By Gail L. Jenner
Getting to appear on national TV is not something I ever thought
I’d do. The fact that I’ve now appeared four times on major television shows is
pretty incredible. I have done a few Youtube videos and several radio
interviews, including NPR’s “West Coast Live,” but nothing bigger than that –
until....
The first time I was approached about appearing on a TV show
was in 2011, for History Channel’s “How the States Got Their Shapes.” The
producer had apparently “googled” about the State of Jefferson and because I’ve
coauthored four regional books (three with Arcadia Publishing, one with Old
American Publishing) on the history of the region, my name jumped up. It was really
only a short blip on the show; sadly, the weather turned bad and Brian Unger had
to return to the hotel because he had a cold and laryngitis! But it was still interesting,
and the production crew fun was work to with, in spite of the rain.
My second foray into the limelight was on Oregon’s PBS
series, “Oregon Experience,” produced by Kami Horton (who will be attending our
WWW conference in October!). She, too, had come across my name in regards to
the State of Jefferson – both the history of the area and the so-called “1941 rebellion.”
She called and we had a great visit, then she and her crew came to the ranch. They
taped me in a 2-hour interview and the film crew took some candid shots around
the ranch; in addition, I was able to give them more locations and individuals
who might be helpful. The program aired in November 2014 and, recently, it won
a WWA Spur Award for the Best Documentary! I will be in Lubbock, TX, and will
be accepting the award for Kami since she can’t attend this year’s WWA
conference.
In December, I was also contacted by our Siskiyou County
Museum director/curator. New to the area, when “Mysteries at the Museum” called
up about coming to Yreka to view the State of Jefferson state symbol – a gold
pan – she called and asked if I would appear, that she felt she couldn’t do the
show. So, for the 3rd time, I was asked to speak about the history
of the State of Jefferson and the 1941 movement. This time the interview was
well over 2 hours. Again, it was a young and energetic film crew that had flown
in to do the show. This show aired in March, and it’s been replayed several
times now.
Lastly, I was flown to Montana in January to be interviewed
about Charles E. Boles, aka Black Bart, the Poet Bandit, for a new series
called “Legends & Lies,” produced by Bill O’Reilly and aired on Fox News as
one of ten episodes about unique western figures. The researchers for this show
also apparently found me via the internet. In 2008, I coauthored the first and
only fictionalized biography of California’s most successful stage bandit, so my
name apparently rose to the top of the search engine—which goes to show the
impact of the internet!
The production company, Warm Springs, is located in Missoula
and what a delightful crew. I was provided a wonderful suite for two nights; my
flight was paid for and I was given a rental car plus a stipend. I was taken
out to dinner one night with two of the crew members. The interview took place
in a small “log cabin” outside of town; its windows were taped and darkened,
and I sat in a small living room space after going over what would be expected
of me. My contact person, Erin, had sent me a list of questions a week or two
earlier that they had for me. I found the questions interesting, although we
went well beyond those questions during the taped interview. It all went well,
but lasted almost 4 hours. Afterwards I was exhausted. The show aired in May
and has already been run three times.
All in all, whether these particular shows impact the sales
of my books or not, this series of adventures has opened my eyes to the
far-reaching power of our stories as well as the importance of marketing and
building a platform that can lead to new opportunities.
Gail
L. Jenner is a Past President of Women Writing the West. She has written four volumes about the State
of Jefferson and two novels, Across the
Sweet Grass Hills and Black Bart, the
Poet Bandit. She is the wife of a fourth generation cattle rancher and
lives on the family's historic farmstead.
