Mental Engineering is the only television program:
• to originate at a cable access center and reach prime time network broadcast
• to bring media literacy to a national audience
• to take an unflinching look at TV commercials, the revenue stream of commercial television.

Mental Engineering began in 1998, at St. Paul Neighborhood Network. The producers 'bicycled' tapes of the series to a dozen cable access centers around the country.  As the national audience began to build, so too did the favorable reviews from the press. 

In 1999, the program made the leap to broadcast television, being offered to public television stations via a satellite distribution system. To the producers' delight, the season was broadcast on nearly 50 public television stations. Fan mail began arriving and positive press continued to accumulate. 

In 2000, the program made another jump to a premier broadcast facility, Twin Cities Public Television. The program remained independently distributed and was now carried on 100 public television stations, including eight of the top ten markets and flagship stations like WNET, New York and WGBH, Boston. Press coverage accelerated dramatically - most notably with an article in the New York Times. Series host John Forde appeared on 'Charlie Rose'. <?/color>

Mental Engineering’s special on the commercial’s of the Super Bowl ran on 250 PBS stations, reached 87% of U.S. households including 46 of the top 50 markets.
Host John Forde will be analyzing political commercials for PBS stations nationwide during much of 2004. The producers are busy working on preproduction of Mental Engineering’s next season. They are also developing a direct to schools and colleges program called ‘How to Watch TV’.

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Last modified: December 09, 2003