Community access: sending a city
meeting worldwide
02.OCT.08
Bernard Avalle, executive director of Pittsfield Community Television, glimpsed
the changed landscape of the new age of media while working on the crew of the
live broadcasts of the girls softball world series this summer.
“I was watching the televised feed we were sending out on PCTV,” he
recalled. “At the same time I could see people at the park watching our
station’s coverage on their I-Phones. Meanwhile, I could also see that other
people were talking on their cell phones to friends and family members who were
watching the game at home, including people who were watching our coverage in
other parts of the country. It was a total ‘a-ha moment’ for me about
what’s possible today with the Internet and wireless communication.”
In addition, the fact that the crew sent a live signal from Doyle Park to the
PCTV studios in east Pittsfield also reflected the use of new technology. Most
of PCTV’s live remote programming has until now been limited to locations such
as City Hall, where designated fiber-optic lines connect to the main studio.
Although there is not such a connection at the site of the softball tournament,
the community access sent coverage to the studio over the internet to be shown
via the cable network.
Like most other forms of media, PCTV has been impacted by the fundamental
changes brought about by computerization and the wide reach of the internet.
PCTV is an independent, non-profit organization funded by a portion of the
subscription fees collected by Time Warner Cable, under the franchise licensing
agreement between the cable company and the city. As a public-access cable
channel, reception was originally limited to viewers who are subscribers of the
local cable system, which distributes its programming.
In a city with no other local television outlet, PCTV is the only source of
community-based television programming, including events coverage, talk shows,
entertainment and educational programming and local government meetings. The
organization currently operates three channels, including a public-access
service (Access Pittsfield) on channel 16; Pittsfield ETV, an education service
produced by schools on channel 17; and a governmental service, CityLink, on
channel 18.
Although most local viewers rely on cable for their television reception,
residents who are not customers of the cable company couldn’t access the
programming.
However, that has changed in recent years, thanks to the internet. PCTV’s web
site (http://www.pittsfieldtv.org) now carries all three channels live, making
them available to everyone with an Internet connection. In addition, select
programs are available “on demand,” which means that viewers can watch these
specific programs at whatever time they choose.
The organization also recently added podcasts of select programming. Podcasting
is a technology that offers people the opportunity to subscribe (for free) to an
updated feed that stores program files. Users can then download these program
files to store on their computer or I-Pod or other portable video devices and
watch them whenever they choose.
In addition to opening up reception of its programming to non-cable subscribers
in the Berkshires, these technologies have also opened up PCTV to a national and
global audience, because its web site and programming can be viewed or
downloaded anywhere in the world.
“This has changed our ability to reach audiences,” said Avalle.
“Sometimes, cable public access has been criticized for being a closed system.
But now, it’s an open system because it’s also available for free to
everyone who has access to the Internet. If you live in a town like Windsor, for
example, you can watch PCTV even though the cable system doesn’t reach there.
Or if you are a local official or other city resident, you can watch replays of
a government meeting you weren’t able to attend in person.”
Its geographic reach is far wider than that. Former Pittsfield residents who
live in other states can keep up with the city via PCTV online. Audiences abroad
can also watch. Avalle noted that some residents of Ballina, the Irish sister
city of Pittsfield, regularly watch city programs.
It has also untethered PCTV in another sense. The increased number of locations
that offer wireless Internet access, plus the emergence of Internet usage over
cell phones, makes it a mobile service.
The channels first began to dabble in streaming internet programming in 2002,
according to education coordinator Shawn Serre. Initially, it was limited to the
original Access Pittsfield service.
“It started out as an experiment,” said Serre. “It became technically
possible, so we figured ‘Why not give it a try?’ We decided to do it
quietly, without making any big announcements. It worked out, and about three
years ago we took the plunge to add the other channels too.”
In addition to programming, the web site also provides access to the
bulletin-board slides of announcements and other information from community
organizations that are shown between programs on the cable channels. Web site
users can select the information they view themselves. The system also includes
technology that enables the organizations that are registered to directly add
their own information to the bulletin board.
“It’s an interactive side of PCTV,” noted Avalle.
Serre and Avalle emphasized that primary focus of PCTV continues to be its cable
channels; the online services are an auxiliary service to that.
“Our primary mission continues to be serving the community via our cable
channels,” said Avalle. “That’s what we focus on. The online services are
a peripheral bonus. It’s largely been driven by advances in technology.
We’ve added these services as they become easier and inexpensive to do.”
Serre said that they have also stayed with online basics that can be integrated
into its other operations, rather than focus a lot of resources into them.
“We’ve kept our on demand programming limited so far, because it does take
additional work to do that,” he said. “Our priority remains the jobs that
relate to the cable channels.”
He noted that the online services are also an offshoot of the gradual
computerization of the core operations of PCTV. He explained that many
programming and operations have become integrated into a hardware and software
system called Tightrope. Programs, schedules and other information are stored in
this system as files on a central hard drive. Tightrope automates the schedule
and helps the staff to integrate information and programs in a coordinated
manner.
“That has made it possible to integrate the programming and streams into the
web site more easily,” Avalle said.
Serre added that the addition of online services is also driven by the
expectations of the public, in an era when most broadcasters and print
publications have added online versions of their original services.
“These days, people are consuming media in a lot of different ways, and they
are expecting to be able to have these available,” said Serre. “Like all
other forms of media, we have to keep up with that.”
