5-Minute ‘Spotlight On’ Segment Re-Airing this Summer!

Editor’s Note: If you see the 5-minute version of Solving the Mystery of WTC 7 on your local PBS station, please let us know. Just use the Contact Us form on our website; make sure to select “Other” In the “Subject Area” field and enter “Spotlight On” in the “Subject” field. Thanks!

AE911Truth is proud to air once again the fascinating 5-minute excerpt of Architects & Engineers: Solving the Mystery of WTC 7 on PBS stations nationwide!Award-winning actor Ed Asner provides an intriguing narration to Solving the Mystery of WTC 7 that eases viewers into the astonishing evidence surrounding the skyscraper’s destruction on 9/11 This mini-documentary, narrated by Ed Asner, introduces viewers to the “collapse” of WTC Building 7 on 9/11 and includes the expert testimony of technical and building professionals. The shortened version of our Youtube hit fills in between 55-minute PBS programs such as Frontline, Masterpiece Theater, and News Hour.

The 15-minute version of the film was created for those who choose to visit the AE911Truth website. It is also the best version to share with others because it concisely demonstrates the utter falsity of the official explanation for the skyscraper’s destruction.

This short video has the power to move mountains…–Mike Marino

Here’s the back story on the creation of this compelling documentary:

In September of 2009, I was volunteering with AE911Truth, verifying our petition signers, when I came across some interesting comments from petition signer Wendy Rapkin. She is an associate producer for Trivue Entertainment who produces Spotlight On, a series of 3-to-5-minute programs that air on PBS stations throughout the country. She suggested that we at AE911Truth avail ourselves of this opportunity for national exposure. “I really wanted to get the word out about Building 7,” Rapkin said, “and the first video that AE911Truth produced, 9/11: Blueprint for Truth, was all about the science of its destruction.”

The AE911Truth team decided to move forward with the idea, but several delays, including the Australia/New Zealand/Japan tour and the 1,000 A&E press conference took precedent, so the project was put on the back burner.

However, San Francisco-area volunteer Mike Marino compelled it back to the forefront by continuously pressing AE911Truth founder Richard Gage, AIA.  When the video was finished, Mike noted that “This short video has the power to move mountains.”
The Spotlight On series for PBS, produced and distributed by Trivue, became the launch pad to educate millions of viewers about WTC 7

In September of 2010, Mike, Richard, Gregg Roberts, and I started working on the script. We wrote an introduction and assembled some powerful evidence, but it wasn’t until Mike came up with a more appropriate introduction that we all knew we had the winning combination. “It eases the viewer into the reality of what happened to WTC 7,” noted Mike. “After being invited into the world of fascinating structures designed by architects and engineers, you’re shown a modern high-rise that was ‘built to last.’ Then you see it come crashing down.”

Since Spotlight On usually covers lighter topics such as dining, gardens, and horses, it was necessary to ease into the serious subject of the controlled demolition of Building 7 – hence the attention-grabbing music and visual power of the Great Pyramid of Egypt, the Taj Mahal, and the Eiffel Tower.

I filled in the main points from my research as the key information for the new concept. A team consisting of Mike, Richard, Susie Bonham-Craig, Mike Green, and me evolved. Mike Green proved to be a master video editor with an excellent ear to assemble the perfect musical score.

Larry Cohen, the producer of Trivue Entertainment, said that there were certain features that would not be acceptable in the Spotlight On format, so we were required to use restraint from our normal “activist” mode and had to edit it down for time and content. Well… I just eliminated every reference to “9/11” and “NIST” and voilà, we ended up at our target: five minutes on the money. Gage calls it the “gelded” version, but I see it as the “subtle” version.

Even so… Larry noted, “This production is certainly the most controversial segment ever distributed by Trivue.” When asked why he got involved with this contentious subject, he said, “Because I believe what you guys are saying is true – I believe you are right.”

“I was particularly impressed by your refusal to identify culprits – that all you want is a new investigation,” Cohen added. “You have no agenda – other than finding the truth.”

As it turned out, the year-long delay was advantageous. Just as we finished, Ted Walter of Remember Building7.org asked us to endorse the “Building What?” campaign. We reviewed the program carefully and found that our missions were closely matched, so we suggested that they include our 15-minute video on their website. This subsequently gave Solving the Mystery of WTC 7 the strong launch that it needed. The video also helped “Building What?” get off to a fantastic start, raising $110K for their ad campaign in New York – a win-win situation.

The 15-minute version of Solving the Mystery of WTC 7 was viewed a half-million times on Youtube in the first few months after its release in August 2011. In a little over a year, it reached one million views. (I saw the “view count” go backwards several times, so the actual count may be well over one million views.)

The AE911Truth translation team has now translated Solving the Mystery of WTC 7Mike Marino, Richard Gage, AIA, Susie Bonham-Craig, Chris Sarns and others helped to bring Solving the Mystery of WTC7 to life (and many other AE911Truth videos) into 17 languages so it can be seen and understood around the world.

One of the key elements of the success of the video was the participation of Ed Asner. He has long been a supporter of the 9/11 Truth movement, and he began questioning the official story soon after that tragic day. When asked why he chose to participate in the project, he said that he was delighted by the size and influence of the organization. “I have somewhat of a name that I was happy to give public exposure to the cause,” he added.

The first airing of the 5-minute video on PBS was extremely successful. It was viewed by an estimated 2.7 million people during 638 airings in the first 3 months and many more after that. Based on those impressive results, we raised the funds to run it again, so you can expect to see it on your local PBS affiliate this summer.

The times are changing, and many more Americans than before are receptive to the message that the evidence yields. We are asking you, our supporters, to watch for it on your PBS station and let us know if you see it. The Nielsen ratings are indicators of its reach, but the actual report by our supporters and other viewers is extremely helpful in gauging the success of the video airings.

Thank you all for your continuing support!