Pemi-Baker Community Access Media (pbCAM)
"Television of the community, for the community and BY the community!"
Community access media is just as the phrase implies: it's an opportunity and means for everyone in the local community to share information, ideas and culture with everyone else. It's television of the community, for the community and especially by the community.
Pemi-Baker Community Access Media (pbCAM) is located in Pease Public Library on Russell Street in Plymouth. pbCAM provides community access media resources for the Pemi-Baker area towns of Plymouth, Ashland, Campton, Dorchester, Groton, Holderness, Rumney, Thornton, Warren and Wentworth. We offer a community bulletin board and locally produced and/or sponsored video programming. pbCAM includes pbGOV on channel 3 where you can find local government information and meetings, and pbACT on channel 20 where you can find programs produced by local schools, students, churches, non-profit organizations, and most importantly, local people like you!
pbCAM is here to help you. We provide the tools, the learning and the medium. In order for your local television to reflect your local community, however, you need to be involved. There's so much to see in our local community and it's up to you to show it to us!
Learn more about community access media (PEG access) here or at Wikipedia.
Office Hours:
Monday: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday: 1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Thursday: 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Producers Meetings:
Every Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.
Plymouth Town Hall (upstairs)
Production Night:
Every Friday night at 5:00 p.m.
Pease Public Library (use lower level entrance)
Production Night time slots must be reserved at a Producers Meeting or through other approved arrangements with the Executive Director.
The pbCAM Advisory Board is appointed by the Plymouth Selectboard to review and recommend policies and procedures and to review the annual budget of Pemi-Baker Community Access Media (pbCAM). The pbCAM Advisory Board also provides advice to the pbCAM Executive Director and handles mediation in case of disputes over the Executive Director's implementation of policies and procedures.
pbCAM is an institutional member of the Alliance for Community Media and the New Hampshire Coalition for Community Media.
Access User Eligibility
Program time slots on pbACT are available on a first-come, first-served basis free of charge to eligible public access users. Eligible public access users are adult residents, residents under 18 years of age who are sponsored by a responsible adult, owners of resident businesses, and members of resident nonprofit organizations of Plymouth and member communities. Non-resident faculty, staff and students of Plymouth State University, Plymouth Regional High School, Plymouth Elementary School and all other schools in Plymouth and member communities are eligible public access users. Non-resident officials and employees of the Town of Plymouth and member communities, as designated by the Board of Selectmen of their respective town, are also eligible public access users of pbACT.
Non-residents living within the Pemi-Baker Area may become public access users by submitting a Statement of Compliance and an annual membership fee of $25.
Program time slots on pbGOV are available only to resident and non-resident officials and employees of the Town of Plymouth and member communities. These time slots are to be used solely for communicating information directly related to the goals of the user’s respective town in accordance with the town’s set policies or direction provided by the respective Board of Selectmen. Plymouth officials and employees must comply with the Electronic Communications Policy in the Town of Plymouth Personnel Manual. Additional program time slots may be made available for state and federal government officials and agencies if scheduling permits.
It has been, and shall continue to be, the policy of pbCAM to provide equal access and opportunity to all individuals without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religious creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, age or physical or mental disability.
Become A pbCAM Volunteer
pbCAM is always looking for volunteers interested in helping us bring the voice of our communities to our viewers. Opportunities include but are not limited to making PowerPoint slides for the Community Bulletin Board, filming local events, timing out and cueing videos and producing your own television program.
Community Bulletin Board
Are you skilled with PowerPoint? Would you like to learn PowerPoint? If so, consider volunteering for our Community Bulletin Board. We can teach you how to use PowerPoint effectively to make great looking bulletin notices for area events and organizations. No previous experience is necessary or required. This work is convenient, too, if you own PowerPoint at home or have access to a computer with PowerPoint. You can simply create slides wherever you like and email them into us! Contact us today to set up a free individual training class and get started volunteering with pbCAM.
Producing Local Events / Volunteer Camera Operator
Are you good with a video camera? Have you ever wanted to try using one? Now is your chance! Volunteer with pbCAM to tape local events such as town meetings, school board meetings, local athletic events, parades and more and we'll teach you how to set up the equipment and operate a camera. Contact us today to set up a free individual training class and get taping events or volunteering as a camera operator for pbCAM.
Directing Town of Plymouth Meetings
Not only can you volunteer to tape meetings, but you can also receive training on live event production. If you take this training, you can volunteer to direct Town of Plymouth government meetings such as the Selectboard, Planning Board and Zoning Board. If you volunteer to direct one of these meetings you can be paid a $8 per hour stipend per meeting. Contact us today for more information on directing meetings for the Town of Plymouth.
Producing Your Own Show
Part of the power of pbACT-20 and community media in general is the ability for community members to become producers and let their voices be heard. pbACT-20 is especially in need of locally produced programming at the moment and we'd like to invite you to be part of the solution! If you are an eligible Public Access User and have submitted a Statement of Compliance then you are ready to begin producing and submitting your own show.
Don't have the equipment to produce a show? That's okay, we do! Our equipment is available for Public Access Users to borrow for the purpose of producing their own show and/or taping their own events. We'll train you on the proper set up and use of the equipment to help you get started. Read our First-Time Submission instructions or contact us today for more information on producing your own show and/or borrowing our equipment.
Also, be sure to take advantage of our weekly Producers' Meetings and Production Nights! At the Producers Meetings we'll help you plan your program and get ready for production. At the Production Nights we'll schedule you for a block of time when you can use our facilities and equipment for live-to-tape productions or non-linear editing with technical guidance and assistance from staff.
Community Bulletin Board
The Community Bulletin Board is maintained in a slideshow format on pbACT-20 to announce upcoming programs on pbACT-20 and pbGOV-3, non-commercial messages and other items which may be of interest to cable subscribers in the ten-town viewing area. Any person or entity in any Pemi-Baker area community may request cablecast of a non-commercial message, provided the message and request are submitted in writing, via email or via this website at least two weeks in advance. The Executive Director may allow a shorter lead time for a request if message scheduling and other circumstances permit.
Messages and announcements are scheduled and removed by the pbCAM Executive Director. Although every effort is made to assure that the information cablecast on the Community Bulletin Board is accurate and current, pbCAM assumes no responsibility for errors in message content or in message scheduling.
Notices are created by our crew of volunteers. People submitting notices who have and can use PowerPoint are encouraged to create their own slides for the Community Bulletin Board. Contact us and we would be glad to train you how to make a slide that will look good on the television screen.
Guidelines for Creating Your Own Slides:
- All text should be at least 24-point in size and bold.
- Sans serif fonts (Arial, Helvetica) generally work better than serif fonts (Times New Roman). Most script fonts do not work well.
- Avoid intense colors like pure red, pure blue, pure yellow and bright oranges and pinks.
- Make sure slides include the what, when, where and who to contact for more information.
- Less is more. Try to summarize and condense information so you don't overwhelm your audience.
Audio on the Bulletin Board
Every week starting at 10:00 a.m. on Mondays and ending at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesdays, pbCAM will be showcasing music from local artists on pbACT-20 during times when the bulletin board is cablecasting. Click here to learn more.
As an additional service to our viewers, pbACT-20 runs NH Public Radio (97.3 FM) as background audio for our Community Bulletin Board by kind permission of the NHPR staff.
Current PSU Weather Slides
Below are the most recent PSU Weather slides that appear as part of the pbACT Community Bulletin Board. These slides are automatically updated every few minutes.
You can get more in-depth information on local weather by visiting the PSU Meteorology website at http://vortex.plymouth.edu.
Current Conditions:
Boyd Science Center Almanac:
National Weather Service Forecast:
GOES-E Infrared Imagery:
Northeast Visible Satellite/Radar Composite:
Latest Regional Hourly Temps:
Latest Gray/Portland (ME) Weather Radar:
Documents & Forms
Listed below are various pbCAM files that you may find useful. All documents are in PDF format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to read these documents and forms.
Generic Talent Release Form:
This form is provided as a sample release form that you may use to secure permissions from anyone appearing on camera in your productions. This form is NOT AN OFFICIAL pbCAM FORM! It is provided for you to use as a template and modify at your own will to make sure you get proper permissions in writing. Remember: you are always responsible for securing your own permissions and keeping your own records. You should always get permission in writing before putting someone in your program!
Submit a Notice
Use this form to submit a non-commercial notice to the Community Bulletin Board. Your notice will be emailed to pbCAM and submitted to a volunteer for creation.
We ask that all notices be limited to 30 words or less. Notices should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the event date. Notices will run on the bulletin board for no longer than 31 consecutive days (except government access notices).
Notices should be submitted at least two weeks in advance of the event. Many of the slides appearing on the bulletin board are created by volunteers and these efforts need to be coordinated. Less than two weeks notice might mean your notice will not appear in the bulletin board or viewers might not have enough advance time to see your notice in the rotation.
In order to comply with the non-commercial clause in the Town of Plymouth franchise agreement and to be fair to all users of the Community Bulletin Board, no prices or suggested donations will be displayed (except fees for pbCAM or government services).
History of Pemi-Baker Community Access Media
On October 31, 1990, the Town of Plymouth entered into a franchise agreement with State Cable TV Corporation to operate a cable television system in the Town. This was done under authority of New Hampshire RSA 53-C.
Pursuant to the franchise agreement, State Cable established Channel 36 as a community channel for Plymouth government, schools, residents, businesses and organizations to cablecast pre-recorded and live non-commercial programming of local interest over the cable television system.
Plymouth Community Channel was moved from channel 36 to channel 3 in September of 1993. Because of this, the name of the channel operation and committee were changed from PCC36 to PCC3. PCC3 began cablecasting the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce's Annual TV/Radio Auction, their major fundraising event, in 1994. In 1996 the Plymouth State College (now Plymouth State University) Meteorology students began taping and submitting regular weekday evening weather forecasts.
FrontierVision replaced State Cable as the cable operator in 1998 and in cooperation with the Plymouth Board of Selectmen funded the pruchase of replacement equipment and new items for PCC3. In 1999, Adelphia Cable replaced FrontierVision as the cable operator.
Year 2000 marked the 10th year of the channel's operations and was the last year covered by the cable franchise that brought PCC3 into existence. A committee from Ashland and Plymouth appointed by the two boards of selectmen began drafting a new franchise to be adopted by the respective towns and Adelphia. This new agreement had not been signed by the end of 2001 although the town of Holderness had joined the process. This new agreement was eventually signed in 2002.
The Plymouth Board of Selectmen were able to raise and appropriate $1730 in 2002 for the purpose of purchasing a new video camcorder for PCC3. This camera is still in use for taping of town meetings and loaning to Public Access Users. 2002 also marked the forming of a strategic planning committee that assessed the future goals of PCC3 and drafted an appropriate plan. This plan reviewed the need for funding and a staff director among other needs. 2003 brought about the realization of funding in PCC3's first ever operating budget funded by a 2% franchise fee voted into action by and assessed on the cable bills of the residents of Plymouth.
2003 also brought the long-needed replacement of the antiquated bulletin board system. The bulletin board now runs on a more modern PC with Microsoft PowerPoint instead of the legend Amiga 500 system that made it difficult for volunteers to update notices. PowerPoint has made it easier for volunteers to get involved and create notices for the channel, also allowing for people to volunteer from home or school.
On October 13, 2004, the Plymouth Board of Selectmen appointed Jamie Cadorette to the part-time position of Executive Director of PCC3. The Board of Selectmen also appointed a seven-person Advisory Board chaired by Joanne Koermer to oversee operations. The Executive Director and Advisory Board are now charged with continuing the current operations and developing more plans for the future of PCC3, including new equipment and facilities that will make public access television more accessible to members of all ten communities that view PCC3.
On September 12, 2005, PCC3 became the new home of the government access channel cablecasting from Town Hall in Plymouth. With this new government access channel came the ability to cablecast live from Town Hall (now used by the Selectboard, Planning Board and Zoning Board) and to cablecast Plymouth parades live, as well. Cablecasts from Pease Public Library moved to PCC20, serving as the new home for all public and educational access programming.
PCC3 began cablecasting Plymouth parades live with the Veterans' Day parade on November 11, 2005. PCC3/20 also experienced their first ever simultaneous production of two live programs on November 17, 2005, with the Planning Board meeting on PCC3 and the second night of the 12th Annual TV-Radio-Internet Auction on PCC20.
With all the progress, the Executive Director and Advisory Board recognized the need for a new identity that recognized the growth of and regional participation in the local community access channels. After months of discussion the Advisory Board recommended a set of names and acronyms for use as the new identity for the local community access channels.
On April 17, 2006, the Plymouth Selectboard officially approved the name Pemi-Baker Community Access Media (pbCAM) as the overall organizational identity, Pemi-Baker Government Access Television (pbGOV) as the identity for channel 3 and Pemi-Baker Public and Educational Access Television (pbACT) as the identity for channel 20. The Advisory Board became the pbCAM Advisory Board.
This information has been compiled from various Annual Reports and the pbCAM Manual of Policies and Procedures.
1996 Annual Report
Plymouth Community Channel 3 Committee
1996 Annual Report
Plymouth Community Channel 3 (PCC3) is the public, educational, and governmental access channel for State Cable TV's subscribers in Plymouth and several adjoining towns. PCC3's Cablecasting Center is located at Pease Public Library. The Center has equipment for generating a continuously repeating, electronic bulletin board with accompanying radio. There is equipment for automated airing of prerecorded video programs submitted by members of the Plymouth public, schools/college, and government. The Center also has an S-VHS video camcorder and mike for taping governmental and other programming for cablecast on Channel 3. The channel has no set budget and depends on volunteers to accomplish all tasks of channel operation. By stipulation of the franchise agreement with State Cable TV, PCC3 is non-commercial. The PCC3 Committee, inactive in 1996, reports to the Plymouth Board of Selectmen.
In calendar 1996, 570 new announcements were run on PCC3's bulletin board. Here is the breakdown... number run by special interest area: Governments/their agencies - 99, Schools/public education organizations - 24, College - 144, Senior citizens organizations - 73, Arts organizations/artists - 56, Churches - 55, Health/welfare organizations - 43, Business/service/political organizations - 39, Outdoors/sports organizations - 14, Historical/cultural organizations - 13, Garden/nature organizations - 10. Hundreds of additional announcements were received but weren't run due to a shortage of volunteers to enter them in the computer.
In calendar 1996, prerecorded video programming totaled 115 shows. The number of program contributions from each of the 3 access user categories are: Public - 30, Educational - 80 and Governmental - 5. The access user which submitted the greatest number of taped programs is PSC's Meteorology Dept. Their 5 minute PSC PM Weather local forecasts ran on 73 evenings. Two evenings of live programming were produced by the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce. These shows were the Chamber's TV/radio auction, their major fundraiser.
Volunteers who deserve many thanks are Jim Mitchell, John B. Bowen, Jr., David Hoyt, Richard Pratt, Bruce Ritchie, Ken Bergstrom, Jennifer Richardson and Kali Neville. The staffs of Pease Public Library, Plymouth Selectmen's Office and State Cable were always most helpful.
Submitted by,
Wallace Stuart
Access Manager
1999 Annual Report
Plymouth Community Channel 3
1999 Annual Report
Plymouth Community Channel 3 (PCC3) is the public, educational, and governmental access channel for Adelphia Cable's subscribers in Plymouth and several adjoining towns. The PCC3 Committee, inactive for a number of years, reports to the Plymouth Board of Selectmen. PCC3's Cablecasting Center is located at Pease Public Library. The Center has an Amiga computer for generating a continuously repeating, electronic bulletin board with accompanying radio programming. There is equipment for automated airing of prerecorded video programs submitted by members of the Plymouth public, schools/college, and governments. The Center also has an S-VHS video camcorder and mic for taping governmental and other programming for cablecast on Channel 3. The channel has no set operating budget. However, the Plymouth Board of Selectmen did cover the cost of purchasing some replacement hardware and other miscellaneous items needed by the Channel in 1999. PCC3 depends totally on volunteers to create and run its programming. By stipulation of the franchise agreement with FrontierVision Partners, PCC3 is non-commercial.
In the past year, December 1, 1998 - November 30, 1999, 231 new messages were run on PCC3's bulletin board. This is down 13% from the 265 run in 1998. While this is a drop, the decrease is less than last year's. This year's 231 messages is down 32% from the 339 run in 1997. This year's moderation in the rate of decrease can be attributed to the increase in the number of volunteers entering messages on the PCC3 computer. However, the channel needs even more volunteers. 373 additional messages were received in 1999, but were never run.
Over the same twelve months, prerecorded video programming totaled 143 shows. While this is a decrease from 1998's 169 programs (15% drop), 1999's figure is significantly more than 1997's 107 programs. The numbers of program contributions from each of the three categories of access users were: Public -- 43, Educational -- 96, and Governmental -- 4. For the third year in a row, the access user submitting the greatest number of taped programs was PSC's Meteorology Department. Their six-minute PSC PM Weather local forecasts ran on 95 evenings. The program producer who submitted the second largest number of programs was Public Access User Jerry Larson. Jerry contributed 39 Sunday services of the Plymouth Congregational Church UCC. The Plymouth Chamber of Commerce produced two consecutive evenings of live programming in December. These shows were the Chamber's TV/Radio auction, their major annual fundraiser. Other video program contributors were Speare Memorial Hospital, NH Electric Cooperative, Plymouth Assembly of God Church, Pemi Baker Regional School District, Town of Plymouth, NH General Court, and NH Department of Transportation.
PCC3 Volunteers who deserve many thanks are John B. Bowen, Jr., Jamie Cadorette, Corie Collier, Lou Alice Irving, Glory Kidger, James Mitchell, and Matthew Perloff. The staffs of Pease Public Library, Plymouth Selectmen's Office and Adelphia Cable were always most helpful.
Submitted by,
Wallace Stuart
Access Manager
2002 Annual Report
Plymouth Community Channel 3
2002 Annual Report
Plymouth Community Channel 3 (PCC3) is the public, educational, and governmental (PEG) access channel for Adelphia Communications' cable TV subscribers in Plymouth and 9 other area towns. PCC3's Cablecasting Center is located in Pease Public Library. In FY'02, the channel had no operating budget from the Town, but for FY'03 the Town did raise and appropriate $1,730.00 for the purchase of a replacement video camcorder for the channel. PCC3 depends totally on community volunteers to create and transmit the community's programming. By stipulation of the franchise agreement with Adelphia, PCC3 is non-commercial.
Bulletin Board
During the year ending on November 30, 2002, 325 new messages were run on PCC3's bulletin board. Hundreds more announcements were received from the community, but no volunteer hours were available to enter them into PCC3's venerable Amiga computer. See how the 2002 total compares with those in the past five years.
Year | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
Announcements Run | 339 | 265 | 231 | 292 | 205 | 325 |
Video Programming
Over the same period, prerecorded video cablecasts totaled 209 separate shows. Thanks to submissions by seven local "Public Access Users," PCC3 ran 94 public programs. Students in PSC's meteorology program submitted 114 educational programs. The lone governmental program came in from the office of the Plymouth Board of Selectmen. See how the totals in 2002 compare with totals cablecast in previous years:
Year | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
Public | 40 | 42 | 43 | 54 | 111 | 94 |
Educational | 61 | 118 | 96 | 120 | 126 | 114 |
Governmental | 6 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
Total | 107 | 169 | 143 | 178 | 240 | 209 |
In addition to prerecorded programming, the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce produced two consecutive evenings of live programming. These shows in December 2001 were the Chamber's 8th Annual TV/Radio auction, their major annual fundraiser.
Future Development
2002 marked the 10th year of the channel's operations. It was a year of taking stock and searching for the future place and role in the community for PEG access media. For me personally, PCC3 has been and continues to be a challenge. While I want to spend less of my time working on PCC3, to do so would mean service reductions or channel closure. Day-to-day operations of PCC3 are entirely dependent on my faithful presence at the cablecasting center. Regrettably, I have not been able to attract and keep a significant cadre of volunteers to lighten my load or to meet the constant demand for services. In addition, outside forces of rapid technology change, corporate meltdowns and restructuring, and federal regulatory shifts have threatened PCC3. Local attention and action are required to protect PCC3 from these forces and move ahead with confidence. More and more people are relizing that the current, underdeveloped organization at PCC3 cannot continue.
On the positive side, in spring 2002 the Plymouth Board of Selectmen appointed a committee to develop a strategic plan for the future of PCC3. The committee has met most every month since and is making headway drafting such a plan. PCC3 Planning Committee members are Ken Bergstrom, John B. Bowen, Jr., Peter Cofran, Eric Hoffman, Tim Korade, Claire Moorhead, George Morrill, Martha Morrill, Wallace Stuart and Barry Walker. Our Town Administrator, Elizabeth Corrow, has gone way beyond the call of duty to assist PCC3 and deserves a huge thank you.
PCC3 volunteers who deserve many thanks are Matthew Perloff, George Morrill, John B. Bowen, Jr., and students in Professor Eric Hoffman's meteorology class. The trustees, staff, and volunteers of Pease Public Library deserve special praise for all time and resources they contributed to Channel 3. Plymouth Selectmen's Office staff and Adelphia Cable's technical crew were most helpful.
Submitted by,
Wallace Stuart
Access Manager
2004 Annual Report
Plymouth Community Channel 3
2004 Annual Report
Plymouth Community Channel 3 (PCC3) is the public, educational and government access channel for Adelphia Communications’ cable TV subscribers in Plymouth and nine other area towns. PCC3’s Cablecasting Center is located in Pease Public Library. PCC3 began cablecasting to the community in November 1992. By stipulation of the franchise agreement with Adelphia, PCC3 is non-commercial. In FY’04, the Town of Plymouth raised and appropriated $18,000 from a 2% franchise fee collected from Plymouth cable subscribers.
On October 13, 2004, the Board of Selectmen appointed Jamie Cadorette to the part-time position of Executive Director of PCC3, as well as appointing Kenneth Bergstrom, John B. Bowen, Jr., Brendon Hoch, Joanne Koermer, Claire Moorhead, Wallace Stuart and Barry Walker to the PCC3 Advisory Board. The Executive Director, supported by a crew of volunteers, is charged with the daily operations of PCC3.
Bulletin Board
Content increased dramatically and thanks to the hard work of our volunteers we are now able to post every notice submitted that meets our guidelines. Aesthetics continue to improve and we have received plenty of positive feedback. PCC3 now brings a draft agenda of Board of Selectmen meetings to viewers.
See below how the 2004 total compares to six previous years. The 2004 total is not complete as some information, such as some notices submitted by email prior to October, was not available. It is estimated the total number of announcements cablecast in 2004 is in excess of 1,000. Information for 2003 was not available.
| Year | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2004 |
| Notices Run | 339 | 265 | 231 | 292 | 205 | 325 | 700 |
Video Programming
Prerecorded programming cablecast on PCC3 includes:
- Weekday weather forecasts produced by students in PSU’s meteorology program
- Four area churches’ worship services
- A weekly video series titled “The Doctor Is In”
- A locally produced monthly video series titled “Your Health Matters”
- New Hampshire Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors meetings
Volunteers produced videos of budget hearings, annual meetings, special hearings and informational meetings for the Plymouth Board of Selectmen, Plymouth School Board and Pemi-Baker Regional School Board.
In addition to prerecorded programming, the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce produced two consecutive evenings of live programming. These shows in December 2003 were the Chamber’s 10th Annual TV/Radio/Internet Auction, their major annual fundraiser.
The amount of video programming has also increased significantly. See below how the 2004 total compares to six previous years. Information on the number of videos cablecast in 2003 was not available. The figures for educational are estimated based on 2002 as an exact number of videos produced by the PSU Weather students was not available.
| Year | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2004 |
| | | | | | | | Unique | Total |
| Public | 40 | 42 | 43 | 54 | 111 | 94 | 204 | 363 |
| Edu | 61 | 118 | 96 | 120 | 126 | 114 | 118 | 361 |
| Gov't | 6 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 37 |
| Totals | 107 | 169 | 143 | 178 | 240 | 209 | 330 | 761 |
Future Development
Many plans are in the works for the near and far future. One immediate concern to be addressed is the expansion of our video programming capacity. We plan to purchase in December 2004 or the beginning of 2005 a new S-VHS deck and a DVD deck.
Another immediate area of concern is funding. While PCC3 has its largest budget in history to work with, additional funds are still needed to improve services and quality of services. Audio-visual equipment is quite expensive and even with our current budget we are limited to making only small improvements or one large improvement. Some research has been done on the Alliance for Community Media Northeast Region Development Grant and it is expected the application process will begin once a suitable project has been identified. Outreach efforts will be made to surrounding communities in the viewing area to collect franchise fees from their cable subscribers toward the operations of PCC3.
This year an intern from the PSU Communication Studies program helped us research a computer for use as a non-linear post-production workstation. Research has also been done on purchasing a portable “studio-in-a-box” unit that would include all the necessary tools to operate three video cameras and produce a finished program on location.
Thanks
Volunteers who deserve many thanks include Wallace Stuart, Joanne Koermer, James Koermer, Brendon Hoch, John B. Bowen, Jr., Andy Kniskern, Beth Harrington, Greg Degraeve, Jim Bleyle, Josef Drexel, Peter Adams, students in Professor Eric Hoffman’s meteorology class and members of the PCC3 Advisory Board. The trustees, staff and volunteers of Pease Public Library deserve special praise for all time and resources they contributed to PCC3. The Plymouth Office of the Board of Selectmen staff, headed by Elizabeth Corrow, were extraordinarily helpful. Efforts of Adelphia Communications’ technical crew were very much appreciated.
Submitted by,
Jamie Cadorette
Executive Director
Plymouth Community Channel 3
2005 Annual Report
Plymouth Community Channels 3 & 20
2005 Annual Report
In FY’05, the Town of Plymouth raised and appropriated $15,000.00 from a 2% franchise fee collected from Plymouth cable subscribers. For the first time in the history of PCC3 and now PCC20, revenue was also generated from video duplications in the sum of $305.00 From December 2004 through November 2005.
On September 12, 2005, Plymouth Community Channel 3 began cablecasting from Plymouth Town Hall as a government access channel. Operations at Pease Public Library were reassigned to Plymouth Community Channel 20 as the public and educational access channel. Plymouth Selectboard, Planning Board and Zoning Board meetings are now all cablecast live. Additionally the Veterans’ Day Parade on November 11, 2005 became the first live parade cablecast in Plymouth.
Bulletin Board
PCC3 and PCC20 continue to use PowerPoint-driven bulletin boards making it easy for volunteers to work from home. Bulletin board use continues to increase and more volunteers have come forward to keep up with the demand. PCC3 continues to bring draft agendas of Board of Selectmen meetings, as well as agendas for both the Planning Board and Zoning Board.
See below how the 2005 total of notices run compares to seven previous years. Please consider that the 2004 total is not complete as some information, such as notices submitted by email prior to October, was not available. It is estimated the total number of announcements cablecast in 2004 is in excess of 1,000. Information on the number of notices cablecast in 2003 was not available.
| Year | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2004 | 2005 |
| Notices Run | 339 | 265 | 231 | 292 | 205 | 325 | 700 | 1772 |
Video Programming
Students in PSU’s meteorology program produced weekday weather forecasts during spring and fall semesters. Public Access Users submitted programming produced by five area churches. A Public Access User also submitted videotapes of the N.H. Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors meetings. Volunteers produced videos and live cablecasts of budget hearings, annual meetings, special hearings and informational meetings for the Selectboard, Planning Board, Zoning Board, Plymouth School Board and Pemi-Baker Regional School Board.
In addition to prerecorded programming, a Public Access User for the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce produced four evenings of live programming. These shows were the Chamber’s 11th Annual TV/Radio/Internet Auction in December 2004 and their 12th Annual TV/Radio/Internet Auction in November 2005. Another Public Access User produced and submitted a weekly live talk show titled “Plymouth Live.”
The amount of video programming has also increased sharply. See below how the 2005 total compares to six previous years. The figures for educational access in 2004 are estimated as an exact number of PSU Weather forecasts was not available.
| Year | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
| | | | | | Unique | Total | Unique | Total | Unique | Total |
| Public | 43 | 54 | 111 | 94 | 119 | 254 | 204 | 363 | 215 | 1266 |
| Edu. | 96 | 120 | 126 | 114 | 56 | 186 | 118 | 361 | 118 | 364 |
| Gov’t. | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 32 | 71 | 8 | 37 | 57 | 530 |
| Totals | 143 | 178 | 240 | 209 | 207 | 511 | 330 | 761 | 390 | 2160 |
Future Development
Many plans are in the works for the near and far future. One immediate concern to be addressed is the expansion of our video programming capacity. Once again we have reached playback deck capacity on PCC20. Research is being done to investigate purchasing a larger automation system that includes digital playback capabilities. This will not only solve playback capacity issues but also bring us up-to-date on video production technologies as more and more production is done digitally.
We continue to make outreach efforts to surrounding communities in the viewing area to collect franchise fees from their cable subscribers toward the operations of PCC3 and PCC20. Dialogue has occurred and continues with the Towns of Ashland and Holderness.
New cameras are our greatest need at the moment. We currently have two cameras available for productions, one of which is very old and only partially functional. These two cameras allow us only one production at a time and limit our ability to readily facilitate public involvement in production. It is expected that grants will be applied for to purchase new cameras and a set of studio production equipment for public access purposes, leaving the current equipment to be dedicated to Plymouth Town Hall.
Thanks
Volunteers who deserve many thanks include Peter Adams, Jim Bleyle, Ben Conte, Kyle DaRosa, Greg Degraeve, Beth Harrington, Brendon Hoch, Andy Kniskern, Joanne Koermer, James Moriarty, Bob Shirey, Wallace Stuart, Calista Weichel, Dylan Weichel, students in Professor Eric Hoffman’s meteorology class and members of the PCC3 Advisory Board. The trustees, staff and volunteers of Pease Public Library deserve special praise for all time and resources they contributed to PCC3. The Selectboard and office staff, headed by Elizabeth Corrow, were extraordinarily supportive. Efforts of Adelphia Communications’ technical crew were very much appreciated in establishing two channels in Plymouth.
Submitted by,
Jamie Cadorette
Executive Director
Plymouth Community Channels 3 & 20
2006 Annual Report
Pemi-Baker Community Access Media
2006 Annual Report
In FY’06/’07, the Town of Plymouth raised and appropriated $15,000.00 from a 2% franchise fee collected from Plymouth cable subscribers. Over $1,000 in additional revenue was generated from duplications and memberships from December 2005 through November 2006; more than triple the previous year.
On April 17, 2006, the Plymouth Selectboard approved the name Pemi-Baker Community Access Media (pbCAM) as our overall identity, Pemi-Baker Government Access Television (pbGOV) as the name for channel 3 and Pemi-Baker Public and Educational Access Television (pbACT) as the name for channel 20. The PCC3 Advisory Board became the pbCAM Advisory Board.
Bulletin Board
Bulletin board use continues to increase though only a couple more volunteers have come forward to assist with the bulletin board maintenance. Templates have been designed for some pbGOV slides making it easier to copy and paste government notices onto the pbGOV bulletin board.
See below how the 2006 total of notices run compares to seven previous years. Please consider that the 2004 total is not complete as some information, such as notices submitted by email prior to October, was not available. It is estimated the total number of announcements cablecast in 2004 is in excess of 1,000. Information on the number of notices in 2003 was not available.
| Year | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| Notices Run | 265 | 231 | 292 | 205 | 325 | 700 | 1772 | (pbACT) 1516 |
| (pbGOV) 893 |
| Total: 2409 |
Video Programming
PSU meteorology students produced weekday weather forecasts during spring and fall semesters. Public Access Users submitted programming produced by four area churches. Volunteers and staff produced videos and live cablecasts of regular meetings of the Selectboard, Planning Board and Zoning Board, as well as various other budget hearings, annual meetings, special hearings and informational meetings.
In addition to prerecorded programming, a Public Access User for the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce produced two evenings of live programming. These shows were the Chamber’s 13th Annual Broadcast Auction in November 2006. Another Public Access User produced and submitted a weekly live talk show titled “Plymouth Today.”
See below how the 2006 total compares to four previous years. The figures for educational access in 2004 are estimated as an exact number of PSU Weather forecasts was not available.
| Year | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| | | Unique | Total | Unique | Total | Unique | Total | Unique | Total |
| Public | 94 | 119 | 254 | 204 | 363 | 215 | 1266 | 161 | 586 |
| Edu. | 114 | 56 | 186 | 118 | 361 | 118 | 364 | 113 | 345 |
| Gov’t. | 1 | 32 | 71 | 8 | 37 | 57 | 530 | 86 | 985 |
| Totals | 209 | 207 | 511 | 390 | 2160 | 330 | 761 | 358 | 1914 |
Programming on pbACT amounted to over 170 hours of unique programming, and a total programming cablecast time of just less than 520 hours. Programming on pbGOV amounted to over 180 hours of unique programming and a total programming cablecast time of just less than 2,000 hours.
Grant Writing
pbCAM attempted unsuccessfully to write for two local grants in the hope of providing separate production equipment sets for pbACT and pbGOV. The $3,205.28 carry-over was used as a contribution to a project that would have incorporated two grants totaling $6,033.00 for a grand total of $9,238.28 in new equipment. Neither grant was approved and thus the carry-over was used to purchase new cameras and DVD playback decks to reduce the impact of government access productions on limiting public and educational access.
Future Development
The Executive Director and pbCAM Advisory Board are currently in the process of drafting three-, five- and ten-year plans to address the growth and continued prosperity of our community access media.
Continued attempts to include surrounding towns in pbCAM operations have not yet yielded additional support. Furthermore, our current operations are primarily focused on supporting only Plymouth. The limited 2% franchise fee is proving insufficient to fund Plymouth’s community media needs.
Progress has been made toward converting pbCAM to a digital facility. We are now capable of very limited digital production and post-production. A digital playback option has been researched that will allow not only playback of digital files but also encoding of analog formats to digital formats, integrated bulletin board solutions, remote access and emergency notification features. In the coming year we will be partnering with the Fire Department, Police Department and other town departments to apply for grants to bring digital playback and emergency notification to pbACT and pbGOV and consolidate operations in the cablecast center at Pease Public Library.
Thanks
Volunteers who deserve many thanks include Peter Adams, Nathan Bieniek, Jim Bleyle, Ben Conte, Brendon Hoch, Andy Kniskern, Joanne Koermer, James Moriarty, Donna Plante, Forrest & Beverly Seavey, Wallace Stuart, PSU meteorology students and members of the pbCAM Advisory Board. The trustees, staff and volunteers of Pease Public Library deserve special praise for all time and resources they contributed to pbCAM. The Selectboard and office staff were extraordinarily supportive. Advice and assistance of Adelphia and Time Warner Cable staff were very much appreciated.
pbCAM FY ‘06/’07 Operating Budget
| Operating Income |
| Support & Operations |
| Appropriation (offset by 2% franchise fee) | $15,000.00 |
| Carry-Over (PO #6724) | $3,205.28 |
| Total Operating Income | $18,205.28 |
| Operating Expenses |
| Compensation & Benefits |
| Executive Director Wages (20 hours per week at $12.00 per hour) | $12,480.00 |
| Management & Administration |
| ACM & NHCCM Memberships | $300.00 |
| Training & Conferences | $400.00 |
| Travel | $450.00 |
| Technical Supplies & Maintenance | $600.00 |
| Copying Costs | $20.00 |
| Paper & Office Supplies | $100.00 |
| Postage |