Above: Past Board of Selectmen meetings like this are one of the few original programs by the town’s public access channels. At last night’s meeting, Southborough Access Media pitched plans to recruit more exciting programming. (Photo by Susan Fitzgerald)
Do you have a hobby, expertise or interest you’d like to share? Do you have a point of view you’d like to pontificate? Or maybe you think you could be the next Oprah.
Whatever your interest, Southborough Access Media could provide the perfect opportunity.
Southborough has access to three public channels: Education, Public access, and Government channels. They recently incorporated and are seeking non-profit status. At last night’s Board of Selectmen meeting, SAM’s board updated selectmen on their efforts and goals.
The main reason for their update to selectmen last night was to request access to their earmarked funds. The town has collected the cable access franchise fees over the years. As of March 31st, the town was holding approximately $736,000.
Current programming is slim, mostly syndicated, and highly repetitive. (The BOS meeting I taped on the government channel last night is one of the few “original programs” played.)
Last night, board members pitched their plan to recruit students and volunteers to help “make our local cable channels a Must See TV experience.”
According to committee representatives, they will offer the opportunity for volunteers to stream video from phones or mobile devices.
Students interested in streaming video of school sports or events could arrange that. But there are still opportunities to practice more professional production techniques. For instance, students could work together in a two or more person crew to film games with color commentary.
Some of their future goals include changing to high definition programming and moving out of their Fayville space. Selectman John Rooney pressed the committee to report back soon on their space requirements. [click to keep reading…]
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