President’s Message: November 2022 – Your Odds Are Better With JAG

by Bob Duthaler





With the Powerball jackpot reaching almost 2 billion dollars, what a change to your life winning that money would make.  I read somewhere that you have a better chance of being struck by lightning 249 times before winning the lottery.  That is crazy!  Realistically, you are better off taking the money you would spend on buying lottery tickets over the years and investing it.  You would see a better return on your money over the years.  Still, like me, most of us will still buy tickets for the big jackpot.

A Retrospective on the Importance of PEG – The Full Picture


Last month we talked a little about how PEG Television Channels showed their true value to our individual communities during the pandemic. We all embarked on a “fast tracked” learning curve in order to deliver important information and programming to our audiences.

Local governments, schools, small businesses, community organizations and of course, our residents, all benefited immensely because of the endeavors of their individual access channels.

5 Things You Didn’t Know LiveU Could Do

by Yervant Keshishian, Sales Engineer & Technical Director Varto Technologies & LiveU Staff

Varto Technologies is proud to host the Jersey Access Group meeting once again at our facility in
East Rutherford, NJ. Joining us on Oct 26th will be LiveU’s Mike Mahoney, Director of US Channel
Sales who will present the latest solutions from LiveU like the LU810 & LU610S 5G, 4K rackmount
contribution encoders along with the LU800 and LU300s field units. Following the presentation,
Varto Technologies will demonstrate some features hidden away in the LiveU lineup!
LiveU has an abundance of products and solutions – all with different uses and features that you might not
have known about. Here are five things LiveU can do:

President’s Message: October 2022 – You + 1 Committee = JAG Member

by Bob Duthaler




math problem? It’s not a math problem, but rather an organizational
problem. But just like a math problem, it has a solution. So, let’s break
down the problem and together we will reach the solution.

An insight to what the problem is for JAG is not unlike any other organization’s
problems. JAG does many great things. This organization provides many avenues of
information for its membership. Everything from monthly meetings, managers round
table discussions, webinars, conferences, and awards shows. These are the things
that we do well and which separate us from other organizations.

Spotlight: Cranford – Darkest day gave way to its brightest future


by Christine Hoffman, Staff, Cranford Television

PEG TV35 in Cranford was born in 1986 with the help of then Township Committeeman Dan Aschenbach, who understood the benefits of public access to his community.  It started at the high school but was moved to the township to give greater community access. That is where it remains today.  Cranford resident H. Edward Davenport was asked to help lead the effort to start it up.  He had little funds, so he gathered old and used tech equipment and duct taped it into a station that instantly brought local news and interesting stories to Cranford.  Ed worked full time at pharmaceutical giant Hoffman LaRoche.  He headed its media department which was tasked with making commercials and worldwide product announcements.  But for years he volunteered every night at the station and slowly molded the beginnings. 

Adapting Your Station – Broadcast, Cord Cutters and Hybrid Productions


by Bob Duthaler, President, JAG

If you have been in this business for over 10 years, you recall that there was only one way to do it.  The formula was simple, cover the event in full, get it to post and air it on cable – repeat.  That applied to both meetings and township events.  Somewhere along the way in recent years, the viewing habits of the consumer has changed, and so must the formula.  Stations need to adapt to move forward and survive.  We will cover three areas to focus on to move forward with: Broadcast Trend, Cord Cutters and Hybrid Productions.

A Retrospect of the Importance of PEG and News from the FCC


Over the decades, PEG Television Channels have demonstrated their value to the communities they serve.  We  have been challenged over and over again to get our vital information out to our local viewing audiences, especially in times of crisis.   But there has never been anything more challenging than during the past pandemic.  It was the access stations that found ways to get their individual messages directly out to their communities.  

President’s Message: September 2022 – Finish or Start The Year Strong. It’s All In The Way You Look At It

by Bob Duthaler




September is upon us, and it invokes many different emotions.  There have been several songs about September as well: “Wake Me Up When September Ends” – Greenday,  “September” – Earth, Wind and Fire, just to to name a couple.  For parents and teachers, it starts the beginning of a new school year.  For some businesses it’s the end of the first quarter and for those using a calendar year, you are in the final third of the year.