Spotlight: Brookdale Television – JAG’s Own Wonder Woman

by Geoffrey Belinfante, External Relations Committee, Chair


Lauren Concar Sheehy has been a JAG member for many years.  In fact, many moons ago, Lauren interned at Cablevision and has fond memories working with Dave Garb and the crew.  These days, she is a video production specialist at Brookdale Television with responsibility for the TV facilities at Brookdale Community College, along with Jennifer Yannibelli and Sergey Kornienko.  For well over two decades, the team has been producing, directing and editing television shows, providing real world experience to their students.

JAG Awards February 2024

THE JAG AWARDS IS CLOSING!  THE JAG AWARDS IS CLOSING!!

Did your town have a concert?  Did your station record it?  How about a council meeting?  Did your town have a community event?  These are all great events you can enter in the JAG Awards.



Not sure what the categories are?  Here they are…surely you have something to enter.

JAG’s Annual Conference Taking Shape

by Geoffrey Belinfante, Conference Committee, Vice Chair



Even though our conference is still about 4 months away, your conference committee has already been busy planning another informative and entertaining event for all JAG members.  This year’s conference is scheduled for May 16th and once again it will be held at the Crowne Plaza in Edison, so mark your calendars now!  The conference will be followed that evening by a gala celebration where we will present the JAG Awards for excellence in production for 2023.

Legislative Update February 2024: News from Washington DC- The Congressional Budget Office

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair


As we have talked about in the last few newsletters, the American Broadband Deployment Act of 2023 (HR 3447), is still in play in Congress. If enacted, it would impose new restrictions on local authorities regarding their ability to regulate a variety of state and local land use and zoning issues that pertain to the deployment of the telecommunications infrastructure. This would include wireless and wireline deployment, and new limits on the requirements and renewals of cable franchise agreements.

Spotlight: Middletown Township Builds TV Studio in New Town Hall

by Tara Berson and Raven Rentas, Township of Middletown



Home to 68,000 residents, Middletown Township is one of the largest municipalities in New Jersey. Due to the size of our community and diverse age ranges, interests, and neighborhoods, it is important for the Township to offer various ways for residents to access information. One of those communications tools has been our municipal TV channel which has changed over the years, particularly with the addition of our brand new TV studio this year. We had the opportunity to work with experts in the industry who helped guide the project from beginning to end.

JAG’s Annual Conference

by Bob Duthaler, Conference Committee Chair

The JAG Conference Committee has begun meeting.  We have elected the officers of the committee: Bob Duthaler, Chair, Rick Gearhart, Secretary and Linda Besink, Treasurer.  The first items discussed were establishing the costs to attend, developing a schedule of events, and creating a list of potential sessions.  Panelists will include representatives from NATOA, the ACM and JAG’s Organizational Members.

Legislative Update January 2024: News from Washington DC

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair





Closed Captioning and Web Accessibility Requirements for Local Governments

Where it Currently Stands for PEG

The Americans with Disability Act has compliance obligations for local government accessibility for websites, video streaming, and even cable broadcasting.

While the FCC has long excluded community television from captioning requirements, the Department of Justice, state governments, and private citizens have renewed a push to require captioning for all types of video content, and particularly those found on the internet.

Enhancing Public Access to Government Meetings with SRT Streaming

by Dana Healy, Vice President, Sales, Cablecast

In the dynamic sphere of local government, transparency and accessibility are paramount.  Ensuring the public has real-time access to government meetings is a critical function of communication teams and video specialists. The challenges of network streaming video are magnified in this setting, where reliability and security are non-negotiable.  This is where Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) streaming becomes an invaluable tool.

President’s Message: January 2024 New Year …. New JAG …. Let’s Get Started!!!

by Bob Duthaler




I am happy to report that the JAG Board of Trustees had their annual meeting on Wednesday, January 9th, setting the course not only for this year but for the future of the organization.  This is made possible by the great input we receive over the course of the year from our members.  Some of these comments are brought up at monthly meetings, during our annual conference or in emails.  It is only through input and feedback from our members that the board can fully understand what is on the minds of our members and help this organization move forward.  I encourage all members to continue to be involved, provide feedback and support the organization.