MASSTALK

Summ..., Summ..., SummertimeMessage from the Chairman,Bob KellyRemember the days when the end of the school year meant we could catch our collective breaths and take vacations, do inventory, fix tired equipment and gear up for the other side of Labor Day? Yah,

that ain’t happening anymore is it?! There is no rest for the weary in our community media world. The business of community media is a twelve-month operation and who knows that better than us?So put your punch list together and see how many things you can get accomplished while half your crew is layering on sun block in some place that sounds much more exciting than wherever we are.Continued on Page 3

VISIT US ON THE WEB:

www.MassAccess,org

FACEBOOK.COM/GROUPS/MASSACCESS

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

PAGE 6PROGRAMMERS MEET

PAGE 12ACM NORTHEAST NEWS

UPCOMING EVENTS:

National ACM Conference

July 31-August 2ndChicago, ILHyatt Regency McCormick Place

MassAccess ConferenceEarly October, TBA

Media Ed. of AmericaFall Conference

October 16Providence, RI

NE Region ACMConference & Trade ShowNovember 1 & 2

SUMMER 2012 EDITION NEWS & IDEAS FROM MASSACCESS

Spring Conference is an Archival Hit!by Amy Brough Palmerino

MassAccess held its Spring Mini Conference on Thursday, April 5, 2012 at The National Archives, Northeast Region, Frederick C. Murphy Federal Center in Waltham. The event was our biggest yet with over seventy-five members in attendance, three sessions, a tour of the National Archives and eight vendor demonstrations. Session One focused on “Digital Archiving and how centers can start transitioning their media archiving from tape to a digital format. Presenters included Diane LeBlanc, Regional Administrator, of the National Archives and Records Administration for the Northeast Region and Frank Vincentelli, Chief Technology Officer at Integrated IT Solutions. Continued on page 9

Message from the ChairContinued From Page 1 But make every effort to get away and recharge your batteries. September will be here all too quickly and we will inevitably be asking ourselves “where the heck did the summer go?” Take the family away to Disney. Visit your college buddies. Rent a place on the water. Go tour some of the ball parks of America. DO SOMETHING!

Our daily grind is hectic and seemingly getting worse if that is possible. So take my advice and make some room for a vacation. You will not regret it I promise. By the way, if you want to share your plans with me to give me and my family some ideas this summer – please email me at bobk@newtv.org. Have a blast!

SUMMER 2012 EDITION NEWS & IDEAS FROM MASSACCESS

Because of all the recent changes that have developed in video distribution, access station programmers have a lot to discuss. A group of 29 programmers and executive directors from Eastern and Central Massachusetts gathered for a lunch meeting on April 11 in the studio of Somerville Community Access Television. The goal was to share what works and what is problematic for programmers in the digital age.

The free wheeling discussion, led by SCATV Programming Coordinator Vaughn Simkins, covered many topics, including how the channels are scheduled. Some program their channels by producer request, others in blocks of content types. They discussed the use of file sharing through PEG Media, CMDN, and My Mass TV, as well as methods of scheduling to make the channel more interesting for viewers. It was clear that each community has a different culture and thus a different way of doing things. There is no one size fits all for programming policies. The issue of censorship came up, with a lively discussion of community standards for content, safe harbor hours, and production quality standards for cablecast.Some programmers act as gatekeepers to maintain a high quality look for their channels. Others, on principle, do not watch the shows that come in. Some communities allow members to upload program files directly into their servers through FTP, while others require DVD’s and even cablecast from tape.

One thing everyone agreed on was that meetings like this are valuable and should happen regularly, but with a planned agenda that focuses more on sharing technical expertise. Sean Snyder from Arlington set up a Google list for all the participants, and plans are underway for the next meeting in Newton. For more information and to join the group, contact Sean at Sean@acmi.tv. Another programmers meeting is being planned at NewTV. Stay tuned for more on this.

SUMMER 2012 EDITION NEWS & IDEAS FROM MASSACCESS

Access Programmers Gather In SomervilleBy Wendy Blom

Jim Lescault, Executive Director of Amherst Media and a MassAccess Board Member moderated the session.

Session Two was a “Community Media Issues Panel” which discussed the important issues and updates facing community media centers throughout Massachusetts. Presenters included Joseph Wender, Legislative Director, Congressman Edward Markey's office, Michael Mael, Senior Financial Analyst, Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications & Cable and William August, Esq., Epstein & August, LLP with moderator Bob Kelly, Executive Director, NewTV & MassAccess Board Chair.

Session Three was a lively discussion on “Producing a News Program” that gave insight to members on how to bring the events and top stories of your city or town to the community through a newscast format. Presenters included Chris Wangler, News Director, The Waltham Channel, Florence DelSanto, Executive Director, Lexmedia and Jenn Adams, News Director, NewTV with moderator Maria Sheehan, Executive Director, The Waltham Channel.

The vendors who attended the Spring mini conference were Access AV, Barbizon, Camera Company, HB Communications, High Output, LiveU, Telvue, and Unique Media Systems.

The members in attendance enjoyed a behind the scenes tour of the National Archives led by Diane LeBlanc and her staff and greatly appreciated the hospitality that LeBlanc showed to MassAccess by hosting the event in their beautiful facility, as well as presenting the participants with a great continental breakfast.

Special thanks to Joe Nocera and his family of the Chateau Restaurants for donating lunch for the event that included many of their Italian specialties.

For those of you who could not make it to the conference, or for members who would love to see it again, please look for the sessions on MyMassTV produced by Maria Sheehan and her staff of The Waltham Channel.

Thank you to all who attended this very successful conference and look for information on the Fall 2012 Mini Conference on our website, facebook page and in your email inbox very soon

SUMMER 2012 EDITION NEWS & IDEAS FROM MASSACCESS

Continued From Page 1:

Mini Conference Fall 2012 coming early October

MassAccess wishes to thank Joe Nocera and his family for

their generous donation to the Spring Mini-Conference.

Find the Chateau Restaurant near you at:

www.ChateauRestaurant.com

ACM NORTHEAST REGION NEWSBy Keith Thibault

The Northeast Region of the ACM (ACMNE) is in the middle of its Board of Directors’ election. There are four at-large seats available on the board this year. ACM members should be receiving a ballot soon.

In March the Board of Directors held a retreat in Ogunquit, ME. It was an opportunity for the board to look at the organization’s strategic plan and provide much needed face-to-face interaction, something the board does not do often very due to the distance of its members.

The ACMNE will be holding its Annual Meeting at the ACM National Conference this summer in Chicago. If you are headed to the Windy City, look for the date and time in the conference schedule.

The organization is not holding any events this spring. It is continuing with its plans for the Fall Conference and Trade Show. The conference will be held on November 1st and 2nd at the Radisson Plymouth Harbor Hotel in Plymouth, MA. Registration for the conference will be available soon. There will not be a Video Festival in 2012. The next Video Festival will take place in the spring of 2013. Check out http://acm-ne.org for more information.

SUMMER 2012 EDITION NEWS & IDEAS FROM MASSACCESS