Contact:  
Mary Watkins/Media Access Group at WGBH
617-300-3700 or [log in to unmask]
http://access.wgbh.org

CBS and FOX Series Return with Description This Fall

The Media Access Group at WGBH Provides Description Services

BOSTON, MA. August 27, 2002 — When this fall's television season premieres,
a variety of prime-time and kids' series will return to CBS and FOX with
video description service for he nation's 12 million viewers who are blind
or visually impaired.  Returning with description are the series BLUE'S
CLUES, CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION and JAG on CBS, as well as the series
THE BERNIE MAC SHOW, BOSTON PUBLIC, MAGIC SCHOOL BUS, MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE
and THE SIMPSONS on FOX.

The Media Access Group at WGBH — which pioneered description in 1990 — is
providing description services for each of these continuing series on CBS
and FOX. Funding for the description is provided by CBS, the FOX
Broadcasting Company and the U.S. Department of Education.

CBS Series with DVS:

BLUE'S CLUES: The popular children's series from the Nickelodeon Network
airs on Saturday mornings as part of CBS's "Nick Jr" programming block,
which is designed especially for 2 to 5-year-old viewers.  Check local CBS
listings for broadcast times.

CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION: This slick crime drama — which premieres its
fall season on Thursday, September 26 at 9pm ET/PT on CBS — focuses on
"crime scene investigation," the specialty of the forensic team in the Las
Vegas Police Department's Criminalistics Bureau.  William Petersen, Marg
Helgenberger and Jorja Fox star.

JAG: Kicking off its fall season on CBS on Tuesday, September 24 at 8pm
ET/PT, the series looks at the cases tried by Judge Advocate General (JAG)
attorneys, featuring their activities both in the courtroom and out in the
field.  David James Elliott, Catherine Bell and John M. Jackson star.

FOX Series with DVS:

THE BERNIE MAC SHOW: The series premieres its second season on FOX on
Wednesday, September 18 at a new time — 8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT.  This daring
half-hour comedy — recipient of a 2001 Peabody Award for broadcast
excellence — is inspired by the real-life of stand-up comedian Bernie Mac, a
family man with unique views on parenting.

BOSTON PUBLIC: Premiering its new season on Monday, October 21 at 8pm ET/PT
on FOX, this thought-provoking, hour-long drama from creator/writer/producer
David E. Kelley (ALLY MCBEAL, THE PRACTICE) goes inside Winslow High, an
urban high school outside of Boston. There, Principal Steven Harper spends
his days putting out fires, defending his faculty and keeping things going.

THE SIMPSONS: Beginning its 14th hit season on Sunday, November 3 at 8pm
ET/PT on FOX, this animated sitcom, created by Matt Groening, follows the
colorful everyday lives of the Simpson family — Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and
baby Maggie — and other residents of Springfield.

MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE: This popular comedy debuts its 2002 season on Sunday,
November 3 at a new time — 9pm ET/PT.  Winner of a 2000 Peabody Award for
broadcast excellence, the series tells the story of a middle-class family
with four squabbling brothers, as seen through the eyes of Malcolm — a
"normal" kid with a genius IQ.

MAGIC SCHOOL BUS: In this animated kids' science series, Ms. Frizzle and her
students ride the magic, transformable school bus to experience how things
work from the inside out.  Each trip provides young viewers with
fascinating, behind-the-scenes adventures in the name of science.  Check
local FOX listings for broadcast schedule.

Developed in 1990 by Boston public broadcaster WGBH, Descriptive Video
Service® (DVS®) makes visual media more accessible to the nation's 12
million viewers who are blind or visually impaired.  The service provides
descriptive narration of key visual elements — making television programs,
feature films, home videos and other media accessible to people who are
blind or visually impaired.  Key visual elements are those that viewers who
are visually impaired would ordinarily miss, such as actions, costumes,
gestures, facial expressions, scene changes and on-screen text.  Inserted
within the natural pauses in dialogue, audio descriptions of important
visual details help to engage these viewers with the story.

Viewers can access description on their stereo-equipped televisions or VCRs
through the Second Audio Program or SAP channel.  Stand-alone SAP receivers
also are available (these can be used with or without a television; a list
of vendors can be found at dvs.wgbh.org).  Most TVs and VCRs purchased since
1992 are equipped with the SAP feature.  To hear the narrated visual
descriptions through a stereo TV or VCR, simply activate its SAP feature.

In addition to these series on CBS and FOX, the Media Access Group provides
video description for a wide variety of programs broadcast on PBS, as well
as for selected programs on Lifetime, Nickelodeon, TBS and TNT, and numerous
films on the Turner Classic Movies cable network.  First-run feature films —
including current releases SIGNS, AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER, ROAD TO
PERDITION, STUART LITTLE 2 and upcoming releases such as RED DRAGON and
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS — are made accessible via closed
captioning and description technologies WGBH developed for theaters, which
are now installed in the US and Canada.  For a complete list of described
programs and films, visit access.wgbh.org or call the toll-free DVS
information line at 800-333-1203.

The Media Access Group at WGBH is a non-profit service with offices in
Boston, Los Angeles and New York.  In addition to DVS, the Group includes
The Caption Center — the world's first captioning agency — which has made
audiovisual media accessible to audiences who are deaf or hard-of-hearing
since 1972, and the CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media, a
research, development and advocacy entity that works to make existing and
emerging technologies accessible to all audiences.  Members of the Group's
collective staff represent the leading resources and experts in their
fields.  For more information about access services, visit the Media Access
Group Web site http://access.wgbh.org or call 617-300-3600 (voice and TTY).

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