CHICAGO PROGRESSIVE MEDIA WORKING GROUP
                 3411 W. Diversey Avenue / Chicago IL 60647
                            December 31, 2002



Daniel J. Schmidt
President and Chief Executive Officer, WTTW-TV
Window To The World Communications, Inc (WWCI)
5400 North Saint Louis Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60625-4698



Re: Meeting, January 12


Dear Mr. Schmidt,

We would like a special meeting with you very soon on matters of utmost 
urgency.

People of the Chicago area have not been sufficiently able to advance 
great democratic dialogs on matters of the greatest importance. And 
this is in spite of the fact that we have significant public resources 
for creating forums. We have resources such as the channel 11 
educational television license, and the tax exemptions offered donors 
to your corporation to produce "Network Chicago" programs.

Major new broadcast forums, expanding on the format of past WWCI 
efforts, must be created.

The most urgent topic is, without doubt, how the planned war is 
affecting and may affect the people of the world. Especially in Iraq, 
the Middle East widely, and the U.S. Including the people of 
metropolitan Chicago. A war of bombings, gassings, horrible diseases 
and radiation, terror, and economic suffering. Affecting people pressed 
into military combat and countless innocent noncombatants. And families 
and friends. And our communities. In imminent days, and for decades to 
come.

Even the most bellicose media companies are now reporting that a very 
large, growing, number of community groups, church organizations, labor 
federations, teachers, elected officials, and other citizens are trying 
to promote public dialog that might limit or prevent pending disasters.

Our meeting with you is to line up specific resources for the new 
forums. We ask that you be accompanied by senior executive producers 
with whom we will continue to work in the days after the meeting. Your 
own presence is absolutely necessary, since major reallocations of 
broadcast time and other budgeted resources will be involved. For 
instance, entire evenings might be devoted to several hours of 
Chicagoans' live discussions after broadcast of pertinent documentaries 
such as John Pilger's "Paying the Price: Killing the Children of Iraq," 
and Audrey Brohy and Gerard Ungerman's "Hidden Wars of Desert Storm."

Future forums will continue on the war issues, and on topics such as 
the concentration of media power; religious, racial, and cultural 
relations; current and threatened slashes in support for public health 
and education; the disappearance of civil liberties as powers are 
assumed by and abused by the military and the police; and other issues 
raised by local community organizations and working class people.

Our meeting with you and your producers is scheduled for Sunday, 
January 12, 3 p.m., at 3411 W. Diversey.  Please confirm by January 3 
by calling Bob Gallie at 708-863-8591. Or, if the 12th presents a 
conflict for you, please suggest some alternate dates.


         Yours truly,


         for CPMWG


P.s. Groups, as of today, endorsing this request for you to meet with 
CPMWG include: Chicago Progressive Media Working Group, Chicago Anti-
Bashing Network, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, Chicago Media 
Watch, Citizens for Independent Public Broadcasting - Chicago, and 
Voices in the Wilderness.