Talking Fitchburg provides timely coverage of an apartment fire.
In a January 30 news article about an apartment building fire that occurred the previous day, The Fitchburg Star relied on an interview given by Fitchburg Fire Department Chief Joe Pulvermacher to Fitchburg Access Community Television on Talking Fitchburg where the chief’s comments were aired over video footage shot by FACTv videographers at the scene. The Fitchburg Star article quoted the chief explaining how the department responded to the call and the status of the affected residents, and gave credit for the interview to FACTv.
Talking Fitchburg forms the backbone of FACTv’s program schedule. “Our goal is to get new information sprinkled into the schedule throughout the day and make it easy for viewers to catch features they may have missed,” said Crosby. The schedule works like this. Every weekday at 11 am, a new live 5-minute headline segment premieres. This segment is repeated on the half-hour until 6 pm when the next new headline segment premieres. After headline news, viewers watching at 6 pm see another new segment that runs 10 to 15 minutes long. This might be an interview, coverage of a recent or upcoming event, a health segment, or a city department update. Seamlessly following this new segment is another segment that premiered earlier. In this way the entire schedule is filled 24/7.
Crosby got the idea for Talking Fitchburg after attending a community media conference and getting inspired by how PEG access centers were filling the need for local news. “Our staff decided to jump in,” said Crosby. “We try to be anywhere where there’s a news story.”
With traditional newspapers shrinking in size and number, this story is an example of how Fitchburg FACTv is working to fill the breach. It’s no secret that government meeting coverage on PEG channels is heavily relied on by news media outlets everywhere. It’s a sign of community media’s importance in the media landscape that traditional media is looking to it for help with breaking local news stories.
Congratulations FACTv!
