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The Program Exchange

The Program Exchange, Inc. was a syndicator of television programs. It was founded as DFS Program Exchange, Inc. in 1979, which became elongated to the DFS-Dorland Program Exchange, Inc. from 1986 to 1987. From 1986 to 2008, it was a division of Saatchi & Saatchi, an advertising agency (which acquired Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, the original owners), while merging with Dorland Advertising in 1986, and would later be acquired by Publicis in 2000. In January 2008, Publicis transferred The Program Exchange from the Saatchi & Saatchi subsidiary to its ZenithOptimedia subsidiary, the logo was then changed to reflect this move. In 2016, the programexchange.com web domain was discontinued; the shutdown coincided with NBCUniversal's purchase of one of its most prominent clients, DreamWorks Classics. The distribution rights to Jay Ward Productions content were assumed by Canada-based WildBrain in 2022. The Program Exchange was a "barter syndicator," distributing programming on behalf of the shows' producers, many of them having their own cash distribution services. Instead of paying a cash fee, television stations who ran those programs agreed to a barter exchange (hence the syndicator name), wherein the station agreed to air a certain number of commercials for several General Mills products per program.…

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Article summary

The Program Exchange, Inc. was a syndicator of television programs. It was founded as DFS Program Exchange, Inc. in 1979, which became elongated to the DFS-Dorland Program Exchange, Inc. from 1986 to 1987. From 1986 to 2008, it was a division of Saatchi & Saatchi, an advertising agency (which acquired Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, the original owners), while merging with Dorland Advertising in 1986, and would later be acquired by Publicis in 2000. In January 2008, Publicis transferred The Program Exchange from the Saatchi & Saatchi subsidiary to its ZenithOptimedia subsidiary, the logo was then changed to reflect this move. In 2016, the programexchange.com web domain was discontinued; the shutdown coincided with NBCUniversal's purchase of one of its most prominent clients, DreamWorks Classics. The distribution rights to Jay Ward Productions content were assumed by Canada-based WildBrain in 2022. The Program Exchange was a "barter syndicator," distributing programming on behalf of the shows' producers, many of them having their own cash distribution services. Instead of paying a cash fee, television stations who ran those programs agreed to a barter exchange (hence the syndicator name), wherein the station agreed to air a certain number of commercials for several General Mills products per program.…

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Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.