The Silent Network was purchased in May of 1990 by a group in San Antonio, Texas, who promptly changed the name to Kaleidoscope Television and eventually phased out all "deaf" programming to become a "health & wellness" network. In December of 2000, they went out of business.
I sold the network because by that time, I was completely burned out. After more than a decade of producing all of the programming and wearing almost all of the other hats at the company, I needed to take a breather and move on with my life.
Quite a bit has happened since I began in 1979. Marlee Matlin won an Academy Award, Julianna Fjeld won a national Emmy Award, Phyllis Frelich won a Tony Award, the "Deaf President Now" crusade at Gallaudet University held a nation spellbound, and of course, President Bush signed into law the American's With Disabilities Act in 1990. The phrase "politically correct" became part of American lexicon and captioning became a federal mandate. But how much progress has really been made?
The African American community, with a population in the U.S. of approximately 19 million, has BET (Black Entertainment Network). The Hispanic community, with over 22 million population, has two major Spanish-language networks. There's a network for Koreans, Russians, French, Italians, Chinese and Japanese -- but what's out there for the deaf community? NOTHING. So, I have decided to do it again. I've had an 11-year break, so I am currently in the process of organizing a NEW deaf television network, to be called "Sign City Television." (The name depicts a mythical city in which everyone knows sign language). If you'd like more information, or just want to chat about "the old days," you can contact me at SignCityTV2001@aol.com. I guess this has become my destiny, so I've decided once and for all to keep doing it until I get it right.
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