Congratulations to Genealogy Gems Podcast which recently reached a major milestone: 1 Million Downloads! To celebrate, Lisa Louise Cooke, the brains behind Genealogy Gems Podcast, has shared the following infographic with us!
Click to embiggen . . .
I’m excited to tell you about a new television series on PBS entitled Our American Family. This week I was able to speak with Steve Young, one of the producers of the series and I learned more about the pilot episode which features his own family.
What is Our American Family? from Our American Family on Vimeo.
The pilot episode, Our American Family – The Youngs, is about a family in Northern Mississippi as told by the siblings who were born during the 1920s and 1930s. Here’s a preview clip:
You can learn more about the pilot episode and the series by visiting http://ouramericanfamilytv.com. At the website families can apply to be a part of the series, watch a preview of scenes from Our American Family – The Youngs and later, view bonus material related to the show – more sibling bios, family recipes, etc.
I’m honored to say I’ve been given a sneak preview to the entire 30 minute episode and not only was it thoroughly enjoyable, but it really gave me a sense of what this family endured during the 1900 – 1950 time period. Through re-enactments, voice overs from family members and touching photographs, viewers learn what it was like to raise children during the Great Depression and then send many of them off to war in the 1940s.
In addition, while I’ve enjoyed episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? there is something to be said for having non-celebrities and their family histories depicted on television. In speaking with Steve Young, I got to understand one of the important concepts of the series:
“Everyday families have extraordinary stories. Our American Family seeks to document our American family heritage, one family at a time, and inspire viewers to capture their own family stories - before those voices are gone.”
I couldn’t agree more. I’m hoping that Our American Family will not only increase the awareness of the general public about genealogy and family history, but also the need to document family history NOW and not after our family members have left us.
In my conversations with Steve Young, I also learned more about how the series will air on PBS and actually much more about PBS affiliates etc. Here is what’s involved with the Our American Family series:
The pilot episode, Our American Family – The Youngs, will be available for the PBS local affiliates to broadcast soon. The affiliate will decide whether or not to air the episode based on public interest in the series and the topic of family history.
So what does this mean and what can you do? Here is how your help is needed:
Keeping with the concept of depicting everyday American families, you can apply here to have your family and its history considered for an upcoming episode of Our American Family. If your family has compelling stories and artifacts including documents and images from the 1900 – 1950 time period, consider applying to be a part of this great series and share your family’s history.
One final thing you can do to help this series become a success is to follow it on social media using these links:
And not just follow . . . become part of the conversation about the need to preserve family history while the voices of our family members are still loud, clear and accessible.
©2012, copyright Thomas MacEntee
This week’s topic for Open Thread Thursday is:
Is there something about the cult of celebrity and researching their roots that makes for strange bedfellows when you mix famous folks and genealogy? While we as genealogists love the media exposure, do we sometimes pursue it to our own detriment and in a way that harm’s our field?
Do we as genealogists sometimes throw reason and good research practices out the window in order to be affiliated with a television show or a story? Is there pressure to come up with a story that doesn’t exist or to stitch together evidence to reach a conclusion that doesn’t meet the Genealogical Proof Standard or even qualify as a reasonably exhaustive search?
Or is it more a matter of a media industry which does not fully understand genealogy and family history research? In this age of the quick sound bite, does the media “dumb down” what we do and seeks out a story that really isn’t there or a story to fit a desired conclusion?
Have you had your own encounters with the media involving your own research or some aspect of genealogy? Tell us about your experience and what you think celebrity genealogy does for the genealogy industry.
Post your responses in the comments or at a post on your own genealogy blog and place the link here in the comments.
* * *
I can be as big a fame whore as the next person – there is something special about personally talking with the stars or the producers of Who Do You Think You Are? You get giddy, you tell friends and colleagues, you somehow think it makes you special. But it doesn’t make you a better genealogist.
And I think that researching the roots of the famous is not the issue here – it is hasty and sloppy research that doesn’t follow the Genealogical Proof Standard combined with a basic lack of understanding about genealogy from the media as well as the general public.
But even when the standards are followed, care should be taken when dealing with the media in relating evidence and a conclusion, especially when those “wiggle” words are used. In the recent case of politician Elizabeth Warren’s supposed Cherokee roots and the recent involvement with the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), I truly believe that sound research was in practice and in process. See Garance Franke-Ruta’s excellent article at The Atlantic (Is Elizabeth Warren Native American or What?) for an overview of the controversy.
But, most of the media ignored the “qualified” answer as well as those wiggle words and ran with a story while the research was still being undertaken. This is why it can be better sometimes to not present a “half time” view of research until a reasonably exhaustive search is done and the results can be presented as a whole. There are times when I think it would be nice to be part of a “hot” story, but as I evolve in my genealogy career, very often I find myself putting the brakes on my involvement in order to stop a “run away” story that can take on a life of its own. And with today’s marriage of traditional media and social media, that is one fast moving train that often can’t be stopped or steered effectively.
Another example is the recent broadcast of Who Do You Think You Are? involving Jason Sudeikis and his alleged bigamist great-grandfather. As you can see in a recent discussion over at a new blog, The Lineal Arboretum, there is a lot more research involved than what was shown in the episode. Perhaps as genealogists we use a much more critical eye when research results are presented in such shows, and we should. Again, in 42 minutes, a television show is going to make it all look so easy.
This approach does bring newcomers to the field of genealogy and we all seem to benefit – professional genealogists, genealogy vendors and even genealogy societies. But often it can be quite a bit of work to “undo” the mindset that arrives with the newcomers, and convince them that genealogy is not “magic.” Genealogy is a process which has research standards and an industry with professionals committed to those standards.
Sometimes I wonder if having the media spotlight on genealogy is not just more trouble than its worth but harmful to the industry. Or perhaps we as genealogists just need bigger voices when it comes to the media and we need to start controlling the conversation.
***
This is a great topic for this week’s Open Thread Thursday! And please, if you have a topic you’d like to see discussed among your genealogy blogging colleagues, please contact us and we’ll take it under consideration.
Disclosure: Please see Disclosure Statements for more information on my material connection with genealogy vendors and organizations.
©2012, copyright Thomas MacEntee