WCTV Journal

Friday, August 22, 2008

National Political Coverage from WCTV

Starting next week, for the first time, WCTV will be joining other public access television centers across the nation for live and tape-delayed coverage of the Republican, Democratic, and Green Party Conventions.

We are pre-empting some of the schedule for Channel 20 that is in your current listings. Here are the corrected Channel 20 listings for the week of Sunday August 24th to Saturday August 30th:

Democratic National Convention Coverage 2008: Monday at 10 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday at 3 a.m., 6 a.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m., and 9 p.m.; Thursday at 3 a.m., 6 a.m., and 2 p.m.; Friday at 5 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Democracy Now!: An award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, expanding to two hours with Convention coverage. Monday at 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 7 p.m., and 11 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday, 5 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 7 p.m., and 11 p.m.; Friday at 5 a.m., 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 11 a.m., 7 p.m., and 11 p.m.

GRITtv with Laura Flanders: Laura Flanders from the RNC and the DNC, with phone and blog interactivity and a positive take on what's going on. Monday at 8 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday 1 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 8 p.m.; Thursday 1 a.m., 10 a.m., and 1 p.m.; Friday at 10 a.m.

Live Obama Acceptance Speech Coverage: Anchored by Ashara Ekundayo and Laura Flanders for pre and post acceptance speech analysis with special guests. Thursday 8:00 p.m.

Green Party National Convention 2008: Presidential candidates acceptance speeches and press conference. Saturday at 1 a.m., 5 a.m., and 1 p.m.

The TV listings for Channel 20 for the week of August 31st will accurately reflect the Republican Convention schedule for that week, including Live McCain Acceptance Speech Coverage on Thursday September 4th at 8 p.m.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

July 2008 Board Minutes

Call to Order - 11:05 a.m. by Vice President Stephanie Strait.

Present: Waketha Downs, Robin Henry, Ed Hoffman, Eric Marsh, Barb Orbik, Sharon Palmer, Jeff Plasterer, Larry Price, Valerie Shaffer, Stephanie Strait, and Rob Zinkan.

Staff: John Dalton and Diane Lucas.

Approval of Minutes
June Minutes: Jeff Plasterer moved, with Ed Hoffman giving the second, that the Board unanimously accepts the minutes of June 10, 2008. Minutes approved.

Treasurer’s Report
Barb Orbik presented the Treasurer’s Report. Barb noted that the report reflects $10,000 received from IU East and $450 from membership. There are some expenses shown for the repair of three broken decks. Barb indicated that the spending is on target. Ed Hoffman moved, with Sharon Palmer giving the second, and the Treasurer’s Report was approved.

Director’s Report
John Dalton reported that he is currently working on the audit, being conducted by Webb & Associates. Audit procedures for Indiana have changed.
We have a heavy production schedule for the next month or so. The Model T Centennial Celebration is coming up for the week of July 21. We have projects with Junior Achievement, Wernle, SOS, Star Gennett, and IU East Admissions.
We have purchased a project management software package, which will help with the heavy production schedule.
On August 1st, WCTV will host its annual picnic, hold the lottery and offer a free PSA Day. Meijer and Kroger have agreed to provide food for the picnic, and the American Legion Post 65 Auxiliary will again cook the hot dogs. August 2nd is the free workshop day beginning at 9 a.m.
The first meeting of the Auction committee was held in June. A recap of last year and plans and dates for this year were discussed. John will be meeting with SIFE to gauge their involvement. Several sponsors have already expressed an interest in returning. The next Auction meeting will be July 30th.

New Business
Stephanie Strait and her husband are leaving Richmond. This is Stephanie’s last Board meeting.

Good of the Order
John Dalton thanked Stephanie Strait for her time on the WCTV Board and also felt that she will be missed at the Richmond Art Museum.
Larry Price announced the New Reid Hospital’s open house on August 24th from 10:00-6:00.

Adjournment - 11:25 a.m.

Friday, August 08, 2008

WCTV Summer Picnic!

Sandy Baldwin acts as Grillmaster once more.

Picnic #2

A table full of WCTV producers and supporters.

Picnic #3

Administrative Coordinator Diane Lucas sits down with my family at the traditional WCTV Summer Picnic.

Picnic #4

Board Vice President Stephanie Strait sits down with the newest member of my family, Bonnie Mae.

Picnic Games

Producer Ralph Wynn playing cornhole on the back patio of Hayes Hall at the WCTV Summer Picnic. This is the photo I took after I dropped my camera on the concrete and tried to prove the camera wasn't broken.

Thursday, August 07, 2008

"Wayne County U" Debuts Tomorrow

During this, our 20th year, Whitewater Community Television has been thinking of ways to remind our viewers what public access television can mean to a community. We feel that educational issues are at the forefront in Wayne County at this time, and we want to contribute to that discourse. We hope that our new weekly program Wayne County U will help provide answers.

Wayne County U is a program produced by WCTV, with local partners, designed to support the educational discussions going on in our community at present.

The program begins airing Friday, August 8 at 8 p.m. on Channel 20, with repeats at midnight Friday and at 4 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, and 4 p.m. Saturday.

Our first programs feature Dave Murray, President, National Center on College Costs, on the FAFSA: Liz Ferris, Coordinator, 21st Century Scholars, on that organization; and Maribeth Yoder, Assistant Director, Office of Financial Aid, Indiana University East, on financial aid information.

We are committed to producing fresh Wayne County U content bi-weekly, with twenty episodes through May 2009. If you are involved in a local educational organization and would like to partner with us on future episodes of this series, please contact me at 973-8488.

Monday, August 04, 2008

Thursday, July 31, 2008

This Weekend at WCTV

I wanted to remind you of some upcoming events this Friday and Saturday at WCTV.

Tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. is our 4th Annual Summer Picnic, to be held at Hayes Hall on the IU East campus. We would like to thank Meijer, Kroger, and the American Legion Post 65 Auxiliary for their support of this event.

For interested local producers, we will again draw the Channel 21 Program Lottery at 5 p.m. at the station, just prior to the picnic.

Local producers should have received their lottery letters by now. If you have not received a letter, or if you would like to be considered for a Channel 21 time slot, please contact me. Our primetime (Tier One) Channel 21 schedule is currently full, so be sure you have returned your materials to ensure your program will be included in tomorrow’s drawing.

As part of WCTV’s 20th Anniversary celebration, we are hosting a local PSA Day, where local not-for-profits can record free public service announcements. During the picnic, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., we will have our studio open with lights, camera, audio, teleprompter, and helpful staff to assist area not-for-profits in recording free thirty-second announcements to be aired on WCTV.

We have had a number of questions about the PSA event. If you would like to know more, feel free to contact me at 973-8488.

Saturday morning we will be offering our 2nd Annual free Video Bootcamp at the studio, beginning at 9 a.m. We will be teaching field and studio production in the morning, break for lunch, and begin iMovie and Final Cut nonlinear editing beginning at 1 p.m.

These free workshops came in response to requests from producers interested in improving their skills, but are also open to the community as a whole as part of our ongoing outreach intended to empower more grassroots video efforts in our community.

We hope you will join us this weekend at WCTV. And again, thank you for your ongoing interest in Whitewater Community Television.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

June 2008 Board of Directors Minutes

Call to Order - 11:05 a.m. by President Mark Linderman.

Present: Waketha Downs, Daryl Greene, Robin Henry, Ed Hoffman, Mark Linderman, Eric Marsh, Barb Orbik, Jeff Plasterer, Billy Porch, Larry Price, Phil Quinn, Valerie Shaffer, Stephanie Strait, and Rob Zinkan.
Staff: John Dalton, John Schuerman, and Diane Lucas.

Board President Mark Linderman opened the meeting by asking all members to introduce themselves.

Approval of Minutes
May Minutes: Ed Hoffman moved, with Barb Orbik giving the second, that the Board unanimously accepts the minutes of May 13, 2008. Minutes approved.

Treasurer’s Report
Barb Orbik presented the Treasurer’s Report for May 2008. Barb noted that May’s report reflects $1035 in additional membership income and $1000 from a grant with Communities in Schools. There are some small expenses shown for the annual meeting. Phil Quinn moved, with Ed Hoffman giving the second, and the May Treasurer’s Report was approved.

Director’s Report
John Dalton gave an update on current developments in Indiana’s Telecom law to new members, as well as information about the meeting with Comcast in April in Indianapolis.
John met with other public access television groups and the IOUCC (Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor) in Indianapolis in May to discuss ways to work with the IURC (Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission) on the Indiana Telecom law.
John also reported that he gave the yearly presentation to the Wayne County Commissioners for the 2009 budget request. John stated that WCTV has not asked for an increase in funds in the last five years.
John recently sent out a membership renewal reminder letter. We have already received over $200 in renewals from this reminder.
As a part of our 20th anniversary, August 1st at 5:30 p.m. will be our annual picnic. There will also be an opportunity to tape free PSAs for area not-for-profits in the studio on that day in conjunction with the celebration. On August 2nd the free Video Bootcamp will again be offered, beginning at 9 a.m.
As part of the 20th anniversary, the staff has begun working on a new program, Wayne County U. This will focus on education and re-training for the community, and WCTV is committing to 20 episodes between August 2008 and May 2009.
John reported that WCTV will be providing media services for the national celebration of the Model T, to be held in Richmond in July.
The WCTV auction will take place again this winter. John is asking for members to begin thinking about this event and asked for those interested to participate in a committee.
Jason Ashmawi, a Ball State University student, is our summer intern.

Good of the Order
John Dalton thanked the new board members for their attendance and for listening to the “catch up” information.
Larry Price complimented Phil Quinn and John Dalton for their composure during the last Telecommunications meeting.
Daryl Greene thanked WCTV for their full coverage of the Bill Clinton visit. Daryl invited everyone to his 25th anniversary of ordination on June 22 at the Eaton United Church of Christ.

Adjournment - 12:07 p.m.

Friday, June 20, 2008

A WCTV Summer

I wanted to update you on some upcoming events this summer at WCTV.

Friday, August 1st at 5:30 p.m. is our 4th Annual Summer Picnic, to be held at Hayes Hall on the IU East campus. Again this year we will draw the Channel 21 Program Lottery at 5 p.m. in the studio, just prior to the picnic.

Lottery letters to Channel 21 producers will be going out in the next few weeks. If you would like to be considered for a Channel 21 time slot and are not presently on our producer list, please contact me. Our primetime (Tier One) Channel 21 schedule is currently full, so be sure to return your materials promptly to ensure your program will be included in the next drawing.

As part of WCTV’s 20th Anniversary celebration, we have decided to participate in PSA Day, where public access television centers across the United States open their doors for local not-for-profits to record free public service announcements. During the picnic, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., we will have our studio open with lights, camera, audio, teleprompter, and helpful staff to assist area not-for-profits in recording free thirty-second announcements to be aired on WCTV.

The following morning, Saturday August 2nd, we will be offering our 2nd Annual free Video Bootcamp at the studio, beginning at 9 a.m. We will be teaching field and studio production as well as iMovie and Final Cut editing. These free workshops came in response to requests from producers interested in improving their skills, but are also open to the community as a whole as part of our ongoing outreach intended to empower more grassroots video efforts in our community.

We are also using the Summer Picnic to announce the broadcast of Wayne County U, a new program WCTV is producing designed to support the educational discourse going on in our community at present. We are using our 20th Anniversary as a way to remind our viewers what public access television can mean to a community, and we feel that educational issues are at the forefront at this time. We hope that Wayne County U will help provide answers. Our first programs, for the month of August, provide information on the FAFSA and the 21st Century Scholars program.

We are committed to producing twenty episodes of Wayne County U through May 2009. If you are involved in a local educational organization and would like to partner with us on future episodes of this series, please contact me.

We hope you will join us for some of our busy summer at WCTV.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

May 2008 Board Minutes

Call to Order - 11:05 a.m. by President Mark Linderman.

Present: Waketha Downs, Robin Henry, Ed Hoffman, Mark Linderman, Barb Orbik, Sharon Palmer, and Stephanie Strait.
Proxies: Daryl Greene, Larry Price, and Rob Zinkan.
Staff: John Dalton, John Schuerman, and Diane Lucas.

Mark opened the meeting by introducing two new board members, Waketha Downs and Robin Henry. All members present introduced themselves.

Approval of Minutes
January Minutes: Sharon Palmer moved, with Ed Hoffman giving the second, that the Board unanimously accepts the minutes of January 8, 2008. Minutes approved.
March Minutes: Ed Hoffman moved, with Sharon Palmer giving the second, that the Board unanimously accepts the minutes of March 11, 2008. Minutes approved.

Treasurer’s Report
Barb Orbik presented the Treasurer’s Report for January, February and March. Barb noted that January was a normal month for the budget, showing little activity. Sharon Palmer moved, with Ed Hoffman giving the second, and the January Treasurer’s Report was approved.
February’s report did not reflect the payment from the City of Richmond yet, which came slightly later than usual this year. Ed Hoffman moved, with Sharon Palmer giving the second, and the February Treasurer’s Report was approved.
March’s report shows receipt of the money from the City of Richmond. It also reflects $2460.00 income from the membership drive. Barb stated that things are looking food for 2008. Stephanie Strait moved, with Ed Hoffman giving the second, and the March Treasurer’s Report was approved.

Director’s Report
John Dalton reported that the live primary election returns show was a success. The show featured a round-table discussion with many people just stopping by to be on the air. The show was also unusually long.
Earlham, IU East and Ivy Tech recently had their graduations. All were shown live on WCTV and the staff crewed IU East and Ivy Tech’s ceremonies.
We are almost finished working on a grant with Communities in Schools. John Schuerman is also working on some academic excellence spots for IUE.
Our Continuing Studies classes did not get enough enrollment to hold the classes.
John is planning our annual summer picnic in August and will again offer a free Boot Camp.
John Dalton will attend a meeting tomorrow, May 14th, at the Indianapolis City Hall with the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (IOUCC).
John added more information to his Executive Summary of the City of Richmond’s meeting with Comcast on April 11th.We continue to be on high alert with these issues.
Wayne County has asked WCTV to come and present next year’s budget request. Both County and City governments are predicting cuts in their budgets because of property tax relief. We can look to 2009 and 2010 to see the full effects of these budget cuts.

New Business
Mark Linderman offered additional thoughts on the budget issue and suggested a board retreat in late summer or early fall.
The election of two new members of the executive board took place. For Vice-President, Ed Hoffman moved, with Sharon Palmer giving the second, that Stephanie Strait be named Vice-President. The motion was unanimously carried. For Secretary, Ed Hoffman moved, with Waketha Downs giving the second, that Sharon Palmer be named Secretary. The motion unanimously passed.

Good of the Order
John Dalton thanked the new executive board members and the new board members.

Adjournment - 11:35 a.m.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

March 2008 Board Minutes

Call to Order - 11:05 a.m. by Vice President Willard Brown.
As there was not a quorum, Brown presided over an informational meeting.

Present: Willard Brown, Ed Hoffman, Jeff Plasterer, Kim Poinsett, Larry Price, Barb Orbik, and Stephanie Strait.
Staff: John Dalton and John Schuerman.

Approval of Minutes
Tabled until May meeting.

Treasurer’s Report
Barb Orbik presented information on the 2007 budget year. WCTV ended with approximately $27,000 in profit, raising 102% of operating income with 90% operating expenses.
Orbik presented the January 2008 monthly report.
Orbik recommended the board accept Webb and Associates as the organization’s new auditor.
These votes were tabled.

Director’s Report
Dalton presented info on the annual membership drive conducted in February. The first responses are coming in. Our current mailing list has grown to over 600.
Dalton reported on the Channel 21 Lottery, held February 11. The Channel 21 schedule is nearly full again this time.
Dalton discussed the upcoming meeting with Comcast in Indianapolis, and gave an update on an Alliance for Community Media meeting in Cincinnati he presented at February 22.
Dalton presented potential new board members for the Annual Meeting.
Dalton stated that WCTV’s first live sports broadcast of the IU East Homecoming game was very successful in IUE’s eyes, and they are eager to do more.
Dalton reported that WCTV received a $1,000 grant to produce PSAs for Communities in Schools and 21st Century Scholars as part of a Wayne County Foundation impact grant.

Old Business
Dalton discussed purchasing software upgrades for the production computers to make them more compatible with the new video file server.

New Business
Dalton proposed conducting the Annual Meeting in conjunction with the actual 20th Anniversary of WCTV on Monday, April 7. This vote was tabled.

Adjournment - 11:45 a.m.

January 2008 Board Minutes

As inclement weather canceled February, and there was a lack of quorum in March, the January minutes were voted on in May.

Call to Order - 11:05 a.m. by President Mark Linderman.

Present: Willard Brown, Daryl Greene, Ed Hoffman, Eric Marsh, Sharon Palmer, Jeff Plasterer, Kim Poinsett, Larry Price, Barb Orbik, and Stephanie Strait.
Staff: John Dalton, John Schuerman, Nick Poling and Diane Lucas.
Guest: Chris Hardie.

Approval of Minutes
Ed Hoffman moved, with Willard Brown giving the second, that the Board unanimously accepts the minutes of December 11, 2007. Minutes approved.

Treasurer’s Report
Barb Orbik presented the Treasurer’s Report. Barb noted that the franchise payment did not arrive in November as it had in the past; therefore it is reflected in the December report. Barb pointed out the $1183.00 brought in by the Auction.
Jeff Plasterer moved, with Ed Hoffman giving the second, and the Treasurer’s Report was approved.

Director’s Report
John considers the Auction to be complete with $2,942.00 raised. There is still over $300.00 of unclaimed items that John is talking to the accountants about what to do with.
John reported that the live call-in Santa Show was a success. There were over 45 calls taken during the one-hour show, which also featured about a half-dozen children in the studio.
In March, WCTV will again offer workshops through the Continuing Studies department of IU East. Last year WCTV made about $570.00 with these classes. John also plans to offer the free workshops again in the summer.
The IU East Homecoming game on January 26th at the Tiernan Center will have live coverage from WCTV.
On January 17th the Telecommunications Council will meet. John plans to attend and address the status of the live system with the cable provider as well as report on the regional access center meeting he attended.
John noted that 8 of our 15 board members will have their terms expire this year.
The Wayne County Foundation was awarded an Impact Grant with WCTV participating.
Membership Scholarships were discussed with John offering candidates for scholarships this year. Daryl Green moved, with Ed Hoffman giving the second, and the two scholarships were unanimously approved.

Old Business
For the 20th Anniversary of WCTV, there will be new station IDs, the Viewfinder Video Magazine, and some special “By Request” shows. Daryl Green noted that this might be a good time to educate the public about just what WCTV is.

Good of the Order
John Dalton thanked Chris Hardie for his attendance at the meeting.

Adjournment - 11:50 a.m.

Friday, May 09, 2008

Cameraman-Eye View

Volunteer Barry Barker snapped this cameraman-eye view of our live Primary Election Returns from behind his tripod.

Live Primary Returns

This is Ball State student Jason Ashmawi, our summer intern. Finally somebody else tall enough to get those high-angle shots.

Camera #3

Barry Barker snapped this shot of board member Billy Porch manning a camera in the early hours of the broadcast.

Live Primary Returns #2

Later ironman Ed Hoffman filled in for Billy Porch. We had our All-Star camera line-up, with former Volunteers of the Year Ed, Billy, and Barry all on the job.

Live Primary Returns Roundtable

A nice shot by Barry Barker of our live Primary Returns set, on the staircase landing at the Wayne County Annex. John Schuerman dreamed this up, and I didn't know how good it would look until I saw the broadcast. Thanks to Karen Chasteen, Joe Kaiser, Phil Quinn, and Kelley Cruse, who anchored down almost three hours of live returns.