crime - CIELILLNILt.

WEEKLY FEATURES

about meeting this niche group's
needs.
"Jews," he added, are too "main-
stream" to warrant their own chan-
nel.
Rutledge, who has an affinity for
Jews, nevertheless thinks because of
the political climate and competition
from Arab stations that the timing is
ripe for a Jewish channel, and he is
championing a new initiative, Blue
& White TV.
"If Arab TV launches, we have to
do something. Israel doesn't know
how to market its extraordinary citi-
zens. The story needs to be told with
a brighter light on the success of the
people."
Blue & White TV is the brainchild
of Amos Kamil, of Montclair, N.J.,
and Richard Prince, of Short Hills,
N.J. Ardent Zionists, the pair have
assembled what they term a "credi-
ble" management team to launch the
channel that includes Graeme
Silbert, co-owner of U.S. Capital
Consultants, and Travis Gering, a
founding partner of Wuersch &
Gering in New York.
Rutledge, who is working for the
proposed channel as a consultant,
says Blue & White differs from
other ideas in that its founders have
a "fire in the belly in a business
sense, breaking down every element,
looking at operations, management,
finance, content and barriers to
entry in cable."
Blue & White's vision is a contin-
uous wheel of programming themat-
ically structured around people,
homeland and civilization, to
include A&E-type biographies of
figures from Chaim Solomon, who
provided bullets to George
Washington's army during the
Revolutionary War, to comedian
Adam Sandler; documentaries on
Israel's natural beauty and ethnic
populations; historical programming
on Jewish communities around the
world; and a nightly news program
with an Israeli-American anchor.
"We want to re-humanize Judaism
and show our diversity," said Prince,
a microbiologist by training who
made a commitment after the sec-
ond intifada started in 2000 to "not
be cut off from Israel" and became
involved in the Jewish National
Fund and his local federation.
"We have to control our own
story," Kamil added, or risk being
"defined by the competition."
Last year, Comcast wished the
company "well" in conversations
about bundling Blue & White into a

cable package. Rutledge believes that
lofty goal will be accomplished only
after a grassroots campaign demand-
ing "my Jewish TV" attracts the
attention of local cable operators.
In the meantime, his advice for
Blue & White is to build the net-
work around a signature show the
way Seinfeld built NBC and The
Simpsons built FOX.
"You need a program that draws
eyeballs to the channel," he said, and
which has broad appeal beyond the
niche market in order to attract
attention on Madison Avenue, the
center of the advertising industry.
Be suggests ideas such as conversa-
tions with a Mossad agent, a Jewish
matchmaker reality show, or a bar
mitzvah home-video show that .
would inspire kids with ideas for
their own celebrations.
First, however, he acknowledges
that the founders need financial
backing in order for Blue & White
to materialize. "It's all finance," he
said. "If they get the money, they'll
be up.
To that end, management is look-
ing for funding both from the insti-
tutional Jewish community and pri-
vate sources, including the Marcus
Foundation, where a grant has been
submitted. As to its status, Kaiman
said the foundation "does not com-
ment on active grants." The founda-
tion makes anonymous grants.
Elsewhere, other Jewish organiza-
tions have expressed interest in
working with Blue & White TV, but
so far no one has committed dollars.
According to Prince, the business
plan was to be formally sent out to
interested philanthropic parties on
April 30th. "The business plan, of
course, details our budget, which is
what prospective donors most want
to see," he said.
With the economic viability of a
Jewish network a constant source of
doubt, it might seem more practical
to simply produce shows for other
networks. But Kamil, a former direc-
tor of branding for Landor
Associates in New York City, said,
Israel is a "brand to be marketed"
that needs its own identity, and not
one that is farmed out to a multi-
tude of cable channels.
Prince added that other networks
would want programming that
reflects both sides of the Arab-Israeli
conflict. "Someone will always ask
about the Palestinians. We won't
need to ask anyone's permission at
Blue & White. Whatever we want
will get on the air." ❑

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