PUBLIC ACCESS READY FOR GREEN LIGHT
By Natalie Jackson
Northwest Access Television (NWATV) is growing! Aside from the four towns that the two channels already cover–Highgate, St. Albans, Sheldon, and Swanton–the station will now be serving Bakersfield, Berkshire, Enosburgh, Fairfield, Montgomery, and Richford.
NWATV will be covering special events, town meetings and school board meetings in the new areas in hopes to capture the towns’ spirits. When making the transition, NWATV’s goal is to share the vibrant life of the eastern side of the county with the western half of the county, and vice versa.
Elizabeth Malone, executive director of NWATV, suggests, “We really want people in St. Albans to see what Enosburgh and Montgomery have to offer, so instead of driving down to Burlington for a night out, maybe they will go east instead of south for a change.”
NWATV will not only be broadcasting events in the new areas, but they also hope to reach out to the communities and offer media creation training at a new satellite station that will hopefully be located in Enosburgh. Malone has high hopes for the program’s growth. As a board member of the Vermont Access Network, Malone is very involved with the growth process of media in our region.
One way NWATV will promote media, is by loaning out their equipment to anybody interested in using it. “People who want to learn how to make a show of their own will be welcome to come in. That will be available to people of all ages and all abilities; you don’t have to have any experience at all,” Malone comments.
As of right now, people are welcome to come into their St. Albans studio and learn how to use the equipment. Eventually, they hope to offer the same opportunities in the new Enosburgh facility.
NWATV offers classes and one-on-one trainings for all of the equipment. “We can get anyone going on using a camera in thirty minutes,” Malone says proudly.
“Most people who work with us don’t have film degrees, and they’ve never had a camera in their hands before, so we’re really happy to work with people who don’t have that experience and just want to make a show.”
With the growth of any business, new expenses are created. Currently, NWATV is in the process of hiring new videographers for the areas, looking to achieve the same standards this one has maintained with their projects. A videographer’s job entails picking up the camera from the studio and going out to record the public events.
With the new locations in the county, it is convenient to have many videographers spread throughout so it won’t be so much of a haul for people to drive around to the different towns.
NWATV will also be hiring a part-time coordinator to edit and send the footage back to the main studio in St. Albans from the satellite location in Enosburgh when it is set up.
Between the four towns that the station already has under their wing and the six towns they plan to add, Northwest Access Television is very excited about the new opportunities they will be bringing to the county. Keep a look out to watch what is going on in your town!
