I was nearly an international TV star.

Yesterday afternoon, I got a call from a producer’s assistant who’s program (no need to mention it by name) appears on CNBC and Voice of America. They were looking to do some profiles in business and wanted to talk to me about flyte new media.

I called back the producer and this afternoon we connected. He asked me questions about how flyte started, what our focus is, what threats we see to the industry and so on. He wanted to make sure there was a story to tell.

It was when he started talking about the CNBC audience and how they were college educated that my brain confirmed what my gut already knew.

He went on to explain there would be a 5 minute segment, a 1 minute commercial that would air next to Lou Dobbs and an 8 minute Webisode. The show would be hosted by Lou Gosset, Jr. He wanted to make sure that we would be available and we’d have a place to film. Also, he needed a donation to defray the costs of production. It would only be $23,900.

That’s a lot of defraying.

Now don’t get me wrong: there’s nothing wrong with this business model. A friend of mine puts on a similar program for travel where local companies get featured for a price. Everyone understands the game and that’s how it’s played. I don’t see this as a scam, it’s just business. (If you thought those up-close-and-personal stories of local businesses were, in fact, hard hitting news stories, perhaps you’d disagree.)

However, I couldn’t see the return on investment for flyte. We’re busy enough and I’ve always got my career as tech expert for Maine’s premier evening news program, 207, to fall back on.

When I explained this to the producer, he asked me if I knew any other companies that might be interested. That’s kind of like being honored as man of the year, but if you can’t make it, do you know any one else who’s available?

Finally, he asked me to visit their Web site, watch their videos and see what they’ve done for other companies and then get back to him. Unfortunately, the videos were all saved in a format that is unplayable on a Mac. I guess I’ll have to wait for my edutainment until it shows on CNBC.

Rich Brooks
As Seen on TV? Not As Such.