Who is the owner?

I read all this information before the contact called me back. I then asked them why they thought they could scam people, the person at other end acted very insulted and couldn't believe that they were portrayed as scammers online and asked me why I thought they were scammers.  They wanted to see what I was talking about..I sent the person a link to website that explained their fraud. I have a feeling I will not be getting calls from them again. Very good pitch but thank goodness for people like those in this thread puttting their experiences out there.  This was the martin Sheen-InFocus attempt.

Latest name in this same tired scam is Public Television Distributors, Inc.  And their newest face is Martin Sheen. They are calling the show In Focus, but it is the same old song and dance, you pay big bucks for no guarantee of anything ever airing.
Additionally, they have purchased a staggering number of domain names, started a Facebook and a Google +, and even made themselves a Wikipedia entry in an effort to appear legitimate, but be assured, In Focus with Martin Sheen is a SCAM. Repeat, InFocus with Martin Sheen is a scam! Not a report on a scam, an ACTUAL scam. Do not give money to Public Television Distributors, Inc and their show, they guarantee you nothing as return on a more than $20,000 investment.

Here's a good way to start on you due diligence with these scammers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/us/16pitch.html

http://www.edelmandigital.com/blog/2008/08/ex ... ytoplay_pr.html

http://floridapayforplayexposed.blogspot.com/

And, for everyone reading this and all the people at Vision Media Television/VT Media/Giving Back Series/Heroes of Hope/National Business Report... or whatever they are calling your scam these days:

The information that I provide comes courtesy of someone who worked there for a short period and was digusted by their unethical practices. They way they preyed on small companies and laughed at those for signing up. The background information I provide in the links comes from places like the NEW YORK TIMES and THE CONSUMERIST... hardly entities which fall under the category of "disgruntled employees." I'm just trying to help people from falling for this scam. Check my other posts for names to google. And just remember:  Where there is smoke...there is fire.

The company is NOT legitimate.

Quick Recap of the Scam, though it should sound familiar to most of you:

1) "Producers", who are really telemarketers working off a list (they've never heard of your company nor care) cold-call you. They use poor Hugh Downs' name and 'documentary for Public Television' in order to get past PR and marketing people and directly to the CEO or President.

2) Read a script where they first ask you questions about your life's work, feigning interest and mentioning a fictious "national audience" in order to inflame your passion. The trick is to get you imagining a PBS-style documentary.

3) Tell you the 3 places this documentary airs
A) Public Television. (The truth is they mail these poorly made infomercials to hundreds of PTV stations, hoping they air. A very few do, most don't. And if you ask for a precise time or city a PTV station will air it, they dance around telling you "it's impossible to know", then follow that up by tellig you it airs hundreds of times. It doesn't.)
B) On the Internet. (The Truth is they post it on YouTube. Ummm, anyone can do that for free. And attach it to an email blast that would cost about $500 if you did it yourself. There are plenty of companies that do these blasts for you, especially in the 'one-time shot" form. So you could do this yourself for $500 or less. And keep in mind the poor quality.)
C) My personal favorite... on primetime, national TV. (The Truth is they send these poorly made infomercials to CNBC, Fox, etc., and hope they play it. That's why they show you POST-AIRING AFFIDAVITS and not the media buy itself. They don't buy the time. It costs the networks nothing to air these things, so they might have thrown one on at some point at on a Saturday night dead-zone. Point is --- there is an infintisimal chance it will air at all, and no chance at it airing the amount of time they say. It's the semantical game of "Distributed to." That's why they provide POST Airing Reports.)

4) They'll pressure you with some fictious deadlines (usually 4 days from the time of the call), when they'll send you a packet of fluff.

5) They'll call you back, usually with a "Vice President of Programming in the CLOSER ROLE, telling you that you have to move on this today and so forth.

Sound familiar? They've been running this scam under different incarnations for years now. Check the links I provided. They are helpful. And the fact that they keep posting nonsense here, as well as a Bartlett's-worthy post from their lawyer, should be more damning against them than anything I can tell you.

Stay away from these guys! Good Luck!

I initially got an email, then phone call from this number, re the possibility of having a video produced by Insights with Hugh Downs, if we paid $22,900 plus $3000 filming at my location cost. Promise to have video distributed on YouTube, nationally on public TV and well as regionally and told their distribution budget was $1.3 million. Apparently this company regularly changes their name and as of Sept 2009, was soliciting under the name Insights.
Go to: http://floridapayforplayexposed.blogspot.com/
for more information on this kind of SCAM.

PBS posts the following:
Q. Does PBS have any affiliation with programs produced by Vision Media Television (or VM Television)?
Q. I've been contacted by a TV producer who claims that he will feature my company in a national public television program in exchange for a fee. Is PBS aware of this?
A. A number of businesses have contacted PBS to ask us about our relationship with the producers of various television programs carrying titles such as Giving Back, Learning About, and The National Report Series. According to representatives of these businesses, the producers have offered to feature the representatives' businesses in a television program and indicated that the program will be made available on national public television. Based upon representations made to them by the producers, the businesses were led to believe that the producers were associated with PBS and that PBS intended to distribute or otherwise endorsed their programming.

PBS wishes to clarify that it is not associated with and does not endorse, distribute programming for, review underwriting for or otherwise have any business relationship with the following production companies: VM Television, Vision Media Television, Paradigm Media Group, PMG, PMGTV, Infinity Media Group, Roadshow Productions, Family Television Studios, United Media Communications Group, American Review TV, Business Break TV, Event Media TV, Global Television Studios, VT Media, Vision Media, VT Media Productions, Heroes of Hope, Giving Back, Platinum Group, Healthy Path, Eco Planet TV, and Business Trends. PBS does not oversee the production or distribution of any programs associated with any of these companies.

If you are solicited by a production company that claims or implies an association with PBS, please notify PBS.
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