September 20
...serving up your daily dish.
We can't wait to see if the cameras are rolling at tonight's town council meeting in Bloomfield. Among the things on tonight's agenda: the service that they've been getting, or not getting, and possibly will get, from local-access Channel 35. Word on the street is that someone involved with the cable channel had a little tiff with the mayor, and as a result none of the Bloomfield council meetings were aired for months.
Paul Kelm, who has been involved with Channel 35, shrugged off talk of a controversy and attributes any lapses in coverage to the fact that the channel is volunteer-run. Tom Lawton is scheduled to give the presentation on behalf of Channel 35 tonight, which is to include all kinds of new plans for the cable local-access channel.
September 20, 2004 in Buzz, Lights! Camera! Craft service! | Permalink
Tell the mayor that with a $500 DV camera and some freeware from Microsoft, they can video, edit and post meetings on the town website as streaming Windows Media files. Broadbanders get the full video, dial-ups still get the sound.
Posted by: The Proprietor | Sep 20, 2004 6:59:59 PM
According to the presentation last night, the biggest problem is that they don't have the autonomy to make improvements, and that's what they requested from the Town Council. Given that independence, they would like to improve the equipment and hire someone to coordinate and oversee operations. Cameras would be permanently installed in the council chamber and meeting rooms, the transmission would be digital, and the turnaround time would be reduced to about 24 hours between the event and its broadcast. Channel 35 has also been exploring an agreement with Bloomfield College in which students would work in the studio, not only earning credits and gaining experience, but also helping with studio operation. Channel 35 would also provide the college with space for classes. There are a number of other improvements proposed, but I haven't yet transcribed my notes from last night. It's going to be an agenda item at the next Town Council meeting.
Posted by: Alison Meyer | Sep 21, 2004 8:16:02 AM
We looked into the same problem and talked over the same solutions. It kept coming out with a budget of over $60,000/year.
Now, if Bloomfield is like most places, you get a payment from the cable provider of X dollars per household with cable per annum. The total received usually comes out in that ballpark range, so you could use this money to pay for a cable production budget, but in most towns that money has long-since disappeared into general operating expenses.
In a town with broadband computer access in many homes, there are other, cheaper alternatives.
Posted by: The Prop | Sep 21, 2004 2:28:48 PM
Ha. "General operating expenses."
Someone needs to look into how the "Nutley Nightly News" was being produced and go from there.
Posted by: Tom | Sep 21, 2004 3:38:50 PM
