Spotlight: West Milford – Why We Do It   

By Geoffrey Belinfante, External Relations, Chair

Working in Municipal and Community Television can sometimes be a thankless job —long meetings, municipal bureaucracy, aging equipment, and angry residents—they all come with the job.  I suppose we all do it for different reasons, but I guess many of our members find it rewarding because they contribute to their stations year after year. For many, it’s like performing a public service–providing information to residents, allowing greater governmental transparency, and documenting the history of the towns we represent. 

Understanding the Finance Committee

by Linda Besink, Treasurer, Finance Committee, Chair

I believe the world is populated with two kinds of people: those who love numbers, and those who haven’t discovered their magic yet.

Trust me, JAG is not doing business in millions of dollars… at least not yet.  But do you know what follows a million, a billion, and a trillion?  Much like the names of our months, they are: a quadrillion, a quintillion, a sextillion, a septillion, an octillion, a nonillion, and a decillion.

Legislative Update September 2023: News from Washington DC

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

Senate confirms Anna Gomez to FCC

The fifth commissioner issue at the FCC has finally been settled.  On September 7th, 2023, the US Senate confirmed Anna Gomez with bipartisan support, to serve on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Gomez was confirmed 55-43, with Independents and Republicans crossing the aisle.

President’s Message: September 2023 Mark Your Calendars – JAG Hosting Online Sessions All Year Long

by Bob Duthaler

One of the many great things we do at JAG is to educate our membership.  There are several ways we accomplish this.  We produce a monthly newsletter, monthly legislative newsletter, monthly membership meetings, annual conference and special online webinars and round table discussions.  These online sessions can be an asset to both your station operations and your production skills.

Spotlight Oakland: How Oakland, New Jersey became Altice’s test case for HD broadcast service

By Mark Albala, Vice Chairman, TV Committee, Oakland, New Jersey

Many of you do not know that the borough of Oakland was the test case for Altice’s HD service for municipal broadcasts.  The purpose of this article is to present the two-year journey of the dedicated team of volunteers, who partnered with Oakland’s elected officials and ultimately obtained permission from Altice to broadcast HD quality municipal coverage over Altice. 

Weaving the Threads of Community: My Journey with PEG Media

by Ed Cologna, Station Manager, Newark, Roselle, Fanwood, and Hillside TV

PEG Media Changed My Life

A long time ago, in 1990, I lived as a young man in my twenties who didn’t know what to do career-wise. I wasn’t affluent, drove a really beat-up car, lived in my mom’s basement, and fixed electronic equipment on the side. I had the potential of youth, although like many twenty-somethings, I didn’t even realize that until later. I applied for the FBI as a communication specialist but didn’t take the job once it was offered. It wasn’t for me. I wanted to help build the future of America’s energy and was hoping to work on the superconducting supercollider project in Texas, which promised to be the basis of fusion reaction technology.