer of PBS Wisconsin, and a
longtime viewer of Ken Burns documentaries. Maybe you've been
watching them for decades now, and we have a wonderful way to
say thank you. When you support PBS Wisconsin during this
program, we have for a gift of $15 or more, a wonderful book
that's been beautifully curated with rich images of America's
history. They're striking, they're meaningful, and that's
for your gift of $15 a month or more for your gift of $25 a
month, we'll send you this wonderful book. It's called Our
America. Ken Burns edited the book, and we'll also send you
one of his DVD sets. If you're a music fan like me, you might
choose jazz or maybe his country music program, which was just
fantastic. We have nine to choose from, and you can talk to
one of our volunteers and they'll help you choose which
one you'd like. Or if you don't want to choose, for a gift of
$100 a month, we'll send you both the book and all nine sets
of the Ken Burns documentary DVDs. You can find out more by
calling (800) 236-3636. >> Hi, I'm Linda Berman, a
volunteer here at PBS Wisconsin, and it really is viewer
supported. And your support is very essential to us. But our
way of saying thank you is to give you quality programs, as
well as some very special thank you gifts. I want to follow up
on what Stephanie said and also what Eric said is that Ken Burns
shows us joy. He makes us laugh. I just want to let you know that
in this book that he has edited, here is Friendship, Wisconsin,
2008. It's an older home with the American flag there. This is
the idea that we are all part of America and he is telling us the
stories of America that show our strength as Americans. And this
is an opportunity for you to call in so you can get this
fabulous thank you gift, but also know that you are our
sustainer and the way to be a very easy way to be a sustainer,
as is. Give us monthly amount, whether it's from your credit
card or your checking account. Very easy to do. Our volunteers
will let you know about that when you call at 1-800-236-3636.
>> Thank you Linda, your support, your sustaining
support, becoming a member right
now during this break really does make all of this possible.
Ken Burns has often said his work wouldn't be possible
without PBS, without the special relationship he has with PBS.
We're grateful to be able to show his body of work all of his
upcoming films with you, and he's grateful that he has PBS to
be able to do the work in the way that he wants to do it, in
the way that he really feels unveils the full history of each
topic he chooses. He's got some great topics coming up in the
next segment here. Ben Franklin, Muhammad Ali, Ernest Hemingway,
really interesting figures, really important parts of
American history. And Ken Burns is able to unlock the
contradictions in those characters, unlock the mythology
that they created themselves, the mythology that was created
around them. And it's all possible because of your
support. We're relying upon you, and we'd like you to make a call
right now at 1-800-236-3636. >> When you support PBS
Wisconsin, you enable this kind of wonderful programing for the
whole state. And beyond. It feels great to support something
that you believe in and can share with others. And we've got
a wonderful way to say thank you for a gift of $15 a month or
more. We'll send you the book that Linda was showing you. It's
called Our America, and these photos are so powerful,
beautifully curated, really meaningful. For a gift of $25 a
month, we'll send you this book and the DVD set of your choice.
Maybe you're a baseball fan and you really enjoyed the baseball
documentary, or you're a war buff and you'd like to enjoy the
Vietnam War documentary again, you choose the one that you
would like. There are nine to choose from. If you have trouble
choosing, you can give us a gift of $100 a month and we'll send
you the book and all nine of these sets of DVDs. What an
abundance of riches of the work of Ken Burns. You can find out
more. Talk to one of our volunteers at (800) 236-3636.
>> I think what Ken Burns wants to emphasize is that we are one
nation with many stories. And in this book that he has selected
his best photographs that he wants to share. There's one that
I particularly like, the one What are the next mysteries?
from Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1950. It shows a drum major with
the kids following behind. I don't know if you can see that
now. And then there's one of Iowa with all of the rows of the
plantings, and this is showing America from kids to the farms.
This is what we're part of. And we're asking you to become part
of us, part of PBS Wisconsin. Really easy to do when you call
and pledge your support. We have wonderful thank you gifts
such as the book or the DVDs. But every pledge of support will
get our "Airwaves" magazine. So you know what's happening on our
airwaves. You can plan ahead. You can see what's suggested. We
use it so we know are. So when's the next episode coming up so we
can watch it. But this is for you. We also have Passport so
you can catch the episodes you may miss, but most importantly,
give us a call and pledge your support at 1-800-236-3636.
>> It's our privilege to be able to bring you this. Look at Ken
Burns most recent documentaries, this look at behind the scenes
of how Ken and his colleagues work and put all of this
together and some of their commentary on it. It's our
privilege to bring all of this to you. But beyond that, your
support will also help us bring you Wisconsin history, Wisconsin
culture. We produce here, Wisconsin Hometown Stories,
Wisconsin Pride, Wisconsin Tribal H istories. Also in
education, we have Wisconsin biographies and The Look Back.
All important Wisconsin history that you aren't going to get
anywhere else. And your support makes all of this possible. And
your call is the next step in showing us that support.
1-800-236-3636. >> And when you make
your gift to PBS Wisconsin, we'll send you "Airwaves"
as well. This is a wonderful guide to
everything that's coming, but we have a gift of the book for $15
a month or more. And that's called Our America. Really
wonderful historical photos. For a gift of $25 a month or
more, the book, plus any one of these DVD sets.
The country music program was fantastic. And for a
gift of $100 a month or more, we'll send you the book and all
nine of these DVD sets. Call (800) 236-3636.
♪
to continue quality programing to continue quality programing