"Access to Justice" - NWLS Televised Productions

Northwestern Legal Services - 030002

Abstract Number: 030002

February 2003

The program staff of Northwestern Legal Services (NWLS) produces, directs and edits a half-hour television program, "Access to Justice," that is broadcast on Erie Community Access Television (CATV) to approximately 35,000 households in the city of Erie, Pennsylvania. The program looks at a broad range of issues facing the client community, especially substantive areas of law such as child custody, bankruptcy and predatory lending, and utility law, along with more general topics such as an overview of legal services and community education.

The program is entirely produced by NWLS program staff in the CATV studios. NWLS law workers throughout the region appear as guests on the program, and they provide expertise on particular topics that are the focus of individual programs. In preparation for the televised shows, eight members of the office staff attended a six-week training program at the CATV studios in order to learn about television cameras and composition, lighting, audio, editing, and post-production techniques. NWLS staff also designed the television set used in the production.

Partial funding for the program is provided by a grant from the Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA). The grant permits the dubbing of program videotapes for distribution to NWLS branch offices and other legal services organizations throughout Pennsylvania.

Contact Information:

Robert A. Oakley
Northwestern Legal Services
Renaissance Center, Suite 1200
Erie, PA 16501-1833
Phone: (814) 452-6949
Fax: (814) 452-3734
Email

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