Oct. 18, 2011 Nevada City, CA -- Community television station NCTV (Nevada County Television) is making big moves as it transitions from a public access TV station to a full-fledged, state-of-the-art “community media center” operated by the Nevada County Digital Media Center.
The station will expand and move its studio into first-class production facilities space sub-leased from Grass Valley USA, LLC (known locally as Grass Valley Group) on Providence Mine Road in Nevada City. The move from the former Armory at Nevada City Highway and Ridge Road is anticipated to begin in November and be completed by the end of the year. The operation of NCTV was assumed by the Nevada County Digital Media Center, a new California public benefit corporation, after approval by the county Board of Supervisors last April. The Media Center is certified by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) educational and charitable non-profit corporation. Its board of directors is substantially the same as the former NCTV board.
“We're very excited by opportunities the community media center will be able to provide to Nevada County residents through access to digital equipment, new training programs, and production and distribution of diverse digital media content through the Web and local cable channels,” said Paul Minicucci, executive director of the Media Center. “Eventually, we'll be able to expand to 12,000 square feet, with multiple training rooms and a wide range of programs and activities,” he said.
The organization believes that digital media and public access TV strengthens local communities by providing a First Amendment platform for its citizens to produce and distribute content about issues that matter to them. Its mission is “to encourage, inspire and enable citizens of Nevada County to use digital media to promote free speech, increase civic engagement, and enrich the cultural life of our community.” NCTV will continue to produce and broadcast programs in western Nevada County on its website at www.nevadacountytv.org, on TV for Comcast cable subscribers on channels 11 and 17, and for Suddenlink TV subscribers on channels 16 and 17. On both cable systems, channel 17 carries live broadcasts of the meetings of the Nevada City and Grass Valley City Councils, the County Board of Supervisors, and numerous planning commission meetings.
Minicucci expects community programming to expand both on the cable system and on the internet, as the Media Center adds new equipment with advanced capabilities and builds localized social media websites for specific “Communities of Interest,” designed to bring Nevada County residents together around a specific interest and enable them to share information, including text, audio and video.
Education and work-force training will be another large part of the expanded operations of the new Media Center. The new Nevada County Digital Media Education Task Force has already received an enthusiastic response from local school administrators and teachers. “The need for training in technology and digital media services is huge and ongoing,” said Minicucci. A lack of early training in digital media in American schools contributes to the fact that more and more California jobs are going overseas, he said.
The Media Center also will be working with local technology companies to craft a certification program for digital media engineering technicians to work in area companies in quality assurance, testing new products and troubleshooting in a studio environment.
The Media Center, as the parent organization of NCTV, receives less than 50 percent of its funding from cable companies and local grants, and will depend on memberships, donations, TV underwriting, and earned income (from providing services such as videotaping, studio rental, DVD duplication, etc.) for the other half. “Donations to NCTV and the Media Center are tax-deductible,” said Minicucci. “We welcome the support and participation of businesses and individuals who are interested in bringing digital media literacy education here so that both young people and adults can create a future for themselves in the media industry.”
