BCTV Cable Channel 2
Belfast -- Searsport

Article about BCTV is published in local paper.
I was thrilled when local reporter, Ethan Andrews expressed interest in writing an article about BCTV. I was even more thrilled when Ethan came along on a couple shoots and asked me lots of questions. He then spoke with Mark Kuzio, and Rev. Joel Krueger about their experience using community TV. The result is an accurate and well researched article. Here is the link to it if you are interested. Thanks Ethan!

http://waldo.villagesoup.com/news/story/real-reality-tv/293961

Tis the Season
"The Bob Hope Christmas Special", "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", these are my childhood holiday TV memories. They were traditions in my family as much as going out to choose a tree. Since BCTV is only 3 years old, its difficult to say any of our programming has gained status as a tradition, but we do seem to be developing some recurring seasonal specials. Once again we will be televising the Nutcracker Ballet, as performed by our own Atlantic Ballet Company. This performance was recorded at the Camden Opera House and features many local dancers. Also coming back this year is "The Live nativity" a performance of sorts that takes place under the stars in front of Belfast's First Church. The production is once again being presented by the Belfast Bay Ministerium. We at BCTV have rummaged through our movie collection to bring back that cult holiday classic "Santa Claus captures the Martians".
New this year is a benefit concert recorded at a local church to help raise funds for the Good Shepherd food bank. These programs will air several times during Christmas week, so our airtime will have a distinct holiday theme.
May you have a Merry Christmas and perhaps BCTV holiday programming will become a tradition here in Waldo County.

Waldo County General Hospital produces new monthly program
The Community relations department at Waldo County General Hospital had gotten so much positive response to the Midcoast Womens Health Conference programs when they aired on BCTV this past spring, that they decided community TV would be an excellent way for the hospital to reach the Waldo County citizens with wellness information. Staying Healthy is produced by Toni Mailloux of Waldo County General Hospital and hosted by Andrea Walker also of WCGH. The program can be seen Thursdays at 7 pm as well as other times throughout the week. The programs have a "magazine" format in that there are various segments within each program. The first program includes segments on "fighting flu", "healthy recipes", "exercise to stay healthy", and "dealing with grief during the holidays". Having a program dealing with health issues is a welcome addition to our local programming mix. We hope it will gain a strong local following as it continues to develop.

Live Election Night Coverage a great success
When Ethan Andrews , political reporter for "The Republican Journal, and Village Soup emailed me a few days ago wondering what we were doing for election night coverage and offering to help out, I jumped at the chance. Enlisting the support of Diane Wood at the Government channel, we decided to go live from 9pm on election night until the final results came in. I called Dave Crabiel, who I had worked with before on election night and he agreed to be the live anchor. Our live set was actually two chairs in the hallway outside the council chambers. We had a view of the action in the voting area, while not interfering with things. Ethan and I went around town getting short "field reports" which David could call upon to make a graceful transition from one guest on our "Live" set, to another. Diane switched between live camera and tapes. Jack Penny ran the live camera, and Denise Beckett agreed to be "producer". Her job was to coordinate the guests who would sit in with Dave. We actually ran our coverage on the Government access channel, but it was a whole community effort. We had lots of great guests, from the superintendent of schools, to the city manager, as well as the various candidates. We also got results as fast as could be. We had acceptance and concession interviews.And I think we had a lively and interesting production. I feel proud we pulled it off and I hope folks in town enjoyed the show.