by Geoffrey Belinfante, External Relations, Chair
Most of you know that we in West Milford are a very small operation run by an all-volunteer staff. As you might expect, we also have a very small budget. As a result, we truly count every penny. When JAG announced a dues increase this year several of our TV Commission member questioned whether we should continue our membership. I’m happy to report that we have decided to re-up for 2025, and that’s what this article is really all about—the advantages of JAG membership and how we in West Milford have grown to depend on it.
I know that the membership committee and our President, Bob Duthaler have often touted the advantages of JAG membership in this newsletter, so you all my have hear this before, but I think it’s worth discussing again. When considering whether to rejoin JAG, the TV Commission Chairman, Bob Nicholson (a gentleman many of you know) asked me to make a presentation to the commissioners on the benefits of JAG membership. Coincidentally, the mayor had requested a chance to speak to our committee and she was schedule to speak at the same meeting.
This was the first time any West Milford Mayor had requested to speak at one our meetings so it was a big deal. The mayor is aware of JAG and always comes by our booth at the NJ League of Municipalities Conference, but I was surprised that she wanted me to do my presentation before she spoke to the commissioners.
I began by suggesting that our relationship with JAG had changed over the years. Twelve years ago when the township decided to create a municipal channel, JAG was instrumental in helping the committee put together policies and procedures, and an equipment list. Then they gave us the support we needed to get the channel on the air. Now that we have been broadcasting for over 10 years, our relationship with JAG has changed, but it is none-the-less important to the day-to-day operation of the station.
First, I mentioned the cloud-based server that allows us to access programming from other PEG and community access channels across the nation. This allows us to supplement our locally-generated content with programming that appeals to a broad group of citizens from children to seniors. This allows us to take a hyperlocal channel with government programming and turn it into a general interest channel with wide appeal.
In addition, since many of us who work on the channel are retired, our day-to-day experience with television technology has changed. We need the insights that JAG and its organizational members provide to guide us through changes in production technology (that seem to come every month) and what we might consider for our next purchase to make our station look more professional and run more smoothy.
Next, I mentioned all the information we get from our Washington partners (NATOA and ACM) that keeps us aware of changes in legislation that might affect our operation. For example, we keep track of legislation that mandates that we add captions to our public meeting. Perhaps more importantly, JAG helps us monitor the legislative initiatives that might affect the funding we all get from our cable franchisee.
At this point, I was continuing on my laundry list of other benefits (which, incidentally are all available on our website), when the mayor stopped me and said, “Okay, okay, don’t over sell. I’m convinced! Do you want me to pay for the membership?”
Those words represent quite a turnaround from an elected official who normally is looking to cut anywhere she can. It reaffirmed the towns commitment to the station and made us all feel appreciated in a way that had never really been expressed by a mayor before.
The reality was that the mayor didn’t really have to pay for the membership, we just had to allocate an additional $50 from our budget which, I am happy to report, was unanimously approved by the commissioners. I guess the point of this article/parable is that we all need to remember how important JAG is to all of us.
We also need to keep in mind that the organization can only be as good as its members. Get involved, volunteer for committees, make you needs known. The JAG Community is here to help. With hard work and some help from your friends, you too can impress your mayor by giving them programming they can’t live without. Thanks for indulging me in this little soap opera, but if it weren’t for JAG, WM77 would look a lot different and not for the better.
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A JAG Parable
Posted: February 25, 2025 by Doug Seidel
by Geoffrey Belinfante, External Relations, Chair
Most of you know that we in West Milford are a very small operation run by an all-volunteer staff. As you might expect, we also have a very small budget. As a result, we truly count every penny. When JAG announced a dues increase this year several of our TV Commission member questioned whether we should continue our membership. I’m happy to report that we have decided to re-up for 2025, and that’s what this article is really all about—the advantages of JAG membership and how we in West Milford have grown to depend on it.
I know that the membership committee and our President, Bob Duthaler have often touted the advantages of JAG membership in this newsletter, so you all my have hear this before, but I think it’s worth discussing again. When considering whether to rejoin JAG, the TV Commission Chairman, Bob Nicholson (a gentleman many of you know) asked me to make a presentation to the commissioners on the benefits of JAG membership. Coincidentally, the mayor had requested a chance to speak to our committee and she was schedule to speak at the same meeting.
This was the first time any West Milford Mayor had requested to speak at one our meetings so it was a big deal. The mayor is aware of JAG and always comes by our booth at the NJ League of Municipalities Conference, but I was surprised that she wanted me to do my presentation before she spoke to the commissioners.
I began by suggesting that our relationship with JAG had changed over the years. Twelve years ago when the township decided to create a municipal channel, JAG was instrumental in helping the committee put together policies and procedures, and an equipment list. Then they gave us the support we needed to get the channel on the air. Now that we have been broadcasting for over 10 years, our relationship with JAG has changed, but it is none-the-less important to the day-to-day operation of the station.
First, I mentioned the cloud-based server that allows us to access programming from other PEG and community access channels across the nation. This allows us to supplement our locally-generated content with programming that appeals to a broad group of citizens from children to seniors. This allows us to take a hyperlocal channel with government programming and turn it into a general interest channel with wide appeal.
In addition, since many of us who work on the channel are retired, our day-to-day experience with television technology has changed. We need the insights that JAG and its organizational members provide to guide us through changes in production technology (that seem to come every month) and what we might consider for our next purchase to make our station look more professional and run more smoothy.
Next, I mentioned all the information we get from our Washington partners (NATOA and ACM) that keeps us aware of changes in legislation that might affect our operation. For example, we keep track of legislation that mandates that we add captions to our public meeting. Perhaps more importantly, JAG helps us monitor the legislative initiatives that might affect the funding we all get from our cable franchisee.
At this point, I was continuing on my laundry list of other benefits (which, incidentally are all available on our website), when the mayor stopped me and said, “Okay, okay, don’t over sell. I’m convinced! Do you want me to pay for the membership?”
Those words represent quite a turnaround from an elected official who normally is looking to cut anywhere she can. It reaffirmed the towns commitment to the station and made us all feel appreciated in a way that had never really been expressed by a mayor before.
The reality was that the mayor didn’t really have to pay for the membership, we just had to allocate an additional $50 from our budget which, I am happy to report, was unanimously approved by the commissioners. I guess the point of this article/parable is that we all need to remember how important JAG is to all of us.
We also need to keep in mind that the organization can only be as good as its members. Get involved, volunteer for committees, make you needs known. The JAG Community is here to help. With hard work and some help from your friends, you too can impress your mayor by giving them programming they can’t live without. Thanks for indulging me in this little soap opera, but if it weren’t for JAG, WM77 would look a lot different and not for the better.
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Category: Latest JAG News, Member Spotlight