We have the power to put chess on National CBS TV. But we have to unite and I need your help!
Here is the article about What Makes A Good Story?
Steve Hartman Tells You What Works For Assignment America… And What Doesn’t
..Finally, and most importantly, if it’s a story that really caught your interest – if it’s something you couldn’t wait to tell other people about – chances are I’ll feel the same. Hope this helps. And I look forward to your ideas.
Steve Hartman, CBS
Suggest a chess story by sending an e-mail to Steve Hartman (assignment@cbsnews.com) at Assignment America.
But we need to unite and agree on WHICH story to ask CBS to discuss. So please tell me which story is inspiring and which story can help chess on a national scale by getting on CBS News!
One suggestion so far came from Victor Flores:
Hello,
As you may have heard by now Fernando Spada and Fernando Mendez, two of Brownsville’s finest chess players, appeared in this month’s issue of Texas Monthly Magazine. The story appears to have gathered enough interest that CBS may consider doing a national story on the young boys if there is still more interest. In order to generate interest, people have to vote online this Friday or Saturday after the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric has been aired.
Below are more details but in a nutshell this is what is being asked:
At 7pm Eastern Standard Time this Friday, February 9th, after the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric airs, go to www.cbsnews.com click on the Assignment America icon andvote for the Fernandos story. The sooner people vote the better but theycan vote until midnight EST on Saturday.
Please help me spread the word.
Sincerely,
Victor J. Flores
How about the amazing story of the Polgar sisters?
What Susan Polgar has done for chess in the US and the benefits of chess for children.
I wrote this….
Subject: Chess Mom Takes On The USCF
Dear Steve Hartman,
I think a story about Susan Polgar would be great. She is one of the greatest women chess players of all time. More importantly she has overcome many hurdles to promote chess in the United States. Her latest adventure is working to be elected to the United States Chess Federation. There is no doubt the USCF has been in disarray as of late, and Ms. Polgar hopes to change it for the better. Of course she does all this while being a single mom. It’s truly an amazing story.
Sincerely,
Jerry MacDonald
This comment has been removed by the author.
Basically, I agree with Jerry MacDonald.
It is a good story, it will give you the help that you need for the next elections and surely that you will be able to handle it well with the journalists so… that it is the type of news that can benefit to the American chess.
It is not the moment to be shy Susan!
I’m not sure about the chess mom angle. It’s a great story if you’re interested in chess, but to non-chessplayers it reads about the same as “scrabble mom takes on scrabble federation.” People have to care about the game or feel that the federation effects them or their community in order to be interested.
I think a program on her work with children would have a lot more public interest. Lots more people care about children than about the USCF.
Also interesting would be the related story about chess immigrants, and how much they are bringing to the community, and why they bring these gifts to the USA. A lot of people are coming down off of the war fearmongering, and there might be a lot of hunger for that type of positive, patriotic story.
You have to build off of where the whole people are, not just where the chess players are, for this type of outreach program.
I still like the reality tv show angle the best. I think we should try to get Susan on an existing tv show. For example, tonite is my favorite, “Beauty and the Geek”. Next season, a challenge could be to have the beauties play a chess tournament – after a chess lesson from Susan. This would fit right into the theme of the show – challenging beautiful but ditzy women to use their brains as well as their bodies to get ahead. To make it interesting, the beauties could call upon their geek to help them out at certain parts of the game.
Another angle would be to have chess as a segment on the talk shows. Chefs give cooking lessons as a tv segment; why couldn’t Susan give short chess lessons? I imagine Susan putting up a chess problem like she does with this blog and the host runs around the audience asking people for their suggested moves. The camera cuts to Susan at a big demonstrator board on stage, who comments on each suggestion.
In short, I’m not sure that news segments is the best angle to go right now. I think entertainment shows are the best avenue.
One last thing: After watching her tactical chess DVD, I would like to see Susan as a guest star on “Law and Order”. I am sure she would make a most sinister murderess. Sometimes when she is demonstrating some killer move, she has this little facial smirk – I visualize her on the witness stand describing the murder to Jack McCoy – death and satisfaction in one freeze frame. The perfect part.
TYs love drama. Whenever I meet a non-chess friend, the only story they are ever able to tell is the Mind vs machine game, where Kasparov lost to Deep Blue. Hence, I suggest the sensationalist topic “Is the time honored game of intellect, Chess dying due to computers?”. The games at the top level of chess is being determined more by deep home analysis using a computer rather than by human intellect. Can chess evolve to once more become a game of human intellect and prove that no computers can match human intelligence? I am afraid the game of GO is the only intelligent game left on the Earth, unless chess player can evelove to adopt Fischer Random Chess.
Rgds M.
I hate to say it but television would be most interested in a story about Bobby Fischer. His ascent to the world crown, his flawed personality, his descent into unstable obscurity. CBS wanted Bobby to agree to an
interview on 60 minutes after his release from prison on trumped up passport charges. Unfortunately a story on Bobby would bring some
negativity and I dont think would
help American chess right now. But Fischer is an enigma, a larger than life good and bad legend in his own time. Like Nigel Short has said, Bobby Fischer is The Zuess among Chess Champions and players. Maybe a story that covered the way the game evolved and was played before Fischer, during his reign, and also the top stars that followed and are playing today. Maybe with the angle on how chess has evovled into the high tech world of the use of complex computers for study and analysis. But my chess story is one of history, biography, and chess as a sport rather than a break through reality show. But Bobby is the one who would fascinate, sort of like how the pop rock band The Beatles impacted American National television back in 1964 on The Ed Sullivan show where they were such
a phenomenon that American crime virtually stopped while The Beatles performed! Larger than life characters strike like lightning and captivate the masses.
i think story abt susan chess mom will b a huge success i hope it will inspire all grls women to b more recongnize in chess world i will vote
I think cbs might be interested in super GM Navara’s story.
Don’t know if NAVARA will be comfortable or willing to do this story, but it’s an inspiring one and it needs to be told.