CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, September 18, 2015 /EINPresswire.com/ -- “You’ve been like a father to me…like the only DJ you can hear after three . . .” These are the lines from the first verse of “Drugstore Truck Drivin’ Man,” by the Byrds. If you remember the Byrds, you are probably old enough to remember staying up late at night after your parents went to bed, with your radio turned down so you could listen to the music of which they didn’t approve. Most radio shows went off the air around midnight, and came back on around six o’clock am, local time. The quality of those late night shows were often irregular, but sometimes they also played the music and had talk shows that aired opinions you couldn’t hear during the day – the voices of the people.

Michael James Kacey, known for his work in the film industry as actor, writer and filmmaker, is creating a documentary that will be entitled “Hearing Voices.” The documentary will explore the history of radio, beginning with the golden days, continuing up to now. It will also compare the development of radio to that of the Internet. Many people now living today will not remember a time when you could hear a wide variety of stations, thanks to large media corporations taking over stations and creating canned air shows that play in a variety of places. To be sure there are still privately owned specialty stations, but they have become fewer and fewer.

Kacey asks the burning question: With large corporations taking over production of information – companies such as Amazon and Google – will the Internet slowly lose its variety and its ability to provide a variety of voices? Will its voice be taken over, and the small producers and individual speakers be squeezed out of the picture? It was only recently that the FCC passed the Open Internet Rule that prevents Internet Service Providers from creating tiered accounts that linked speed of access and content to the users’ ability to pay. Net equality, however, is far from assured. Challenges to the ruling already are arising.
The ability to access accurate information about all sides of a question are essential to many things – but especially to the democratic process. It is difficult to cast an informed vote without adequate information. Kacey is drawing the parallel between radio and the Internet; he could equally easily draw the same parallel between newspaper and book publishing. As fewer companies own more outlets for information, they have the potential to select the voices that are heard.

Kacey, the writer/director, is not a dewy-eyed new-comer to the communication field. His credits include Beverly Hills 90210, Live from Baghdad, and Daybreak. He has already produced a spin-off from this project, “The Poet Laureate of Radio: An Interview with Norman Corwin.” David Sanford, the producer, received an Emmy award for his work on Titanic: the Final Chapter, and was also the producer for Poet Laureate.

Several radio notables – including some veterans who have passed away – have already been completed. However, Kacey would like to include voices from the Internet: Podcasters, media experts and even media activists. In order to do this he has created an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to raise $30,000. The money will be used to rent studio space in Los Angeles, and to provide airfare, lodging and meals for the interviewees. This is because it will be more cost efficient to fly them in, rather than taking an entire film crew on the road. The money will also be used to rent needed hardware and cameras to use in the process, and to purchase hard drives to use for storing the interviews.

Of course, there are rewards for those who contribute. These include (in order of value from least to greatest) mouse pads with the Hearing voices logo, t-shirts – also with the logo, shout-outs on Twitter and Facebook updates, digital download of the completed video, personal Skype thank you, 2 DVDs – Daybreak and Poet Laureate, with 2 books: Long Night’s Journey into Daybreak and Memos to a New Millennium, invitation to the premier, a private screening with the producers, and associate producer credit.

Too strapped for cash to contribute, but you still think this is a great idea? You can help by spreading the word. Post the project on Facebook, tweet it, talk it up to your friends, feature it on your personal website. Tell the world about this extensive and illuminating look into radio’s past and its impact on all our futures. A successful global village requires good communication – and you can help with making sure that the voices of the people are still heard.

About: Michael James Kacey is a veteran of the film and communication industry. He began “Hearing Voices” (www.hearingvoicesthemovie.com) as a history of radio – but soon discovered that it could be much more than that. “I didn’t know the real story,” he says, “and you don’t either.” His new documentary film will correct our lack of information, and will draw parallels between the fate of radio and the possible fate of the Internet.

Dave Sanford
Hearing Voices
www.hearingvoicesthemovie.com
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