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| The One-Man Government Channel |
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June 4, 2010
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Do you really need to have a staff to
run a television channel?
by Geoff Poister
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Mike Miner at the controls
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The answer to this question can
be found in Peekskill, N.Y., population
25.000, where an enterprising
individual had a vision.
Michael Miner grew up in
Peekskill, and wanted to do something
good for his town. He had a
professional background in broadcast
television and found the existing government
channel to be sadly lacking.
"There was one VHS playback
machine and an antiquated graphics
machine for bulletin board
announcements," he said.
Miner approached the City Council with a proposal
to offer some real programming and submitted
a bid to execute the plan.
"It was a low bid, but it was a foot in the door,"
Miner said. "As time went on the contract expanded
and we started producing a lot of programming."
But when Miner uses the word "we," what he really
means is "me, myself and I." For the most part, he
has been running the city's government channel by himself.
(Although he is quick to stress that none of this
would be possible without the support and goodwill of
the community, including the mayor, council and sports
commission.) The City of Peekskill covers his salary, and
he makes efficient use of cable franchise money provided
by Cablevision and Verizon FiOS to buy equipment.
The studio is housed in City Hall and that is where
programs, such as the mayor's weekly show, are produced.
The Council Chamber is also set up for covering
sessions. And just this year, he has rigged the town's
baseball field for full multi-camera sports coverage.
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One of the Canon cameras at the ballfield
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The programming, which is on for about 18
hours a day starting at 7:00 a.m., includes all public
meetings and work sessions, plus all of the various
town commission meetings. Then there are edited
shows such as the Mayor's "Inside City Hall," press
conferences, ribbon cuttings, and special events
throughout the town.
Miner carefully selected an array of equipment that
could get the job done with sufficient quality, but at a
price that would fit the financial constraints. He has
been able to take advantage of the cost revolution of
the digital age, where high-end prosumer equipment
rivals the quality of traditionally more expensive gear.
For council meetings, they have three Canon 1-chip robotic cameras with a Telemetric controller,
Videonics switcher and Leightronix Net 164 router.
For work sessions, Miner uses JVC 110 and 210 ENG
Cameras, which also are used for field ENG/EFP with
a Tricaster switcher and a Sony audio board. He has
recently installed a Leightronix Nexus digital video
server for digital playback.
But what Miner really talks about with pride now
is the baseball field setup, which just went online
this spring and is used to broadcast local high school
and college games.
"We had a small production truck and three or
four folks I had to pay," Miner recalled. "It was
expensive, so I convinced the city to pay for a permanent
installation. There was a fund for the ball
field and they agreed to setting up five cameras and
slow motion replay. The cable company installed
fiber so we can feed back to City Hall for broadcast
and streaming on Internet."
The five BRC-300 Sony cameras are robotic and
housed in domes for protection. Miner uses a Vaddio
camera control system to execute the coverage.
"I can (remotely) pan, tilt, zoom and focus the
cameras," Miner said. "One is placed center field,
and the others behind home plate, first and third, and
one looking out from the bull pen. A lot of shots are
set shots. Except when the ball is hit I control the
camera behind the plate to follow the ball. We also
have graphics and two-angle replay. It's a really neat
consolidated controller. The system eliminates the
need for setup and breakdown. I can show up five
minutes before the game and start going."
So with the basic manpower of one, Miner reaches
his audience on channels provided by Cablevision
and Verizon FiOS, as well as live streaming on the
town website.
And how much did this all cost?
"I would say about $100,000 at City Hall and
$70,000 at the ball field, so about $170,000 altogether,"
Miner said. "We have a lot going on for
that price."
To manage the operation
alone, Miner has taken advantage
of new technology, such
as the Leightronix Nexus Digital
Video Server.
"The beauty of the new server
system is that it's all programmable,"
Miner said. "I can do it from home if I need
to. I don't have a master control operator sitting
there making sure everything is going well. But with
the server it's almost a perfect run."
The server also provides weather and news feeds
that can be used to fill any down time.
"The default is it goes to PSAs or weather,"
Miner said. "So it's a seamless flow and makes it
easier for people like myself."
Although Miner doesn't have ratings or viewership
data, he knows by personal contact with members of
the community that the channel is watched frequently.
"The viewership is high because we really don't
have local radio or local newspaper. It's really a
county driven media including the local news station,"
Miner said. "And news is pretty much bad
news most of the time. It's really my job to promote
the positive in the city and make people aware of
what's coming up."
Miner's advice for anyone who wants to give this
a try?
"I would first try to get solid support from community
and powers that be. But also get volunteers
who are dedicated. And work
with kids. You can't go wrong
with kids. It's a great PR move
for the city, but also the parents
who are taxpayers really
enjoy seeing their children.
And you don't need to spend a
heck of a lot of money to get
things done. Start small and add on."
The Peekskill Government Channel is non-commercial,
so the motivation is about things less tangible
than money.
"I was born and raised in the town," Miner said.
"It's much more than just a job. It's about seeing the
people you have known since you were a kid and
providing a service to the community."
Michael Miner can be reached at minervideo@optonline.net.
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