The Grateful American™ Series: Business Plan

Mission: The Grateful American™ Series is an interactive, multimedia program focused on restoring enthusiasm in American history in children — and adults.

Vision: To work with directors of the presidential/founding father homes, educators, historians, writers, and successful Americans to find out: what makes them “grateful,” and how they keep history stimulating for their kids, their colleagues, and themselves.

The Grateful American™ Series includes:

  • The Grateful American™ Radio Show on the Inakdescent Radio Network, featuring interviews about historical figures (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, etc.) with the chief executives of the nation’s presidential homes, historians, and other experts.
  • The Grateful American™ TV series on YouTube, public access, and national TV stations on DBS TV Channel, and InkandescentTV.
  • The Grateful American™ Guidebooks: Featuring insights from the leaders of the presidential homes, and interactive exercises that explore, engage, and help readers develop an interest in American history.
  • The Grateful American™ Events: Dovetailing with and promoting the events-in-progress currently going on at each of the nation’s presidential homes.
  • An interactive website: Here, students will post art, photos, writing, music, and other creative works that share their ideas about what excites them about American history.

PHASE 1: THE INTERVIEWS / RESEARCH

We launch the project in 2014 by simultaneously doing research and promoting the Series.

1. Each interview at the homes of the founding fathers are videotaped and posted on InkandescentTV and DBS’ YouTube TV channel.

2. Audio interviews with authors, historians, and educators become podcasts, which also run on the Grateful American™ Radio Show.

  • In addition to the audio recording, a photographer takes pictures at the interview.
  • The audio and photos are turned into slideshow videos to run on the TV channels.

3. In the spring of 2014, we’ll have enough examples of what we are doing to promote to local reporters. With the goal of restoring enthusiasm in American history in kids — and adults, too — we’ll be launching a series of quizzes to run in media outlets.

  • We’ll develop the quizzes in the form of press releases, articles — and ads — as desired.

(See Timeline, below)

PHASE 2: THE INTERACTIVE WEBSITE and APP

As we roll out the project, we will create an interactive, kid-friendly website that engages readers.

This will include pages for:

  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Transcribed interviews / photos
  • In the News

For kids:

  • Games for kids / prizes
  • Fun facts with quizzes / prizes
  • Page to submit and show off art, writing, etc., by kids
  • Geography bee / interactive geography games

PHASE 3: GRATEFUL AMERICAN BOOK and eBOOK

This fun book will be focused on helping kids play with the ideas shared in the podcast / video interviews and on the website.

It will feature:

  • Information about each president / founding father and founding mother
  • Photos of the homes, the people who lived there and worked there, etc.
  • Fun facts about each founder
  • Quizzes and places to create art, write reflections, etc.
  • Geography lesson / quiz
  • Map of all the homes
  • And more!

Content for eBook, TBD

PHASE 4: PROMOTION

  • As each phase of the project rolls out, we’ll grow our media outreach efforts to include national and regional media: TV, radio, newspapers, magazines.
  • Targets for the outreach include: general interest, parenting publications, education publications — and those with an emphasis on history, history publications, etc.
  • The guidebooks will be sold at the homes of the founding fathers, the Smithsonian, bookstores, amazon.com, etc.
  • The guidebooks will come with CD of the videos that has been edited into a 20-minute documentary.
  • Additional trailers of the series will also be shot and promoted as ads and on the TV channels.
  • Plan to pitch TV series to local cable networks, including DC Cable, etc. (similar to the Truly Amazing Women TV Show)
  • Articles from the series will be pitched to run in various publications.
  • Monthly press releases will be posted on the national wires and sent to our growing database of media contacts.

Timeline for interviews
Date of interview / launch date

Finished:

  • January / February: Meet Dr. Douglas Bradburn at Mount Vernon.
  • February / March: Go inside Lincoln’s Cottage with Erin Carlson Mast.
  • March / April: Learn from historian Tom Fleming, author of 50 books, including several on the founding fathers.
  • March / April: Meet the park ranger who runs Alexander Hamilton’s NY home, The Grange.
  • March / July: Hear the Civil War discussed with Adam Goodheart, author of “1861: The Civil War Awakening.”

To be booked:

  • May 12 / June: Discover James Madison’s Montpelier in our interview with Kat Imhoff.
  • April? / July: Visit the Gettysburg battlefield with Jerry Moore on the anniversary of the great battle.
  • TBD: Learn more about Thomas Jefferson from Leslie Greene Bowman at Monticello.
  • TBD: An interview with the leader of the John Marshall Foundation in Richmond, VA.
  • TBD: An interview with John Gray at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.
  • TBD: Take a virtual visit of Benjamin Franklin’s home in London — and landmarks in Philadelphia.
  • TBD: An interview with Lisa Fischer, director of the Digital History Center at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Accomplishments to date: 2014

January:

February:

March:

April: