Oshkosh Media provides local government transparency and a free speech forum for residents

One of WCM’s charter members is celebrating its 35th birthday this year — Oshkosh Media. The local media center programs Gov TV, Life TV and Oshkosh FM, providing the City of Oshkosh with access to local government, a free speech forum through its public access station, and entertainment and community news on the city’s only community radio station.

With three full-time staff members and a strong crew of local producers and volunteers, Oshkosh Media now reaches the community on a variety of platforms: cable TV, YouTube, live streaming on the web, and on over-the-top (OTT) platforms like Roku and Amazon Fire TV. “We are pretty proud of the work we do here, especially when it comes to providing government transparency and working with our local non-profits,” said Oshkosh Media Operations Coordinator Jake Timm. “We get a ton of support from our Common Council, City Manager and our community, and we do not take that for granted.”  

In 1987, Dr. Robert Snyder, the chairman of the Radio-TV-Film Department at the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, had the vision to start a cable television channel to serve the citizens of Oshkosh.  The City of Oshkosh recognized the potential of Dr. Snyder’s idea, and following federal law and its own local ordinance, asked the cable company to set aside a PEG (public, education, and government access) channel for its use.  At that time, the city had not allocated any funds to operate such a channel.  Since the City of Oshkosh didn’t have any staff or facilities for television production, the City agreed to contract with UW-Oshkosh.  The channel went live later that year on Time Warner Cable channel 24 with the first-ever coverage of Oshkosh Common Council meetings.

John Schwartz, a student at the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, became the first part-time coordinator of the channel.  Andy Radig, who is now the full-time Communications Coordinator for the city, was hired in 1990 to be the second part-time student director for the station. But Radig is not the only long-time staffer at Oshkosh Media.  Jon Urben, who was hired to be the station’s first full-time coordinator in 1991 and served in that capacity until 2009, is currently the city’s General Services Manager and oversees the Oshkosh Media division.

In the early 1990’s, residents’ demand for local information increased and City leaders saw an opportunity to move its television operations from UW-Oshkosh to City Hall and hire additional staff.  Great things started to happen.  Over the next several years, Oshkosh Community Access Television (OCAT) kept growing – more programming, more demand, more interest in the channel.   In 1997, Connie Carmical was hired as the first production specialist.  She enhanced marketing efforts while providing much needed production support. In the same year, a new automation system was installed allowing for unattended programming playback, resulting in a big increase in the amount of programming that could be carried on the channel. 

OCAT also became active on the state level.  In 1997, it was among about a dozen PEG channels that founded a statewide organization for PEG channels called the Wisconsin Association of PEG Channels (WAPC).  OCMS volunteered to sponsor the first media fest exclusively for PEG programs produced by professional and amateur producers and continued to provide administrative support for the organization for nearly ten more years. "Wisconsin Community Media (formerly WAPC) is woven into the fabric of our organization," said Timm. "We recognize the value the organization provides to its 50+ members around the state, and we are proud to be an active member."

During this period, it became clear that even more funding for the channel was needed to keep up with the demand for local programming.  The answer was the creation of the “Friends of OCAT,” a 501(c)(4) organization that could raise funds for community television projects and programming initiatives. The Friends of OCAT organized in 1997 and supported the coverage of high school sports, local arts programming, and the purchase of new camcorders and other production equipment. The Friends spearheaded new fundraising projects, which increased community involvement and raised the profile of community television. "The Friends of OCM are so important to our mission here," said Timm. "Of course, they provide valuable financial support, but they are also great partners and ambassadors for us in the community. 

In 2002, the city equipped its City Hall meeting rooms with robotic cameras and self-contained production systems, which enabled the city to improve the efficiency and quality of meeting coverage while at the same time increasing the number of meetings covered -- meetings which now included the School Board and County Board.

By 2003, OCAT’s program schedule on channel 10 was brimming over and the city made the monumental decision to activate a second channel, a dedicated community channel that could expand the number of hours dedicated to public access programming – shows produced by residents.   Community Access TV 2 (CATV 2) debuted in May 2003 and channel 10 was rebranded as CitiCable 10, a channel dedicated to government coverage.

The two channels were now a part of an OCAT organization that was operating out of a newly remodeled and slightly expanded City Hall facility. Digital equipment was purchased in 2003 for the production studio and control room, the master control room playback facility, and the nonlinear video editing bay. The remodeled facilities enabled both channels to be operated efficiently from the space in City Hall.

In 2005, yet another community media initiative was undertaken by the Friends of OCAT – the establishment of the first low power FM (LPFM) radio station in the Fox Valley.  An FCC license was secured by the Friends in partnership with the City of Oshkosh and the station debuted as WOCT 101.9 FM in January 2006.  The new station created a lot of excitement with a unique and eclectic mix of musical formats.  The station was also open to residents, who could submit programming, volunteer, or request music created by local artists. The radio station also opened up government meetings to non-cable audiences for the first time with simulcasts.

Staff came to recognize that OCAT was becoming much more than a community television service, and this led to the next rebranding to “Oshkosh Community Media Services”, or OCMS. The Friends group adjusted their name to the Friends of OCM to account for the evolving ways that community media was reaching audiences.

In 2008, recognizing the new opportunities to reach audiences online, OCMS began offering its coverage of government meetings and locally produced programs on the OCMS website.  Videos became available both on-demand and as a livestream of CitiCable 10.  While social media platforms were still in their infancy in 2008, OCMS began using them in the next several years to reach even more new audiences.

In keeping with their mission and goals, in 2015, OCMS decided to change the names of their channels, moving away from channel numbers and acronyms, to names that would represent the specific program missions. “Gov TV” was chosen to replace “CitiCable 10” for the channel that carries local government issues and activities. “Life TV” was chosen to replace CATV 2, because, Timm explained, “we felt that the word “life” was the best word to encompass the programming and mission of this channel.” The station itself was rebranded simply as Oshkosh Media.

Today, Oshkosh Media has a staff of three full-time city employees headed by Timm. Radig is the Communications Coordinator and Scott Williams is the Video Editing Technician.  

Volunteers play a vital role in the production of community and municipal programming, assisting in the creation of both in-studio and remote productions.  Community producers produce programs like worship services, auto racing programs, studio talk shows, concert coverage and more.  Volunteers fill many roles besides producer, too, including camera operator, floor director, audio, and other technical positions.  Oshkosh residents interested in volunteering at OM or producing their own show at OM production facilities need to sign up for a training class.   

There have been many changes over the years and Oshkosh Media will continue to evolve to serve the needs of Oshkosh residents now and into the future.

- Tom Loucks

Trempealeau County is celebrating 40 years of connecting through community TV this month

Trempealeau County is located in a uniquely beautiful part of southwestern Wisconsin known as the Driftless Area -- the part of Wisconsin that was spared from the massive glaciers that covered the rest of the state during the last ice age.   The area is full of undulating hills that plunge into valleys.  The challenging terrain is why telecommunications companies historically shied away from serving the area.  In the end, it was a cooperative that brought telephone service to five towns in the area in 1966 and a cooperative, with the help of a grant, that built an early cable TV system here in 1980 and put a local PEG (Public, Education, and Government) channel on its system in February 1981.  Residents here know what it took to get telecommunications services and they highly value both the cable television system and their local PEG TV channel, WTCO.

“The best way to describe it is that our media center is a staple here,” said Derek Westby, Director of WTCO.  “We’re THE hub of information for a whole lot of different people in the county.  People live in small towns spread out over an area of 742 square miles.  The station helps keep everyone connected.”  Derek took over as director just about a year ago and as he introduced himself to people, he was stunned by the reaction he received when he told them he worked at the local community TV station.  He said, “Immediately they would know exactly what I’m talking about.  They know the station.  They know the channel number. They tell me they seek it out or they tell me about a favorite show or how they like the meeting coverage.”

Derek likes to tell a story about a comment made in jest during a county board meeting.  One of the county board members was explaining to a department head why their budget request was too much, and he jokingly said that the county would have to shut down the parks and the cable TV channel to afford it.  “Well, a lot of people were watching that meeting, heard that comment, and got concerned,” said Derek. It led to “hours and hours” of public comment.  “People talking about why the station should not be shut down. People really care about this channel.”

Tri-County Communications Cooperative (TCC) is the cable operator here.  It serves Trempealeau County and parts of Eau Claire and Jackson Counties with telephone, Internet, and cable TV service.  WTCO appears on channel 18 and in high-quality HD on 618 .  In its marketing materials, the cooperative touts WTCO and its local coverage as a reason to subscribe to its cable TV service.  While the county has never asked the co-op to pay a franchise fee, TCC willingly pays a 35 cent per month/subscriber fee to support the PEG channel, even though state law bars localities from requiring it.  The rest of the media center budget comes from the County.  The Trempealeau County Extension Education and Communication Committee oversees the channel, approving capital expenditures and media center policies prior to seeking county board approval.

The pandemic proved to be a critical turning point for the media center because it had to be strengthened both in terms of staffing and equipment to expand coverage of county meetings.  “The County Board was very serious about government transparency,” said Derek.  A hybrid format was chosen, so that people could attend in person, or view and participate from home.   

Prior to the pandemic, WTCO had one full time director and two part-time staff.  Rick Joten and Drew Martin both worked 28-hour weeks.  That wasn’t enough to cover as many as 20 meetings a month.  All three staff are now full time.  There was also a change in the kind of programs done.  Prior to the pandemic, residents would come in and use the studio a lot.  But due to the pandemic nearly all studio shows stopped.  Field productions dropped off because events just weren’t held.  What was needed now was more live capability, better meeting coverage, and a greater ability for the television audience to interact with programming.  So WTCO recreated itself to adapt to the needs of the moment and did so in part with its own savings and mostly with the help of federal FEMA money.  In total, $38,000 paid for the upgrade of the control room and camera equipment; $45,000 paid for new board room microphones; $60,000 went to closed captioning; and $10,000 went to a webstreaming appliance by Telvue.  “I’d estimate that we replaced about 90% of our equipment over the last year,” said Derek. 

The transition was a huge success.  “It turns out people like meetings,” said Derek.  When we transitioned to covering all county meetings, we found the public loved it. People want it to continue indefinitely.  Most meetings are held during the day, so people couldn’t attend.  Now people can watch the recordings after work.”  The new meeting set-up takes less staff time.    “We used to wheel cameras back and forth from the studio to the meeting room and then connect them to the studio control room using HDMI cables fished through the walls.  Those cameras have been replaced with PTZ cameras mounted in the ceiling connected directly to a new Tricaster switcher,” said Derek. 

WTCO also purchased multi-camera field equipment and now for the first time has the capability to do live remote productions.  The county spans 742 square miles, so to be able to send a signal from anywhere in the county back to the media center for live cablecast is incredibly exciting. Trempealeau County Health Department listening sessions about COVID were carried live as they were held around the county.  All seven school districts wanted to have their games live on WTCO, so Derek rotates between them, covering one game each season from each district.  The new equipment also enabled WTCO to record twelve outdoor band concerts in a multi-camera style this summer, including performances at Winghaven in Galesville, Boerboom Park in Osseo, and the small stage at Ashley for the Arts in Arcadia.  “We were able to do a multicamera recording in HD of a Them Coulee Boys concert [local boys that have made a regional splash] that took place 45 miles away at the Trempealeau Hotel on the Mississippi River,” said Derek.  The 810 Black Magic ATEM Mini Pro switcher and a Pepwave cellular router for livestreaming have been a hit.

Besides meetings, high school sports, and concerts, the channel cablecasts church services and religious programs organized by four area churches, and several resident-produced programs, even though the pandemic has cut back on this.  As part of its ‘public” mission, residents can check out one of six camera kits and there is a nice studio with set backdrops.  Editing equipment is also available to the public.  Derek and the team will happily train a resident who needs it.  “All a resident has to do is sign a form that if they break it they bought it,” said Derek.  “Camera check-out is free for those who use the equipment to produce a show for the channel and $50/day if they don’t.”    

 “History Files” along with its spinoff, “Name That Road” are the most popular.  “People love those shows,” said Derek.  Nancy Bergman and Mary C. Anderson produce and star in both.  Their back-and-forth banter as they delve into historic sites and crisscross the county in search of out of the way crossroads make for very engaging entertainment.  According to Derek, “I never know what they’re going to bring back, and the length of a show entirely depends on how much they get to talking.  Anywhere from a half hour to an hour, although they’ve done two-part hour-long shows, too.”   Local officials also make it onto the channel.  State Senator Jeff Smith and Congressman Ron Kind are just two who have come in to talk about issues.  The Economic Development Director has had a long-running show called, “Discover Trempealeau County.”

Perhaps the most dedicated viewers of the channel, however, are polka lovers.  “There is a polka hour from 6 – 7 pm Monday through Friday,”  said Derek, “but I get lots of calls if I play music that isn’t polka.”

The County has no interest in using Twitter or Facebook, but relies on the Trempealeau County Times newspaper, its website and WTCO to communicate with residents.  Besides channel 18, WTCO uses YouTube and Roku as well as a webpage with VOD capability on the County website for its programming.  “It’s important to get county messages out in a timely manner and WTCO is key to making that happen,” said Derek.  “The newspaper only comes out once a week, but WTCO can scroll emergency messages along the bottom of the screen.  A lot of people here don’t use computers.  They’re not on the Internet.  But they do watch Cable TV.”

When asked what he saw as the biggest challenges for community television, Derek said, “Many stations don’t market themselves enough, but I think that more PEG channels across the state would have better name recognition if Charter hadn’t relegated PEG channels to digital Siberia [the 980’s and 990’s].  It’s good to see TDS putting PEG channels in normal spots and carrying them in HD.  For people to watch, they have to know the channel exists.  Streaming is OK, but people have to know to look for it.” Derek also views the declining number of cable subscribers and with it declining funding for PEG media centers as a huge challenge. “New sources of funding need to be found,” he said.

It’s been a long time since the Kellogg Foundation helped fund a distance learning network in 1979 that became a cable system serving a hilly rural community in southwestern Wisconsin.  In February 1981, forty years ago this month, Trempealeau County Community Television started broadcasting and Wade Britzius, who would lead the TV station for another 25 years, began generating interest in its potential.  Today, the county and its residents heavily rely on WTCO to connect them to each other and to learn what is going on.  The channel has adapted to the county’s changing needs and will likely continue to be responsive to those needs – especially to polka lovers – for many years to come.

Derek is leaving for a new position in the coming weeks and Trempealeau County is looking for a new leader for the Digital Media Department. To learn more about the oportunity, go to Work In Media.