Channel 17 has signed a new contract with Comcast Cable, and isstepping up its live coverage. Lauren-Glenn Davitian, executive director of the public accesschannel which serves Chittenden County, made the announcement in areport to the Burlington City Council Monday night. People want on-demand government, they expect it, Davitian toldcouncil members. Davitian pointed to the live broadcast of the Democratic mayoralcaucuses last fall, as well as live coverage of the mayoral debatescheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, as examples of theon-demand access her media company is offering for ChittendenCounty citizens.
Candidates Wanda Hines, Miro Weinberger and Kurt Wright will talkabout their plans and take questions from a panel that includesWCAX reporter Kristin Carlson, VPR s Kirk Carapezza, and AndyBromage from Seven Days. Questions will also come from a live blogand audience members at Contois Auditorium. The debate is co-hostedby Channel 17 and Seven Days, with support from Leunig s Bistro &Cafe. CCTV launched three of the first public access cable channels inVermont in 1984, and Channel 17 officially became Town Meetingtelevision in 1990.
CCTV serves Burlington, South Burlington,Essex, Essex Junction, Williston, Winooski, Colchester and St.George. The other two Chittenden County cable access stations areChannel 15, which offers a platform for shows created by arearesidents, and Channel 16, which televises educational programming. Davitian also announced a new addition to the local cable scene.Burlington Telecom, which works closely with Channel 17, expects toadd Free Speech TV (Channel 122) to its basic cable lineup on March1. FSTV airs "Democracy Now" three times daily and hascoverage of cutting-edge current affairs like the Occupy movementand independently produced and investigative documentaries. Cellulite Cavitation
A dailytalk show hosted by Thom Hartmann features Brunch with Bernie, a Friday noon discussion and call-in segment with the U.S. senator.The program currently reaches 37 million U.S. homes via DISHnetwork, DIRECTV and Roku. To insure carriage on the basic tier received by all BTsubscribers, FSTV and its local supporters have agreed to raise$10,000 to cover start-up costs by the end of this month. A Friendsof Free Speech TV group has been organized to help, so farattracting a $5,000 challenge fund and around $2,000 in individualcontributions. IPL Beauty Equipment
Supporters include Davitian, former Seven Dayscolumnist Shay Totten, RETN's Scott Campitelli, and former BTTechnical Advisory Council member Jan Schultz. The channel s mission is to inspire viewers to become civicallyengaged to build a more just, equitable and sustainable society, according to Greg Epler-Wood, a former member of the CommunityAdvisory Council who is also part of the Friends group. Epler-Woodfrequently updates the council about telecom issues during fiber-side chats, accompanied by the image of a crackling woodfire on his computer. Following Davitian s presentation, several councilors offeredcompliments about CCTV's work. But a few also raisedquestions. China Co2 Fractional Laser
For example, Ward 7 Republican Paul Decelles wonderedhow local residents can help to offset some of the costs ofcovering public meetings, while Ward 3 Progressive EmmaMulvaney-Stanak wanted to know more about the availability andquality of volunteer training. Davitian replied that anyone could write a check right now. Butshe acknowledged that, with support from local governments, Channel17 has not found it necessary to develop an official fundraisingcampaign. As for volunteer training and the varying quality oflocal coverage, she said, Sometimes we train them over andover. Vince Dober, the other Ward 7 councilor and also a Republican,asked about rules concerning profanity.
The incidents in questionare most likely to have occurred on Channel 15, Davitian said, andshe offered her perspective on the expletive question. Access is about a forum, she said. On the other hand, We haveto teach that with free speech comes responsibility. But if theydon t get it, we don t cut them off. Ward 1 Democrat Ed Adrian suggested that the political leanings oraffiliations of some staff could potentially undermine theappearance of balance that is a hallmark of public access.
Thisquestion of parity and equity is our main objective, Davitianreplied. When you walk in, your opinion is as valid as anyoneelse s. Mayoral candidate Kurt Wright had no doubts about that. You domake us all feel welcome, he said. I have a great experienceevery time.
His campaign manager David Hartnett, a Ward 4 Democrat whorepresents the City of Burlington on the Channel 17 board oftrustees, agreed. He called the organization a great partner tohave.".
Candidates Wanda Hines, Miro Weinberger and Kurt Wright will talkabout their plans and take questions from a panel that includesWCAX reporter Kristin Carlson, VPR s Kirk Carapezza, and AndyBromage from Seven Days. Questions will also come from a live blogand audience members at Contois Auditorium. The debate is co-hostedby Channel 17 and Seven Days, with support from Leunig s Bistro &Cafe. CCTV launched three of the first public access cable channels inVermont in 1984, and Channel 17 officially became Town Meetingtelevision in 1990.
CCTV serves Burlington, South Burlington,Essex, Essex Junction, Williston, Winooski, Colchester and St.George. The other two Chittenden County cable access stations areChannel 15, which offers a platform for shows created by arearesidents, and Channel 16, which televises educational programming. Davitian also announced a new addition to the local cable scene.Burlington Telecom, which works closely with Channel 17, expects toadd Free Speech TV (Channel 122) to its basic cable lineup on March1. FSTV airs "Democracy Now" three times daily and hascoverage of cutting-edge current affairs like the Occupy movementand independently produced and investigative documentaries. Cellulite Cavitation
A dailytalk show hosted by Thom Hartmann features Brunch with Bernie, a Friday noon discussion and call-in segment with the U.S. senator.The program currently reaches 37 million U.S. homes via DISHnetwork, DIRECTV and Roku. To insure carriage on the basic tier received by all BTsubscribers, FSTV and its local supporters have agreed to raise$10,000 to cover start-up costs by the end of this month. A Friendsof Free Speech TV group has been organized to help, so farattracting a $5,000 challenge fund and around $2,000 in individualcontributions. IPL Beauty Equipment
Supporters include Davitian, former Seven Dayscolumnist Shay Totten, RETN's Scott Campitelli, and former BTTechnical Advisory Council member Jan Schultz. The channel s mission is to inspire viewers to become civicallyengaged to build a more just, equitable and sustainable society, according to Greg Epler-Wood, a former member of the CommunityAdvisory Council who is also part of the Friends group. Epler-Woodfrequently updates the council about telecom issues during fiber-side chats, accompanied by the image of a crackling woodfire on his computer. Following Davitian s presentation, several councilors offeredcompliments about CCTV's work. But a few also raisedquestions. China Co2 Fractional Laser
For example, Ward 7 Republican Paul Decelles wonderedhow local residents can help to offset some of the costs ofcovering public meetings, while Ward 3 Progressive EmmaMulvaney-Stanak wanted to know more about the availability andquality of volunteer training. Davitian replied that anyone could write a check right now. Butshe acknowledged that, with support from local governments, Channel17 has not found it necessary to develop an official fundraisingcampaign. As for volunteer training and the varying quality oflocal coverage, she said, Sometimes we train them over andover. Vince Dober, the other Ward 7 councilor and also a Republican,asked about rules concerning profanity.
The incidents in questionare most likely to have occurred on Channel 15, Davitian said, andshe offered her perspective on the expletive question. Access is about a forum, she said. On the other hand, We haveto teach that with free speech comes responsibility. But if theydon t get it, we don t cut them off. Ward 1 Democrat Ed Adrian suggested that the political leanings oraffiliations of some staff could potentially undermine theappearance of balance that is a hallmark of public access.
Thisquestion of parity and equity is our main objective, Davitianreplied. When you walk in, your opinion is as valid as anyoneelse s. Mayoral candidate Kurt Wright had no doubts about that. You domake us all feel welcome, he said. I have a great experienceevery time.
His campaign manager David Hartnett, a Ward 4 Democrat whorepresents the City of Burlington on the Channel 17 board oftrustees, agreed. He called the organization a great partner tohave.".