NEWS

Our ACM NE Grassroots Regional Scholarship for the May 13-14 Regional Power of Partners Conference in New Brunswick, was awarded to Joe Cunniff of Albany, NY.
Here is a copy of the article he wrote for the Northeast Courier (newsletter of the ACM NE Region).

"I attended the ACM NE Regional Conference on a scholarship!"  by Joe Cunniff

First, thanks from all of us in Albany for all you’ve been doing to help ensure our next stab at PEG TV has a chance of survival! Your trips up here and numerous emails energize us to stay focused and work for the proper funding and equipment.  And what better way could we prepare for that than to attend the Alliance for Community Media’s conference in New Jersey the 13th and 14th of this month?  What a fantastic opportunity!  Thanks for letting us know about the scholarship to “The Power of Partners” conference. 

The conference provided a few pleasant surprises for me. You may recall the document our group of PEG enthusiasts presented to Albany’s Common Council back in February that included screen shots of ChannelAustin’s website as examples of what a PEG station’s web presence should look like.  We included their home page, online access to video, and their training schedule and description.  What an enormous coincidence that the director of ChannelAustin and their manager of training would be at your conference!  I had the chance to chat with both of them and exchange business cards, as well as their insistence that we share follow-up conversations while (should we emulate them to this extent?) ChannelAlbany gets up and running.  In addition to meeting my ‘idols’, I had the opportunity to meet plenty of PEG folks that clearly re-emphasized your point.  An all volunteer station won’t work!  I was able to chat with people from quite a few stations, asking how many FTE’s they had, their town’s population, and number of subscribers. It was very enlightening information that we can share with City Hall.  

Then there were the workshops.  There were so many wonderful topics, I couldn’t make up my mind!  I did end up focusing on video streaming and the single and multiple camera no-edit shoot, subjects that I feel are important to the implementation here in Albany.

The trade show was very important to us.  This was a great place for us to validate our thought that some of the equipment that is part of the Albany agreement with Time Warner is not appropriate for our cause.  For example, fixed, wall mounted tape based (1 hour) HD cameras are not a good idea in City Hall.  Robotic cameras with presets combined with proper video switching technology and streaming would be much better.  We’ll try to keep ourselves and the City focused on the types of technology appropriate for each application.   

Thanks very much to you, Executive Director Nancy Richard, and the Alliance for the scholarship that allowed us the opportunity to learn so much in so little time.  We know there’s lots more to learn and hope Albany provides all its’ citizens the chance to do just that.

Best Regards,

Joe Cunniff

Albany Community Television
www.albanycommunitytelevisioin.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ATTENTION NEW YORK STATE!

The ACM National Conference will take place on July 7-10, 2010 in the
Hilton Pittsburgh
600 Commonwealth Place
Pittsburgh, PA, 15222

Online registration is now closed, but you CAN pay at the door.
www.alliancecm.org
The convention page is still viewable at http://www.alliancecm.org/2010conf_theme
There you will find Schedule information as well as Ride Share and Room Share forums.
Check out the Special Hotel Rate for ACM Conference Attendees at http://www.alliancecm.org/2010conf_travel
TIP: If that is no longer available, check out www.motel6.com or google for "cheap hotels  Pittsburgh PA."

Click here to download a ACM National conference brochure.
 
Although our winner has already been picked, click here to see a copy of the ACM National Grassroots Scholarship application.

Maryann Arrien
Chair: NY Chapter, Alliance for Community Media
845-528-7420

Alliance for Community Media
presents


Meeting
COMMUNITY MEDIA
Challenges
July 7-10, 2010
Pittsburgh, PA

 

Online Registration Now Closed...
 

Save with Early Registration through June 25, 2010. All Registrations must be done on-line, but it is possible to pay by check.

 







Older news

The first day of Spring, March 21, 2007 was an important day for New York State as many gathered in Albany.   A press conference in the morning held by Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera, the Chair of the NYS Assembly Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force, called for protecting and strengthening PEG Access Television, and local authority over the public rights of way.   Assemblyman Rivera stood with colleagues Assemblyman Jose Rivera, Assemblyman Luis M. Diaz, and State Senator Efrain González in support of PEG.   Speaking also were Tony Riddle of the ACM, Michael Max Knobbe representing the ACMNY and BronxNet, Dan Coughlin of MNN, David Renner and Jerry Buzbach of PCTV, Rick Osbourne of RCTV, Steve Pierce of the New Media Alliance, and Gordon P. Emerson from Duanesburg.   Upstate and downstate were represented in a strong show of support for community media and access.

Also on the 21st of March, as we experienced the equinox- where the sun is directly above the Earth's equator, Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky held a hearing on Telecommunications reform, which was a careful examination of statewide cable franchise agreements. Elected leaders, consumer advocates, community media activists, representatives from cities & towns, unions, representatives from cable, and the telecommunications industry participated in what proved to be an enlightening and often lively hearing.   Tony Riddle and Steve Pierce joined a panel that included Charles W. F. Bell of the Consumers Union, and Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan.   Tony and Steve provided excellent analysis of NYS franchising issues through testimony and Q&A.

BronxNet provided full coverage of both events.   Copies on DVD will be available upon request for transmission on channels accross the state and nation. Please email max@bronxnet.org with any inquiries and visit www.acmny.org for updates.