Spotlight Asbury Park: A Year of Two Milestones

By Ed Salvas, Secretary. Asbury Park Cable TV Advisory Committee

January 2023 marked the start of the eleventh year of operation for Asbury Park TV, known as APTV.  Seen on Optimum channels 77 and 116 and on Verizon FiOS on channels 28 and 30, APTV is programmed around the clock with the usual Public Access programs: City Council, and Board of Education meetings, as well as the Planning and Zoning Boards. APTV can also be seen on streaming services Roku and Apple TV, YouTube and online at www.AsburyParkTV.com.

Sponsors Help Develop The Conference

By Don Smith, Vice Chair, Conference Committee

Take a moment to think about what you were doing in 2000.  Think about where your channel was, from technology to creative to your relationships with your cable provider.

So much has changed in the local access space since JAG held their first conference back in 2000.  In just 21 years we went from shooting videos on VHS or S-VHS, or if you were lucky Mini DV, to now when everything is digital on SD Cards and hard drives.  And you know who kept you up to date on the latest tech?  JAG!  From their first conference to our 19th edition, the JAG Conference is the best place to get the latest hardware updates, the freshest gear, and collaborating on ideas with your fellow colleagues from other stations around New Jersey.  This year’s conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Edison on May 18th from 8am-11pm.  Conference workshops are being held one at a time so no need to decide which one to attend.  Attend them all!  And if you get hungry, we have you covered from breakfast to our Keynote Lunch and the JAG Banquet.

FCC Nominee Withdraws from Confirmation Proceedings

Sad news came out recently, when Gigi Sohn, a longtime public interest advocate and former Democratic FCC official, withdrew her nomination to the FCC.  She said her decision to pull out follows “unrelenting, dishonest and cruel attacks” made by cable and media industry lobbyists.  This announcement is seen as a huge defeat for consumer advocates, who had rallied behind her.

The Biden administration has a very ambitious broadband agenda that has been up in the air for more than two years, amid a 2-2 stalemate at the FCC.  Sohn was first nominated by the White House in October 2021, and had the support of many consumer advocate groups.

Cost-saving Integrations & Time-saving Automation from TelVue

By Jesse Lerman, President and CEO, TelVue Corporation

It’s about time: one of the most precious commodities you as station managers and volunteers offer to your organizations. We know how difficult it can be to achieve efficiency in your operations: the performance of work in the right way and getting to the desired result, but with minimal effort, time, and cost.

TelVue Corporation has always been focused on the latest innovations to help you, the valued JAG member stations, save not only time and money, but to develop and improve system features that will help expand your viewership and increase accessibility. Cost savings can be achieved by integrating and doing more “all-in-one”. Time savings through enhanced, modern automation. Time to work smarter, not harder; time for ready, set, integrated & automate!

President’s Message: March 2023 – STOP NOW… REGISTER…DON’T WAIT!!

by Bob Duthaler

Time and time again you hear me preach the importance of JAG, our meetings, webinars, manager’s round tables and much more.  All these have an importance to the membership and the growth of the organization.  There is one item however, that stands out as perhaps the single most important event that JAG does, and that is our annual conference.  This year’s event is no exception. 

Spotlight: West Milford – A Thank You Note

By Geoff Belinfante, West Milford TV

I have a ritual.  Every Thursday morning it’s my responsibility to program our channel, WM77 here in West Milford, for the following Saturday.  Why Thursday?—because our council meetings are held on Wednesday nights and I want to make sure that the latest meeting is available for viewing at 11:00 Saturday morning for those who can’t catch it during the week at its regular times—7:00am and 7:00pm.