Growing Bolder TV: Active Lifestyle Programming for PBS Stations
It's Not About Age; It's About Attitude
Hey, we’re all about lifelong learning, having big dreams, going after your goals — no matter how long it takes you to achieve them — and celebrating people who prove it’s never too late.
So guess what? Growing Bolder is going back to college! (Sort of.)
We are thrilled beyond words to officially announce news that we’ve been working on for the better part of a year:
WUCF TV Grows ‘Bolder’ With Inspirational Programming for 50+ Audiences
We’re pretty humble people here at Team GB (can you be humble while saying you’re humble?), and we truly would prefer to spend our time shining the spotlight on others rather than standing in it ourselves.
But we hope you’ll indulge us as we pat ourselves on the backs on a pretty big accomplishment for this little team that could.
(We are little: there are only seven full-time employees, with two or three freelancers in the mix!)
September 3, 2011, marks our first anniversary of national distribution for Growing Bolder TV.
Growing Bolder® TV Expands Program Access to Viewers With Visual Impairment
National TV program partners with the U.S. Department of Education to provide video descriptions
Growing Bolder TV, produced by Bolder Broadcasting, Inc., proudly announces that it will offer DVI, or Descriptive Video Information, as a feature on all episodes of Season 3, distributed by American Public Television in January 2012.
Through a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education, in connection with the National Captioning Institute, DVI will provide access to Growing Bolder for people who are blind or have low vision. NCI Described Video can be heard through the Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) option on the Multi-channel Television Sound (MTS) feature on most newer televisions and can usually be accessed through the remote control. The DVI process provides vivid descriptions of a program’s visual elements during pauses in the dialogue, so it does not interrupt or adversely affect the storytelling that Growing Bolder is so well-known for.
“Since Growing Bolder is all about inspiring people to overcome obstacles and celebrate the possibilities of life, we thought it was important that we make our program accessible to everyone in every way possible,” says Growing Bolder Executive Producer Katy Widrick. “It requires additional production steps for us, but we believe all producers and programs should be willing to provide this valuable feature for viewers.”
An estimated 12 million Americans are visually impaired, and DVI makes it possible for them to enjoy programming, including the action, characters, sets and more.
Other prominent public media programs that feature DVI include:
Growing Bolder is produced by an Emmy Award-winning team and delivers empowering stories that inspire audiences of all ages to believe that it’s never too late to achieve their dreams. Currently airing on public television stations nationwide, Growing Bolder also airs on CreateTV® and will deliver a new 13-week run of episodes in January 2010.
Local listings can be found here: http://growingboldertv.com/schedule/.
Florida Hospital Announces Partnership With Growing Bolder
TV show spreads the word about healthy living through testimonials and success stories
ORLANDO, Fla., June 8, 2011 – Florida Hospital and Bolder Broadcasting, Inc., which produces the television broadcast Growing Bolder, recently announced a partnership that will allow both companies to grow in new ways. The show focuses on the celebration of ordinary people living extraordinary lives, as well as inspirational tools to promote living a long and healthy life.
Growing Bolder, a weekly television program produced by veteran broadcast news journalists, creates video news stories about residents across America living a healthy lifestyle. Their team includes acclaimed former Orlando broadcasters such as Wendy Chioji, Marc Middleton and Bill Shafer.
“We are excited to partner with Florida Hospital’s Healthy 100 program to help spread the message that lifestyle changes can have profoundly positive results on your quality of life,” said Marc Middleton, CEO of Bolder Broadcasting, Inc. “This is a perfect partnership because our missions are so closely aligned and yet slightly different. The Healthy 100 program is dedicated to charting a path to a healthy 100 years of age and then providing the tools to get you there. We provide the stories to inspire you with the proof that it’s possible to live an active, independent, meaningful life into your 100s.”
Other additions to the Growing Bolder team include NBA executive and motivational speaker Pat Williams, as well as Olympic Gold medalist Rowdy Gaines. Growing Bolder made its debut in September 2010, climbing from just two PBS stations to 275 stations in less than six months.
“Who wants to live to 100 if you can’t enjoy it? That’s why we love the Healthy 100 model. We know a Healthy 100 is within the reach of just about everyone. We see it every day. Longevity is 70 percent lifestyle,” said Bill Shafer, executive vice president of Bolder Broadcasting, Inc. “This is great news for everyone of every age. It’s never too soon or too late to make lifestyle changes.”
About Florida Hospital and Healthy 100
Opened in 1908, Florida Hospital is a faith-based institution focused on providing whole person care. It is one of the largest not-for-profit hospitals in the country, caring for more than a million patient visits per year – more than any other hospital in the country, according to the American Hospital Association. The more than 2,000-bed system is comprised of eight hospitals, including the Walt Disney Pavilion at Florida Hospital for Children, 30 outpatient facilities and 20 Centra Care locations throughout Central Florida.
Florida Hospital is on a journey to create a culture of health and wellness in the community through the Healthy 100 program. Healthy 100 encourages the community to live to a healthy 100 years of age by taking care of their mind, body and spirit. Florida Hospital provides a wide range of health services, including many nationally and internationally recognized programs in cardiology, cancer, women’s medicine, neurosciences, diabetes, orthopedics, pediatrics and advanced surgical programs. Florida Hospital is a designated statutory teaching hospital and also trains physicians from all around the world on the newest technologies. For more information, please visit www.floridahospital.com.
About Growing Bolder TV
Growing Bolder is produced by an Emmy award-winning team and delivers empowering stories that inspire audiences of all ages to believe that it’s never too late to achieve their dreams. Currently distributed by American Public Television, Growing Bolder airs on more than 250 public television stations nationwide and proves “it’s not about age; it’s about attitude.” More information is available at http://GrowingBolderTV.com.
For more information, contact Florida Hospital Media Relations at 407-303-8217.
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Growing Bolder Hosts and Contributors
We’ve had several Growing Bolder viewers contact us, worried about the future of our show in the aftermath of WMFE in Orlando announcing that it is selling its TV station to concentrate on radio. WMFE has been the presenting station for our television show (Growing Bolder) so we understand and appreciate the concern.
However, WMFE’s announcement will have little impact on our show. [Read more...]
Growing Bolder Contributor Pat Williams
The news shocked us all — “Pat Williams Diagnosed With Multiple Myeloma.” In fact, when NBA.com published the breaking news, our lead Web developer saw it and sent it around via urgent email around 11pm.
By 9am the next morning, the entire Growing Bolder staff had come together to express our concern, our sadness and our empathy for Pat and his family.
He didn’t need it. Any of it. And we’d find that out in person soon enough.
First, a bit of a backstory. Pat Williams is an Orlando legend. He’s credited with bringing the city its first NBA franchise (the Orlando Magic.) He written a book for every year he’s been alive (70 and counting) and a devoted family, including 19 children, 14 of whom the Williams adopted.
He’s a walking inspiration who has more humility than he should, given his success. He’s quick to share the secrets to success that others have found (Michael Jordan, John Wooden, Bear Bryant) and equally fast at fostering ambition in up-and-coming leaders.
Pat is also a member of the Growing Bolder team — we spent hours with him in early 2011, working on a series of videos for Season 2 of Growing Bolder TV, shooting behind-the-scenes photographs and more.
And just weeks after wrapping our final video shoot, Pat visited his doctors for what he expected to be a normal checkup. In fact, it was.
Growing Bolder Hosts and Contributors
But when he had a second doctors visit, a more throughout corporate physical, doctors found something abnormal in the bloodwork.
Pat, who says he “thought his body was krypotine,” was about to find out that he was among the hundreds of thousands of people around the world that have faced or are facing cancer. [Read more...]
(For the complete Season 2 Press Kit as well as other media resources, visit our press kit page.)
Growing Bolder Season 2: It’s Not About Age; It’s About Attitude!
Bigger, better and – of course – bolder! Following a successful first season of national distribution through American Public Television, Bolder Media Group is proud to announce that Season 2 of GROWING BOLDER TV will air on public television stations nationwide in April 2011.
Growing Bolder is produced by an Emmy award-winning team and delivers empowering stories that inspire audiences of all ages to believe that it’s never too late to achieve their dreams.
Stories for Season 2 include:
In addition to brand new feature stories, Growing Bolder is thrilled to introduce several new members of the on-air team, who will join award-winning hosts Marc Middleton and Bill Shafer to offer content and inspiration from across the country and across industries.
Technical upgrades for Season 2 of Growing Bolder include a new show open, refined graphics and an all new set, with multiple cameras and added on-screen content. In addition, the program will include new product offers, an updated Media/Press kit for programmers to use in viewer outreach and an elegant and easy-to-use website for complete episodes, Web exclusives, producer blogs and more: http://GrowingBolderTV.com/.
Plus, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, best known as a founding member of The Byrds, will provide music for the program, including the theme music for the show open and credits.
Season 1 of Growing Bolder saw great success, including nearly 70% carriage across the U.S., on 225 stations in 98 markets. In addition, many stations integrated local underwriting packages to support Growing Bolder’s programming.
CONTACT
Katy Widrick
Executive Producer, Bolder Media Group
katy@boldermediagroup.com
407.362.8237
ABOUT BOLDER MEDIA GROUP
The Bolder Media Group brought video to the 50+ demographic. The BMG produces The Growing Bolder TV Show, The Growing Bolder Radio Show, Growing Bolder Lifelong Learning Minutes, and exclusive active lifestyle content for a wide range of clients and partners. We’re experts on Social Media as well as content creation and delivery across multiple platforms. We own and operate GrowingBolder.com, which went online in February of 2006 as the world’s first multimedia lifestyle and social networking portal for the 50+ demographic. Our community is not about age. It’s about attitude.
The Bolder Media Group is the winner of the Vision Media Award, presented to the media organization that’s done the most to promote a positive image of aging.
ABOUT AMERICAN PUBLIC TELEVISION
American Public Television (APT) has been a leading distributor of high-quality, top-rated programming to America’s public television stations since 1961. In 2009, APT distributed 56 of the top 100 highest-rated public television titles. Among its 300 new program titles per year are prominent documentaries, news and current affairs programs, dramatic series, how-to programs, children’s series and classic movies, including For Love of Liberty: The Story of America’s Black Patriots, A Ripple of Hope, Rick Steves’ Europe, Newsline, Globe Trekker, Simply Ming, America’s Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated, Lidia’s Italy, P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home, Murdoch Mysteries, Doc Martin, Rosemary and Thyme, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, The Great American Songbook and John Denver: The Wildlife Concert. APT also licenses programs internationally through its APT Worldwide service. In 2006, APT launched Create™ – the TV channel featuring the best of public television’s lifestyle programming. For more information about APT’s programs and services, visit APTonline.org.
It’s hard for us to keep a secret…but we’re ready to spread the news that we’ve been working on for the past few months!
We are thrilled to announce that starting with Season 2 of Growing Bolder, we will be joined by Wendy Chioji, a longtime friend who just happens to be a respected journalist, cancer survivor, competitive athlete and all-around rockstar! [Read more...]
