OTT Panel

JAG president Bob Duthaler and Piscataway Community TV Station Manager George Fairfield discuss ways municipalities can continue to reach their citizens after the pandemic. Now that local governments have given the public access to their council meetings and other municipal events in their homes, can they go back to business as usual? Today, reaching your community through a traditional cable channel is not the only game in town.  Our panelists will explore all the new ways to engage citizens with over the top (OTT) devices and applications: like: Roku, AppleTV, web applications and mobile devices. 

Closed Captioning: Lots of Options

by Daniell Krawczyk, Owner, Municipal Captioning

Buy a new car in 2022 and the engine is going to be reliable enough no matter what you buy, but in the early days of automobiles the reliability and quality of the prebuilt engines which “coach manufacturers” built their autos upon varied greatly, and you needed to be aware of which vehicles had a top-tier engine and which had a bottom-tier engine.

Spotlight: Fanwood Dealing with the Pandemic

by Eddy Cologna, Fanwood Television

I have been working with the Borough of Fanwood for several years.  Towards the end of 2019 when China was in lockdown and we in America weren’t even dreaming of such a thing, the Borough was upgrading their sound system in the Council Chambers and looking into a multiple camera remote system.  The purchase has been moving slowly due to the pandemic.

Fast forward a few months to February 2020, the Mayor of Fanwood, Colleen Mahr, and some health officials had a 4 camera shoot about the dangers of Covid, and what could happen.  All this was shot in person, with some social distancing but no masks because the information was confusing, even for health officials.  Not long after that, the lockdown occurs.  Masks were required, social distancing enforced and only essential personnel were allowed to physically come to work in borough hall.

President’s Message November 2021

by Bob Duthaler

Faces for Board of Trustees: Thank You To The Past and Hello To The New

To quote a Billy Joel song (with some slight “JAGish” changes) “So many faces in and out of our lives, some will last, some will just be now and then…” so goes some of the people on our board.  Happily, these “faces” that are leaving our board currently have played an important role in the growth and development of the organization and more importantly they lasted!  I would like to take the opportunity to thank them for their time and efforts for their years of service.  Additionally, I would ask that you reach out to them personally and thank them for their service.  Although they may be stepping away from the board, I know that they will continue to be a part of JAG and help in any way possible.  Join me in thanking:  Dave Ambrosy (EBTV), Jeff Arban (RUTV) and Darryl Love (Scotch Plains).  I would also like to point out that current JAG VP, Dave Garb has committed to running for another term.

JAG at NJLOM

President’s Message – October 2021

President’s Message – October 2021

by Bob Duthaler

FORGET UNCLE SAM… JAG NEEDS YOU!!!

Leaders Wanted:   Each year JAG holds an annual vote for board members.  It is the opportunity for members of our organization to step up, be proactive and participate in the leadership of the Jersey Access Group.  This may seem like a daunting task to members, but it should not be perceived as such.  Rather, this should be viewed as an opportunity for you to share your unique talents and perspective.  JAG benefits from a diverse board with a wide array of valuable insights all sharing the desire to enhance both PEG and JAG.  All are welcome to nominate themselves and participate in our upcoming board elections.