by Bob Duthaler
A Look Back At 2021 and Looking Forward To 2022
The best way to get a feel for what the future of an organization holds is to look at its past. With that thought in mind, I though it important to share with you the year end reports from some of our committees. I hope by reading these you will realize all the effort and hard work these committees have done all for the betterment of our members.
External Relations Committee Annual Report 2021
It was a very busy year for the External Relations Committee. Thanks to Doug Seidel, we really stepped up our marketing and image campaign on social media. In addition, we updated our website to improve both its graphics and functionality. We also added new videos of the presentations made during our monthly meetings; recordings of our webinars; and videos of the workshop we sponsored at the NJ League of Municipalities Conference. We also initiated an ongoing effort to add more documents to our library of reference material for our members.
For the first time in two years, there was an in-person League of Municipalities meeting and our booth was quite busy, perhaps because the pandemic has increased the need for townships to find new ways to engage their citizens. The Conference once again proved that it is the best chance we have each year to market JAG and the benefits of membership. The prospect for growth based on the interest exhibited at the conference is great.
The External Relations Committee, in conjunction with the Production Committee also added a YouTube Channel this year as another way to showcase the work done by our member stations. The channel was formally added to our list of member benefits.
We also have enhanced our monthly newsletter by soliciting monthly content from members and adding names to our distribution list. Doug and Rich have changed both the graphic look and the method of distribution that has increased readership and also resulted in increased traffic to our website. Rich has even developed a survey that will be distributed early in 2022 to give us some feedback on the re-invigorated newsletter.
Finally, while we are always in need of new members, this year the need is particularly acute. At the end of 2021, we bid farewell to Dustin Dumas, our vice-chairman, as she tends to her station and other responsibilities. Her input will be missed.
Leadership Development Committee (LDC)- Annual Report 2021
A Youtube Channel was created, with some “ video from AccessNJ. Those who
want to share their videos on this was invited to post their work, and it would be promoted.
An article about t his channel by Doug in the Newsletter and updates were done throughout
social media sites to get more people to subscribe to it. New Updated Website was
launched, thanks to Doug.
A new marketing plan is in the works and will hopefully be ready for 1st qtr. 2022.
LDC took on all of our P&P information (Mission Statement, Goals, Letters, etc.) and
recommended changes for the Executive Retreat in August.
Non Station Membership Category – Ramifications of Description Change:
This was for non station members to be allowed to become chairs./vice chairs. of
committees. After replies from our attorney Ken Fellman, it was decided that Non Station members will not be allowed to become chairs. or vice chairs. of committees at this time due to financial voting that effects
stations and not non station members.
External Relations Committee helped to develop the LDC Toolbox, Posted Toolbox to “Members Only” section of website, developed church letter written to encourage this market added technical documents to “Members Only” section of website.
Getting Links from Members stations up on our website. Membership helped create a new recognition award form was created and approved.
Legislative Committee Annual Report 2021
January: At the beginning of the year, PEG was waiting on the strong possibility that The Protecting Community Television Act will be re-introduced in the new Congress. The question was when/No-one knew!
March: The ramifications of the 621 Order have started to be felt. Charter, the cable provider in Rochester, NY, has invoked Order 621. It should not affect us here in New Jersey, but we kept an eye on it just in case. Altice had a BPU hearing about their State Refranchising. Bob presented JAG’s issues with them, as did many Mayors throughout the state. This gave finally to us, the contact person we have been so trying to find about our HD solutions.
April: Closed Captioning is being mentioned more and more. President Biden is a strong supporter for the ADA. Keeping an eye on it. it could become a sudden issue that everyone must comply. The Sixth District Court heard oral arguments on “621.” Portions of the Order were upheld, and a petition was filed to re-hear arguments in the 6th district court of appeals. (Still waiting on an answer)
July: From the 2021 Eastern Video Expo (Conference), “As the Lawyers” session: The committee had sent out questions to our members asking them “What did you during the pandemic that has made a difference?” All the answers will be notes and assimilated in to one document, which will be sent to legislators. The JAG Newsletter will begin to be sent to legislators.
September: 10 Responses had been received from the July question. A document to our elected officials was created using these answers.
November: In an effort to get JAG’s name out there to our politicians, this committee will begin to develop a plan to grow these relationships with federal, state and local elected officials. This may be done by contacting their local offices and set-up meetings with them – either in person or virtually.(To be ready 1st quarter 2022). Maine: enacted – Ensure Nondiscriminatory Treatment of Public, Educational and Governmental Access Channels by Cable System Operators. https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/bills_129th/chapters/PUBLIC245.asp Committee will look over this bill and learn from it.
December: The Protecting Community Television Act: has finally been reintroduced in both house of Congress. The committee quickly rewrote the letter we had previously sent to our federal legislatures. We reflected the changes to the Act as well as reminding them of who we are and what we do and what we had done during the pandemic. Do to our efforts, Reps. Payne and Watson-Coleman have signed on to co-sponsor the bill. There is some interest from Reps. Norcross and Sherrill. Sen. Booker will also “take a look at it.” Finally, there is a new FCC Commissioner, Jessica Rosenworcel. Time will tell how this will help us and the 621 Order.
Finance Committee Annual Report 2021
All required Federal and State filings were done in 2021 for the year 2020. The Finance Committee also worked closely with the Membership Committee regarding dues collection and other items, to considerable success.
Again, as in 2020, expenses were down due to COVID-related circumstances. These include travel, hotel and conference fees for those events that were virtual once again this year rather than in-person. Therefore, for 2021 the Operating expenses were under budget.
Operating Income was $18,340 vs. expenses of $21,647.
JAG Awards income was $2,158.27 with expenses of $1,852.43. It was decided that in 2022, JAG Awards will have their own separate budget.
Conference income for 2021 was $21,934 versus expenses of $6,347. The Conference was completely virtual in 2021. (It should be noted that the annual Conference was not held in 2020 due to COVID; that said, there are operating expenses for Conference, regardless.)
Membership Committee Annual Report 2021
*Mount Zion Baptist Church in Newark our first nonprofit member in January.
*Geoff Belinfante and George Fairfield joined the committee
*Changed text to the members only section on the website to: “A MEMBERS ONLY area on the website that is password protected provides members contact information and valuable information on franchise agreements, legislative matters, and white papers on technical and social media topics.”
*In February, worked on fixing issues about getting on the JAG website.
*March the response to the members questionnaire was at 50%
*The Membership committee has been requested to have a representative to NATOA. There were no volunteers, with overload the main reason, it was resolved in the fall with Geoff Belinfante volunteering
*Rutgers Cooperative Extension questioned the value of JAG for their organization, it was resolved by them becoming a nonprofit member
*By April There are 29 PEG facilities renewed for 2021, with six PO’s. Three independent producer members have renewed and seven organizational. There are two nonprofit members.
*The Committee went over the newly created form to track Newsletter usage, ListServ usage and membership status in May
*The committee did a push to reach out to former members,
*Kenilworth, Highland Park and South River returned and Also we welcomed Fanwood Borough as a new member. New Independent Producer Patricia Dunn joined after attending the virtual conference in June
*The results of the member questionnaire resulted in members asking for these other benefits:
• More benefits for Independent Producers
• Resource database of JAG members who can help others with technology
• Place for reviews of products for vendor equipment and organizations
• Help with finding grants
• List of freelance production people throughout the state
• Help with the recruitment/retention of volunteers
• Successful engagement with local HS volunteers
*This list was brought to the Executive Board for discussion at this year’s Retreat.
*There was a need to develop a new letter to welcome back JAG members who had let their memberships lapse and then came back to join the organization in October, the letter was approved in Dec.
*George Fairfield was asked and accepted the nomination for committee vice chair, temporarily
*Outreach (Former Members): Rich Desimone met casually with a couple of elected officials in Metuchen, talked about JAG and had positive reaction. George Fairfield was asked to met with the Metuchen Cable Advisory Committee, where it was mentioned that a group of cable stations should be formed. George told them there is one, and it’s JAG!
*The chair will reach out to contacts made at the League. She and Geoff & Dave G will coordinate with people they spoke to.
*Develop a League follow-up letter, which will be based on the previous one and once approved will be added to the toolbox
*Independent Member Engagement: Stephanie has a possible new member in January. She will also reach out to George McCollough to see whether independent producers in Princeton could join.
Conference Committee Annual Report 2021
After much discussion, the executive board of JAG decided to move forward with a conference in 2021 after the conference in 2020 was cancelled outright because of the Covid 19 Pandemic. However, since the worldwide heath crisis was still ongoing, it was decided that the 2021 conference was to be held virtually, something none of us in JAG had ever done.
A conference committee was formed and under Bob Duthaler’s leadership, we began to plan an ambitious program that included a limited virtual trade show, workshops and even a virtual live presentation of our annual JAG awards. Needless to say, there were some technical issues to be solved and with the help of a Zoom sales person and Doug Seidel, a framework for the conference was established, a website launched and a marketing campaign developed to tell people about the conference.
Bob hosted the entire conference from the studio in Bloomfield and he help attendees understand the flow of the conference by promoting upcoming events. The virtual nature of the conference allowed the committee to put together workshops that included people from all over the world, something that would not have been possible with a live conference. Production panels featured accomplished journalists, editors, writers, composers and producers from as far away as Great Britain. Conference and trade show support came from sponsors like Telvue Corporation, Varto Technologies, and Cablecast, with informative presentations and user group meeting from those companies and others during the conference. All workshops and presentations were recorded a posted in the members-only section of our Website.
Perhaps the highlight of the entire three-day event was the live presentation of our JAG awards thanks to George Fairfield and the staff at Piscataway TV. Congratulations to the award winners.
The entire event was both a creative and financial success thanks to the committee and the extraordinary efforts of Doug, George and Bob to coordinate the various events and produce them flawlessly.
As you can tell by all the information that each of these committees presented to our membership, they were active all year long. This year, these committees are committed to providing even more for the benefit of our members. It is important to point out, that these committees cannot do what they do without the support of our members. I urge all members to find a committee that they have some interest in, and spend a few hours each year participating.
News & Events
Posted: March 17, 2022 by bduthaler
Social Media Stats – March 2022
by Doug Seidel, Social Media Manager, External Relations Committee
The Newsletter Survey results are in! Keep your eyes open for changes coming soon. We are very excited about these changes and look forward to using the new and improved newsletter to help market JAG better.
A new Social Media Subcommittee has been formed and we have started to plan our new social media posts. Make sure you are following our accounts so you can keep up in the online conversations. If you are interested in helping out with our social media, reach out to join this new Subcommittee.
Our YouTube channel is also easier to share now. www.jagonline.org/YouTube will send anyone directly to our YouTube channel. Just another bonus to help us market JAG easier.
Jersey Access Group
facebook.com/pegtv linkedin.com/company/jersey-access-group instagram.com/jersey_access_group
EASTERN VIDEO EXPO
facebook.com/Easternvideoexpo instagram.com/easternvideox/
Do not forget to check out our YouTube channel. Have something you want on our YouTube channel? Send a link to dseidel@piscatawaynj.org for review.
New Content on YouTube:
The “Where,” “What,” and “Who “ of Healthy Aging – C-NET
Dustin’s Kaleidoscope: NJ 2021 Librarian of the Year – SOMA Television
Barron Arts Center: Viewing Sculpture – Woodbridge TV
Catchings Owens Community Center Ribbon Cutting – Montclair TV 34
Danny V’s 52nd Street Band – Manalapan Township Television Network
NEW CONTENT ON WEBSITE- We have now posted 24 programs from the Eastern Video Expo events to the members only section of our website. To view the video content links below, you need a members only password.
Email lbesink@gmail.com for the password.
Broadband Deployment in the National Infrastructure Bill. A JAG Joint Session with the NJ League.
And
Post Pandemic Tools That Can Help You Reach Your Citizens
Share the value of Jag’s newsletter with your elected officials, cable committee, station volunteers, associates, and friends. Send this invitation: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/B7EMU1R/JAGnewsletter
Posted: February 15, 2022 by bduthaler
Social Media Stats – February 2022
by Doug Seidel, Social Media Manager, External Relations Committee
Let me officially announce the start of the Social Media subcommittee. This is great news as I take a larger role in JAG, now I will have assistance in running our social media accounts. This will only make our social media campaign stronger and extend our reach. This will also give us a chance to post more information on our accounts and maybe add more places where you can find information about JAG and the Eastern Video Expo.
If you have an interest in joining the Social Media subcommittee but do not believe you have the time for the commitment, just know that a) you don’t have to join a formal committee to be a part of the subcommittee and b) subcommittees are very informal and won’t require a lot of time. You can contact me at dseidel@piscatawaynj.org if you are interested in joining the subcommittee.
Jersey Access Group
facebook.com/pegtv linkedin.com/company/jersey-access-group instagram.com/jersey_access_group
EASTERN VIDEO EXPO
facebook.com/Easternvideoexpo instagram.com/easternvideox/
Do not forget to check out our YouTube channel. Have something you want on our YouTube channel? Send a link to dseidel@piscatawaynj.org for review.
New Content on YouTube: Broadband Panel at NJLOM – JAG Holiday Extravaganza – Woodbridge
Over the Top Panel at NJLOM – JAG
NEW CONTENT ON WEBSITE- We have now posted 24 programs from the Eastern Video Expo events to the members only section of our website. To view the video content links below, you need a members only password.
Emaillbesink@gmail.com for the password.
JAG has recorded our two sessions at the NJ League of Municipalities and added them to the Members Only session of our website.
Broadband Deployment in the National Infrastructure Bill. A JAG Joint Session with the NJ League.
And
Post Pandemic Tools That Can Help You Reach Your Citizens
Share the value of Jag’s newsletter with your elected officials, cable committee, station volunteers, associates, and friends. Send this invitation: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/B7EMU1R/JAGnewsletter
Posted: February 15, 2022 by bduthaler
Montclair TV34 had to adapt to the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Rick Gearhart, Montclair
Like many other entities, Montclair TV34 had to adapt to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The last official meeting that was in person was on March 9, 2020 – A Planning Board Meeting. Once the state of emergency took effect, the township immediately found a solution to host our meetings virtually. The Township uses Webex, a virtual meeting platform. To get these on TV, I use the program OBS – this allows me to capture the Webex window and stream it directly to my broadcast server (and Youtube for online viewers). The online meeting program works well with not only the Council Meetings. With the pandemic, I realized the importance of live video. All official meetings are streamed live, and will be streamed live even after the pandemic is over. We also implemented a call-in feature allowing the public to participate. I hope to get back to in person meetings sometime this year, as the Township purchased a new TriCaster model and 3 PTZ cameras, which gives us the ability to stream live in HD to both our cable channel and Youtube. With Youtube Live, the meetings are available right away after they finish – there is no wait time for anyone that missed the meeting. The TriCaster was installed the same month that the pandemic hit.
In the very beginning of the pandemic, TV34 immediately partnered with our local senior center to broadcast all of their virtual events. Most of these events were exercise programs or educational lectures that were held in person prior to the pandemic. The older population was not used to virtual meeting programs such as Zoom at the time, so this was a way that seniors could still view programs that they were interested in. Now two years later, the demand for this has decreased, as some in-person events have resumed, and the senior population is more comfortable with virtual platforms.
TV34 has a traditional PEG access TV programming model – a mix of local events/programming, official meetings, and a bulletin board which advertises important announcements & events in town. The TV34 Bulletin Board uses Infovue software and is a mix of still images and short videos. Any non-profit in Montclair is welcome to submit a slide to be featured on the TV34 Bulletin Board. For the past 2 years, the bulletin board has been used for COVID-19 information.
TV34 does not have permanent interview facilities that many other stations have. Interviews are produced in the council chambers, with a green screen as the background. Almost all of the content that is produced by TV34 is done at the event location. I have two JVC cameras that I use to cover events. TV34 covers all township-sponsored events, such as parades, holiday ceremonies, dedications to residents who have volunteered in the community, civic forums, and ribbon cuttings. TV34 also maintains relationships many local non-profits in town. Sometimes I cover their events, and other times they produce their own programming which gets sent to TV34 to air. In 2020, in an effort to keep programming fresh on TV34, almost all of the yearly events, were replaced by video presentations, which involved me taking past photographs and putting them together in a sequence that mimicked a live video. In 2021 a lot of the in person events resumed and I hope to do more live streaming of township events going forward, for those that cannot make it out.
OBS can be found here : https://obsproject.com/ All original TV34 programming can be found here : http://www.youtube.com/MontclairTV34 .
Posted: February 15, 2022 by bduthaler
JAG AWARDS: MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD; ENTER THE JAG AWARDS
by George Fairfield, Chair
JAG AWARDS IS OFFICIALLY OPEN!
JAG AWARDS CLOSE FEBRUARY 28
Winning an award is exciting news. It feels good to be acknowledged for the hard work you and your team has done. Even more important is the fact that winning an award can be used as a great marketing tool. You can announce it to your administration; send a press release to your local media outlets; include it on your website and social media; include it in a newsletter. It can also lead to greater involvement from your viewers.
Over a year ago the JAG Awards Committee set a goal to find more ways to honor the exceptional work produced by the JAG Members in local & regional Public Education Government (PEG) cablecast programming which ultimately would lead to more stations and more creators recognized for their great work. In accomplishing this task, the committee created a restructuring plan which would be rolled out over two award’s seasons.
Phase one, which was implemented last year, saw the creation of awarding 3 trophy winners for each category: Award of Recognition, Award of Distinction, and Award of Excellence. These were all announced during the awards ceremony held during last year’s virtual Eastern Video Expo.
This year will see phase two of the JAG Awards restructuring which adds the awarding of an Award of Excellence for the top Independent Producer member’s entry and Non-profit member’s entry. Additionally, each entry submitted will receive a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Certificate based on the judges scores.
This restructuring allows JAG the ability to award over 40 trophies. Every entry will receive a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Certificate thus accomplishing the committee’s goal to recognized more stations and more creators for their hard work and dedication.
As stated above, winning an award is a great feeling — you and your team are recognized.
More importantly, any award can serve as a great marketing tool which ultimately proves your value. And in these uncertain and turbulent times, don’t we all need as much help as we possibly can get?
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD; ENTER THE JAG AWARDS
Posted: February 15, 2022 by bduthaler
JAG Joins the Alliance for Community Media
by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair
Members of JAG, I am pleased to announce officially that we have become an Organizational Member of the ACM – the Alliance for Community Media. The ACM’s mission is closely related to that of our own organization. They advocate, promote and preserve the rights of communities to have access to media training, production, distribution, civic engagement and education in support of diverse community voices. This is achieved through Public, Educational and Government Access channels and other forms of media.
One of their mottos, that can be found on their website — www.allcommunitymedia.org — explains quite clearly where their passion lies in the PEG world “In order for democracy to flourish, people must be active participants in their government, educated to think critically and free to express themselves.”
“I want to welcome the Jersey Access Group as a member of the Alliance for Community Media. If you don’t know ACM, we are a member association that’s devoted to the health and success of community television operations across the US – including all forms of Public Educational and Government Access channels.
What does this connection mean for JAG? It certainly strengthens the networking connections and information resources available to the group – ACM member organizations include non-profits, local governments of all sizes, and schools and colleges in 44 states. And we are seeking to expand that network as we reach out to more and more of the 1700 or so organizations that run PEG channels in all 50 states.
And it means stronger representation of your operations as we do work in Congress and the courts. For example, ACM holds monthly briefings about public policy developments that affect community channels that will inform your work. And we are currently doing Congressional outreach work in partnership with JAG to help pass the Protecting Community Television Act (HR 6219/ S 3361).
If you want more information about the educational and training we do, or want to know more about ACM, go to www.allcommunitymedia.org
I look forward to working with JAG more closely in the coming year!
Mike Wassenaar,
Alliance for Community Media
mwassenaar@allcommunitymedia.org
The ACM represents over 3,000 Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) access organizations and community media center throughout the country. The ACM works to protect the interests of these access centers and those who use PEG facilities and equipment to advance their causes through cable television and the Internet. The Alliance for Community Media has been around for a long time – they were founded in 1976. I would like to welcome them as well into the JAG Family. We will be working closely together for the benefit of the PEG stations throughout New Jersey.
Posted: February 15, 2022 by bduthaler
TelVue: Workflow, Captioning, Apps, Monetization and More
by Jesse Lerman, President/CEO, TelVue
Broadcasting in an increasingly connected world means your community channels and programming need to be accessible and available everywhere – on cable, streaming, over-the-top, mobile apps, and social media. Modern broadcast systems have evolved to make all of this easier to manage and automate, from instant publishing to automatically adding multi-language closed captions to live and on-demand programming. Captioning your programming delivers even more value to your diverse communities, and also makes your government meetings fully searchable. Reaching more viewers on new platforms opens up opportunities for revenue generation – including sponsorship, membership, pay-per-view, pay-per-download, and subscription models.
TelVue is excited to share with JAG our latest innovations including:
HyperCaster 8.0 is now available with a major operating system upgrade to Ubuntu Linux 20.04 for high security and performance. In addition to its already-built-in firewall, HyperCaster 8.0 takes security to the next level. In an increasingly connected world, security should be top of mind for all Community Media stations. HyperCaster 8.0 also supports powerful, time-saving Content Workflow Rules to fully automate publishing for VOD, JAG program sharing, and archiving. With Content Workflow Rules:
The new Content Workflow Rules feature expands on the existing rules-based automation in HyperCaster that also includes:
HyperCaster v8 will soon be adding new Streaming Workflow Rules for automating what live programming gets streamed where and when. TelVue has also launched a new line-up of All-in-One playout servers, our HyperCaster AIO+ line. The AIO+ offers more channels and IP output expansion per box, for greater flexibility and affordability.
We hope to see you at the February JAG meeting where we will be demonstrating the HyperCaster 8.0, the AIO+, and our new streaming monetization tools for revenue generation. We’ll review all of the newest features across our products and share our roadmap. We look forward to hearing from you how we can continue to make modern broadcasting even easier, and help you increase accessibility, expand your audience, and generate new sources of revenue. Join Jesse Lerman, President/CEO,TelVue for a presentation at JAG’s general meeting on February 23, 2022.
Posted: January 18, 2022 by bduthaler
JCETV: Origin and present day status of Jersey City’s Educational and Municipal Channels.
by Tom Horan, Jersey City Schools
My video production experience began in the mid 1980’s when cable television came to Jersey City. At Seton Hall University in the early 1970’s I was taught filmmaking and television production on the then “portable” 1 inch machines. I also learned a lot about broadcasting and hosting a radio show for three years on the pre-Heavy Metal WSOU. But the 1980’s arrival of Suburban Cable to the second largest city in New Jersey looked to me like uncharted territory for producing local commercials.
I opened Half Moon Video Productions and produced about 1000 30 second spots and industrial videos for customers ranging from restaurants to politicians. I also began to video a lot of dance productions for my wife, Diane Dragone, host of DANCE VISTA and Artistic Director of the Kennedy Dancers Inc.
In 1996, I was offered a Video Production teaching job at Snyder High School. My arrival as a new teacher coincided with a football field tragedy when our 5’4” captain, Tahid Ramsey, sustained an injury that took his life after five days in the hospital.
As a storyteller I witnessed a mother rise up in front of all with a calm dignity as her son began to fail. After his passing I, as a brand new TV teacher, waited two months and then guided my first class to produce a documentary telling the story of where good kids come from…”Tahid Ramsey, the Warrior’s Gone Home” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtBUIkOEIgY
This video won a state-wide award and triggered a front page newspaper story in the Jersey Journal catching the eye of the Superintendent, He realized that the students were producing on ancient equipment, and decided to invest $5 million in Abbott Funds to build a multi-media facility above the auditorium of Snyder High School. This enabled the school to offer a brand new Media curriculum. This 12,000 sq. ft space included classrooms, two television studios and a full blown audio production studio. Our ongoing message to incoming students is that their opportunity exists because of the opportunity that was deprived young Tahid.
In January 2001 I was the videographer for the City of Jersey City as well as Head of the Public School’s Media Program. When Comcast arrived to hook up our PEG Channels,
upI oversaw the building of a studio built in City Hall as well as on our facility floor at school. JC1TV was created with the Governmental channel sharing time on the air each week with the Educational channel. Students from my program were hired to help run the municipal station at City Hall after they completed their senior year at the Educational station – getting paid to produce for the school system.Finally, in 2008, both stations were able to stop sharing the “one day on one day off” routine and JCETV (Jersey City Public Schools Educational Channel) as well as JCTV (Jersey City’s Governmental Channel) both had their own channels. Until 2008 our High School media program was strictly for Snyder students, and from 1998 to 2008 students produced more than 800 daily morning newscasts to the building. In 2008 we became a district program switching to District Newscasts winning a 2014 JAM/JAG Award.
The motto for JCETV is “Education for Life-Long Learners”. Over the years we’ve produced Master Classes, Concerts, Teacher of the Year spectaculars as well as a foray into Sports productions. Here is a short example of our breadth of programming over the years. https://youtu.be/V9eDslQVJUY
Guests we’ve featured in our television productions over the years have included two Attorney Generals, three New Jersey Secretaries of State, Major League, Super Bowl and Olympic Champions and college athletes from a number of sports. We’ve also interviewed Cecily Tyson, RZA from WuTang Clan, Derek Luke (a Jersey City high school graduate) and a number of motivational role models such as the three doctors in our shows “Beyond Ten Square Blocks” and “Career Profiles”.
JCETV recently experienced a long awaited update upgrading our studio cameras to 4K and installing LED lighting. (First replacement of studio cameras since 2000 when we moved into the facility). We have a New-Tek Tricaster at the core of our live production stream and our students learn production ranging from live studio productions to ENG & EFP.
My staff consists of all professionals. Mike Rauseo, my chief engineer, is a professional drummer as well as a seasoned recording engineer. Patric Fharah , out television instructor, has a deep background in television and radio production as well as knowledge of many current sports — high school, collegiate, and professional. Lou Inzeo is a professional musician who has extensive experience in audio production as well as technical issues of the broadcasting medium.
Most importantly are the students who have come through the program, which is now called…The B.E.S.T. Program (Broadcasting & Electronic Story-Telling).
Although we don’t expect all students to stay with television production, we do expect them to be able to story-tell with a much better sense of laying out stories with the proper use of equipment and software. One of our students has already retired from a career at NFL Films and has married CBS Sports Analyst James Brown’s daughter. Another is heading up a video agency for professional videos requested by Casting Agents on both coasts. Another heads up Video production at Grey Advertising and another is breaking through in acting on Television. All in all, Jersey City Educational Television (JCETV) and the B.E.S.T. Program has provided a platform for students to shine lights on good things going on in our school system, and to map out a successful future in any medium they choose.
Posted: January 18, 2022 by bduthaler
Federal Communications Law and Policy: What to Expect in 2022
by Nancy Werner, General Counsel, NATOA
After years of frenzied federal activity in the communications space, particularly by the Federal Communications Commission, 2021 was a relatively slow year for local governments in terms of battling proposals that would harm community interests and PEG access operations. On the flip side, this reprieve also meant that little has been done to curb the harmful impacts of past laws and decisions. So, what will 2022 bring?
For the immediate future, the answer likely is more gridlock on several local government priorities. The five-member FCC has been stuck at four Commissioners for a year. As we await Senate confirmation of Gigi Sohn, President Biden’s nominee for the open Commission seat, the current 2-2 split of Democrats and Republicans on the Commission likely means that Chairwoman Rosenworcel will not have the votes to revisit Commission decisions that were most harmful to local interests, including decisions she opposed as a Commissioner such as the “Section 621 Order” that impacts cable franchise fees and PEG operations.
But there is hope for change. With respect to the Section 621 Order, last fall a coalition of local governments, including NATOA, asked the Supreme Court to review the Sixth Circuit’s decision upholding portions of the Order. If the Supreme Court agrees, we could see further judicial undoing of portions of the Order. Even if the Court does not take the case, the FCC must revise the portion of its rules the Circuit court struck down, which may provide an opportunity to revisit portions of the Order.
Another reason for hope is that Senator Markey and Representative Eshoo have reintroduced the Protecting Community Television Act (S. 3361) (H.R. 6219). This bill would amend the Cable Act to clarify that franchise fees do not include “in-kind” franchise obligations, essentially undoing the FCC’s misinterpretation of the term “franchise fees” in the Section 621 Order. Representatives Payne and Watson Colman are cosponsors of the House bill, but as of early January, no other New Jersey members of Congress are cosponsors. So, your homework assignment for the month is to get the rest of the delegation on board as cosponsors!
While the lack of movement on cable franchise fees and other key issues in 2021 was a disappointment, there were some truly remarkable changes that will continue into 2022. The federal funds dedicated to closing the digital divide have the potential to bring broadband to historically un- and underserved communities, improving the quality of life for many Americans. The FCC continues to implement broadband affordability programs established by Congress, including the new Affordable Connectivity Program established in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). (Homework assignment number two: Help spread the word about these subsidies using information provided in the ACP Outreach Toolkit.)
This year will also bring an unprecedented investment in broadband through grant programs established in the IIJA. The largest program is the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which appropriates $42.45 billion for states and territories to utilize for broadband deployment, mapping, and adoption projects. This program will be administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is currently working on a Notice of Funding Opportunity that will provide more details on the program. Stay tuned! There will, of course, be many unforeseen challenges that come up at the FCC and in Congress in 2022. NATOA’s mission is to provide our members and Chapters the education, connection and resources needed to respond to these challenges. We will continue this work, and our advocacy on behalf of local governments and access channels. Keep up the great work you do every day, and we hope to see you at NATOA’s Annual Conference from August 30-September 1, in Denver, Colorado.
Posted: January 18, 2022 by bduthaler
New JVC PTZ Cameras for Remote Production Over the Internet (REMI)
CONNECTED CAM™ Line Offers High-quality, Low-latency IP Video Transmission
Producing live video broadcasts is never easy, but it is especially difficult during pandemic times with limited personnel and less travel options. In many cases, the traditional approach of shipping production equipment from location to location with a professional crew may not be an option. Ensuring you still get the content you need in this new environment becomes much easier with the right tools in place.
The new JVC CONNECTED CAM™ series of PTZ cameras feature technology for sending broadcast-quality video over the internet and local area networks (LAN), transforming the entire world into one big production studio where cameras and video switchers can be separated by thousands of miles. Cameras can be deployed from any location with an internet connection, while video switchers and other production equipment, as well as the operators, can be conveniently situated in a central studio, sometimes across the continent.
High-speed internet is widely available, and at an affordable cost for unlimited data, which makes it a perfect medium for bi-directional video communication. At the same time, the internet is a public network, being used by billions, which results in unpredicted congestion, data loss and jitter. These factors may not affect the regular user but will cause corruption of live video streams. So, special error-resilient protocols are required for successful production over the internet.
JVC CONNECTED CAM cameras integrate the Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) streaming protocol that is resilient to intermittent connectivity, data loss and connection speed fluctuations. The advanced streaming capabilities of the incorporated SRT technology adds Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) and Forward Error Correction (FEC) to prevent packet loss typically found on internet connections. High Efficiency Video Encoding (HEVC) further enhances the Remote Production Over the Internet (REMI) workflow producing excellent video quality streams at low bitrates.
Both the JVC KY-PZ200 and KY-PZ400 PTZ models include SRT streaming and HEVC encoding for successful REMI, with only an internet connection needed for video transmission. The SRT streams can be sent directly to compatible video switchers, such as NewTek TriCaster and vMix, and to JVC’s BR-DE900 decoder for a 3G-SDI output. The incorporated Vertical Interval Time Code (VITC) with Network Time Protocol (NTP) provides the new JVC PTZ cameras with multi-camera synchronization for streaming and live event production. All cameras also feature 3G-SDI and HDMI outputs for conventional production and support RTMP/S streaming directly to Facebook, YouTube and other Content Delivery Networks (CDN).
Since most devices are protected by firewalls and Network Address Translation (NAT), PTZ controls over the internet can be challenging. JVC’s long-time partner Peplink provides an excellent Virtual Private Network-based (VPN) solution for these new JVC PTZ cameras. This secure, outgoing VPN provides camera control and PTZ/tally operation behind firewalls, with zero on-site network alteration needed. Small and affordable Peplink SOHO and Balance routers bridge remote sites to the central studio network for easy access to all devices around the world. JVC’s PTZ cameras can also be controlled directly by vMix and TriCaster video switchers, while the dedicated JVC RM-LP100 controller adds a PTZ joystick and a full set of video settings and presets.
The significance of the Network Device Interface (NDI) software cannot be underestimated for local video production. Developed by Newtek, NDI provides audio, video and PTZ control via a single LAN cable with Power over Ethernet (PoE). The KY-PZ400N and KY-PZ200N cameras support NDI®|HX and can contribute high-quality video streams to NDI-enabled video switchers via a standard LAN connection. Both NDI®|HX and SRT streams can operate simultaneously. This means that the same camera(s) can provide live video for the local NDI mixer and for REMI productions.
The JVC CONNECTED CAM family of products includes camcorders for all levels of production, including broadcast, sports, corporate, education and HOW. From the GY-HC900, a full-size 2/3-inch camcorder, to the handheld one-inch CMOS GY-HC500/550 and new KY-PZ200/400 PTZs, all JVC cameras support SRT streaming and remote control over the internet. In addition to sending video, the HC-series also adds integrated SRT decoders for return video and IFB.
No matter which camera solution is chosen, JVC CONNECTED CAMs work well for anything from a simple office livestream to a full multi-camera studio production. Reducing the sheer volume of equipment also allows users to build very portable systems while leveraging existing network hardware wherever they go, and without demanding a complex setup process. Join Edgar Shane, General Manager, Engineering for a presentation at JAG’s general meeting on January 25, 2022.