The Willow Glen Resident Photograph by Skye Dunlap Whale of a Show: Glenite Judy Jones (right) helps Jason Brickman edit footage of Keiko, the orca of 'Free Willy' fame, for an episode of 'For the Animals.' Willow Glen residents produce cable-access show that's 'For the Animals' Animal-rights activists have created forum to air views By Michelle Ku On this night, Judy Jones is in an uncomfortable position: She's in makeup preparing to go in front of the cameras rather than behind them. "I hate being in front of the camera," says Jones, a vegetarian and animal activist. "I'm much more comfortable on the other side." Jones, a Willow Glen resident, is usually behind the scenes as producer, coordinating and making sure that everything is in place for the tapings of For the Animals,a cable-access television show that focuses on animal rights, the environment, vegetarianism and human health. But today, she's a guest because she was in Oregon filming on the day that Keiko, the orcan star of Free Willy, left the Oregon Coast Aquarium to begin his trip to Iceland. Jones is already nervous because For the Animals is taping a two-part series on Keiko's plight and how the whale was returned to his home waters in Iceland, but technical problems have put the crew a full hour behind schedule. When the tape finally begins to roll, Jones stops worrying about what's going on behind the scenes as she focuses on the questions posed to her by host Chris Wilder. Since For the Animals was created four years ago, Jones has been one of the driving forces behind the half-hour show. "When we first started, I never dreamed that we'd have such a good show," Jones says. "We're all over the Bay Area. The show can be seen from Napa down to San Jose. Our show is very professionally done. It's better than most cable-access shows." When the show first started, it could only be seen on a station in Los Gatos, but since then, For the Animals has expanded to include 12 stations in the Bay Area. The show can also be seen in Syracuse, N.Y., on a limited basis. In Willow Glen, the show is on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on channel 15A. For the Animals received a Bay Area Cable Excellence Award for technical excellence last year. The award is voted on by a group of professionals who run local access stations. "Among people who pay attention to public television and small independent shows, it's a very prestigious award," says Wilder, who moved to Willow Glen in May. The show has come a long way since its first episodes, Jones says. "What we first decided to do was a book review and a restaurant review. It was so boring that the first few shows we did were pretty awful stuff, but we were having fun," she said. The idea behind For the Animals came from Merrick Klaus, who just moved from Willow Glen in March. Klaus, an animal- rights activist and a master-control operator at KRON-TV, channel 4 in San Francisco, thought a cable television show would be a good way to reach more people as opposed to street fairs, protests or demonstrations. At the time the show was created, Klaus was working at KNTV-11 in San Jose. "I was getting more involved in animal- rights protests, and I thought, What better way to combine my two passions than by starting a show?" says Klaus, the creator and executive producer of For the Animals. "Cable really, truly is the only outlet for freedom of speech. You can't say or show a lot of the things we do on commercial television." Klaus was the only one of the approximately 10 people on the show's crew who had any television experience, but Jones had faith in her ability to teach the rest of the people involved. Today, with more than 100 episodes in the can, every member of the crew knows what his or her job is to make the show a success. Each month, the volunteer crew of For the Animals comes together to produce two new episodes of what Wilder calls "the only show of our kind." "We're talking about mad cow disease before the mainstream media gets a hold of it," Wilder says. "It seems radical because we're talking about animal rights, vegetarianism and good health, but over time you see the mainstream media pick up on what we're talking about." The show is formatted into two sections, an interview and a vegan cooking portion. The first half of the show explores animal rights, the environment, vegetarianism and health issues. The cooking demonstration is hosted by Kay Bushnell, the "garden gourmet." Bushnell prepares vegan dishes. (Veganism is a strict form of vegetarianism in which no animal products are eaten or used. Vegans do not drink milk or eat cheese or eggs. They also do not wear any leather or use any products that have been tested on animals.) At the end of each show, Bushnell does a segment called "Something to Think About" and talks about the benefits of veganism or recommends recipes or health books. In her role as producer, Jones researches issues and contacts the appropriate experts to have as guests. Actor Ed Begley Jr. appeared on the show and talked about environmental issues, including organic gardening, solar energy and sustainable environment--taking care of yourself without destroying the environment you're in. Yet Jones is more than just the producer. She is also the reporter in location shoots, and she handles many of the administrative tasks, including answering phone calls, bookkeeping, fundraising and tape-dubbing and distribution. While working on the show takes a lot of time and energy for Jones and the rest of the crew, it's a labor of love undertaken for the animals. 'For the Animals' can be seen in Willow Glen on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on channel 15A. For more information, call 993-2255, write to P.O. Box 8136, San Jose, 95155 or visit www.best.com/~animal/fta. [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, October 28, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.