You have a 30-minute business talk show, “Tolland County Economy,” that has run on public access Comcast’s Community Voice Channel 5 serving Andover, Bolton, Ellington, Hebron, Marlborough, Tolland and Vernon for five years. What led you to pursue public access to promote business?
The genesis of the show goes back to 1992, when I met our show producer, Carl Slicer, at a Tolland County Chamber of Commerce trade show. We were both entrepreneurs, we shared a passion for local television, and we both took classes at the Community Voice Channel studio in Bolton. In 1996, I began hosting “A Show of Faith” on WFSB-TV 3. In 1999, that gig ended and I began hosting “Connecticut Christian News” on WHPX-TV 26. In the fall of 2004, Carl asked if I’d be interested in hosting a new public access TV show highlighting our local economy. I said yes, and we launched Tolland County Economy in January of 2005.
The purposes of the show are to educate the public on how the local economy works; to give the public an opportunity to meet the leaders of local businesses, non-profits, educational and healthcare institutions, and governments; and to provide local entrepreneurs with tips on running a business, and local residents with tips on getting and keeping a job.
What advice would you have for businesses interested in pursuing a relationship with their local public access channels? It’s obviously a good outlet, but who is it most effective for in terms of businesses?
Anyone interested in getting involved, and possibly launching their own show, should contact their local Public Access TV studio for specific guidelines. On the Community Voice Channel, airtime may be used for information, entertainment, or the expression of points of view. There is a general prohibition against commercial use, so I need to exercise wisdom in the kinds of questions I ask our guests. There can be no direct sales pitches, solicitation of funds, or any presentation of advertising materials designed to promote the sale of commercial products and services. Any business that desires to pursue a relationship with local public access TV should go into it from a community relations or public education perspective. In that context, it’s effective for virtually any business.
How much of a time investment is required to produce a 30-minute show like you do? Most people may not realize how much goes on behind the scenes to put together a television show.
Carl and I share the workload. I handle lining up the guests, scripting, on-the-air hosting, publicity and coordinating our e-job bank. Carl books the studio time, sets up our set, handles show graphics and music, coordinates the camera crew, conducts the sound checks, tapes the interviews, and does the post-production work. Between the two of us, we estimate that it takes an average of 10 hours per show.
What type of marketing is most effective for promoting a television show like yours?
The Community Voice Channel promotes the entire show lineup on its website, in local newspaper, and on its off-hours, on-the-air scroll. We promote the show through our own news releases, emails, website, displays at local events, the Tolland County Chamber of Commerce, and word of mouth. One of our goals in 2010 is to tap into social media.
In addition to the weekly television show, Tolland County Economy also provides a free e-Job Bank. It seems as if having multi-platforms like this is an effective tool.
Yes. Our TV show e-Job Bank is a helpful community service for hundreds of local job hunters. In essence, we’re leveraging all of the relationships we’ve built with local leaders, to help local job hunters to find jobs in today’s economy. Without a job, life unravels very quickly. The good news is, we have a very diversified economy and there are jobs out there. It’s not all doom and gloom!
