Something in Common was designed for general audiences with a special focus on classroom teachers who need materials for teaching diversity. Guided by an advisory council made up of teachers, diversity trainers, ministers and community leaders, the production focuses on the five issues deemed most important: race, class, religion, sexual orientation and language. "This is the first time that public television has looked comprehensively at these issues," said Donna Campbell, who produced the program.

Producing Something in Common has been a meaningful experience for Campbell because it showed her that times have changed since she was in school. "I grew up in North Carolina, attending public schools back when everyone looked just like me," she said. "I didn't meet a Jewish person until sixth grade and I was in high school before I met students of different races."

Campbell explains, "It has been gratifying for me to go out into the schools and see today's vastly different and beautiful student population. I have been more than impressed by the energy and dedication of the teachers. But the most encouraging aspect of this project is the discovery of such wisdom and truth in the words of the children. The future is in good hands. I expect there are many viewers out there who, like me, have not been inside a classroom in many years and still think it looks like it did in the 1950s and 1960s. These viewers are about to have their eyes opened."

Donna Campbell is a writer/producer who specializes in documentary projects for public television. A native of Charlotte NC, she began her work in print, founding Lake Norman Magazine, a popular regional publication for the fast-growing North Carolina community, in 1983. When she sold the magazine to Knight-Ridder Inc in 1986, she continued as editor and publisher, becoming Knight-Ridder's first woman in that role. In 1990, she worked with her sister Susan to write and produce a television program about domestic violence. Any Day Now featured personal stories from sixteen woman across North Carolina and was broadcast nationally to much acclaim. Inspired by the power of personal documentary, Donna has continued to work in television. Other projects include George Beverly Shea: The Wonder of It All and Hard Rain: Lessons Learned from the Flood of '99-both nominated for Regional Emmy Awards. In addition, she has produced Ruth and Billy Graham: What Grace Provides, Higher Ground and Faces From the Flood.