News

Takoma Park cable gets very good reception these days

by Alvaro Jovel

Seven years after taking control of Takoma Park City TV, Communications Manager Lonni Moffet has transformed a station that "people used to complain about, to one that is winning awards and praise."

Complaints were along the lines of "You can’t hear it, it’s awful" says Moffet, " and now I get frequent anecdotes from people who have really liked something they saw on our channel."

Starting out as a volunteer coordinator in 1996, Moffet quickly got involved in the city’s cable channel, and gradually took over the channel over the next few years. She is experienced in video production, as she has been involved with it for 25 years, and previously worked as a consultant for city and local government cable franchises.

The channel serves the community with locally relevant information and entertainment. If you are a Takoma Park resident who has cable but has not checked out channel 13 lately, you may be missing out on some really good things. The channel not only presents the happenings in the government, as a government access channel should, but also does a great job in providing the community with helpful, educational, and entertaining information and shows.

Some of the shows on Takoma Park City TV include the telezine The Coffee House, which started out as the Takoma Coffee House in the late 90s. The telezine covers many political, news, and art topics relevant to Washington area residents.

"Mark Cohen has really expanded Coffeehouse, and it is a great show with lots of local interest in Takoma Park" says Moffet.

However, it is the coverage of music events such as the Takoma Park Folk Festival and Jazzfest that are among some of the most popular productions. Moffet says "People really seem to enjoy the music. Even I find myself leaving the station running in the background just to listen to the music."

The channel plays CDs provided by local musicians during the bulletin board segment. Information about the artists is also posted on the website so that listeners can contact the artists and/or buy the CD if they liked what they heard.

The station is quite proud of their flagship piece Takoma Park Snapshots. Produced in-house, the Snapshots program concerns itself with community issues that are important to the residents, especially public safety. Each month, there is a segment on community oriented policing, which is based on the idea that "everyone is a part of public safety" says Moffet.

The March edition of Snapshots, for example, deals with crosswalk safety by having various members of law enforcement go over rules which pedestrians should follow to remain safe. The April COP segment, airing now, features Community Policing through Environmental Design. Other segments have included a day in the life of a Takoma Park police officer, bicycle safety and auto theft prevention.. The program is appreciated by both the police and the community.

Takoma Park Snapshots also features projects and events around town. An episode in March captured the thoughts and opinions of officials on the construction of the new community center. Useful information if you want to know more about (or don’t know where you stand on) the somewhat troubled construction project. The April edition of Snapshot has a feature on "What It Means To Live in Takoma Park, the unveiling of the Arts & Humanities Commission’s community mural project.

Plans to improve the station’s equipment and programming are in the works, but Moffet says that she has had to keep realistic about their goals due to budget constraints. Since the station has a modest budget, Moffet says acquiring new shows is nearly impossible, since the majority of the budget goes to keeping the station running. The station’s video production manager, Alvaro Calabia, added that it is difficult to get programming since the cost of shows can go over $1000 for about 10 tapes, which may not seem like much, but can add up quickly.

Calabia also commented that it is sometimes not useful to get some shows because "our main purpose is not to entertain but to serve the public interest. Also, we don’t want to repeat what is on other channels."

Moffet’s main concerns over the next year include upgrading equipment and the facilities needed for the new community center. She also plans add a server and other digital upgrades to enhance the quality of the video they produce. Moffet would also like to start webcasting the channel so that those without cable can also have access to the programming.

Calabia, as the station’s video production manager, does a lot of work to deliver on the programming. He does a lot of the shooting and editing for the programs aired on the channel and is quite qualified for this, having earned a masters in mass communications from Bowling Green State University, and having taught video production classes in Montgomery County. His efforts are no doubt tied to the continuing improvement of the station. Calabia wants to continue to add programming–like covering Tastes of Takoma Park, at Columbia Union College, which they will cover for the first time this year.

Calabia says that he has an interest in adding some sports like the Y.E.S. basketball league finals to the lineup–which he feels the channel is missing. Calabia says that,"We are also planning to increase our Spanish language programming, and possibly produce some edited music videos because the music is so popular". City TV’s main mission, besides broadcasting City Council meetings, is to cover the local events and stories in Takoma Park that would otherwise slip through the cracks. "The major network and news stations won’t cover events and activities in our small town," says Moffet, "so we are committed to do it."

And they have been doing it rather well, as Takoma Park City TV has received the award for overall excellence in Government Access for their budget category from the Alliance for Community Media in 2002.

They have also received a third place award in the Government Programming Awards from NATOA (National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors) for programming excellence in the Performing Arts category for a Jazz Band Brawl performance..

The channel welcomes any submissions of announcements from the public (but no advertisements please), Moffet wants everyone to know that this channel is "a resource for all of us" and it will continue to offer the news and information that is both relevant and interesting to the citizens of Takoma Park.