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Well, not everywhere but it does seem to like turning up in unexpected places in the building where our offices and studios are located.  You may remember that we've dealt with 2 or 3 water leaks over the past 10 years and, unfortunately, there was another this week.  Fortunately, for us, our units weren't damaged this time.

We found out about what was happening when someone from Community Action came to let us know that a plumber was turning off all of the water in the building, until he could determine where the problem was.  This was around 4:45PM on Wednesday and, in our building, no water means no heat.  Thankfully, it didn't go below freezing on Wednesday night!  In addition, we're grateful to  Garden Cinemas Owner & GCTV Board Member George Gohl, who gave permission for our staff, producers, and DJs to use the movie theater's restrooms while this was going on.

By mid-morning on Thursday, heat and water had been restored to most of the building.  A nice bonus for us is that the repair people discovered 2 of our heaters had been broken in a separate incident but they were able to fix them as well.  We're especially grateful that we aren't the ones dealing with property damage this time and we hope that the organizations who are, are able to recover quickly.  We also really hope that this is the last time it rains on anyone inside our building.

Instead of talking about New Year's resolutions, we decided to let people fantasize on our Idea Wall this week.  We asked the question, "If you could make any TV/radio show, what would it be about?"  We hoped this would give folks a chance to think outside the box and here are the answers we received:

The entry that sparked the most discussion is the one that now reads "animated workplace comedy about henchpeople".  It went through several iterations on the board, starting out as simply "animated comedies" and at one point becoming "animated comedies about henchmen".  Our communication coordinator especially appreciated the enlightened change to non-gender specific language.  Furthermore, the short dialogue you see there, "(Minions?) NO!!!", is the result of one of our producers/DJs suggesting another non-gendered word which, unfortunately for this project, now has a connotation of cuteness thanks to the Despicable Me movies.  The person whose fantasy show it is, however, was thinking much more along the lines of the bad guy underlings in FXX's Archer or NBC's Powerless.

If you're feeling like you missed out on all the fun, don't worry.  You too can play this game, and even make a real TV show.  If you have an idea that you're looking to bring to life, stop by or give us a call.  We can provide you with training and equipment to help realize your vision.  That's it for this week.  Until next time, dream big!

Over the past thirty years, GCTV has provided more than 270,000 hours of television access to the area, in addition to a community bulletin board that shares important information from community organizations directly into your home. In 2018, we brought you 62 different local and national shows, including School Committee, Town Council, and other special meetings, as well as other events, such as Winter Carnival, the Franklin County Fair Parade, Rag Shag Parade, the Greenfiled Public Library Speaker Series. We also aired your original content, such as Sky Tries, Pensacola Punks, FlyByNews, and so much more.   

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is accepting comments for Docket 05-311 through December 14, 2018, and we need your voice more than ever. Docket 05-311 would potentially result in a significant reduction of franchise fees and defund community television access, leading to an elimination of many of the shows you, our loyal viewers, continously tell us you enjoy and love. 

Last month, three of our GCTV Board Members (Drew Hutchinson, Chris Collins, and Otis Wheeler) sat down to discuss the positive impact that community television has, and the potential dangers that the FCC's proposed changes would have on your community television. You can watch the full video here.

I encourage you to watch it. I encourage you to go to this FCC Filings Page and support GCTV and community television. 

How to submit a comment: 

1. Go to the FCC Filings Express Page (will open up in a new window for your convenience)
2. In the Proceedings Sections type: 05-311
3. Fill out the rest of the form
4. In the Comments section, support GCTV and other community television stations by asking the FCC not to adopt the proposed changes; I've taken the liberty of suggesting a comment which you may copy and paste, and edit at your convenience:

Greenfield Community Television (GCTV), our local Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) Access channel provides a wide range of local programming about our community, as well as national shows, which is a valuable service to Greenfield MA residents, community organizations, and viewers. Our local PEG TV studio at GCTV, also provides access to a professional studio, editing and field equipment for local residents, schools, and community organizations, who would not otherwise have access to such facilities, as well as much needed training and guidance. The loss of franchise fees would also eliminate the main source of operational funding for GCTV, as well as PEG channels in other communities. I strongly encourage that the FCC support GCTV and other PEG channels across the country by not supporting the proposed changes. 

It's not too late to submit a comment...and please share with your friends and family.

Thank you,

Oscar R. Lanza-Galindo
Executive Director

Ok, we admit it, we're going to complain in this week's blog post.  Between the winter wonderland outside and the fact that half of our staff has been out sick with colds recently, it feels like we blew past fall pretty quickly; and we haven't even filmed the annual Greenfield High School vs. Turners Falls High School Thanksgiving Football Game yet.

Though "Turkey Day" is early this year, and winter doesn't officially begin until December 21st, the forecast for next Thursday is predicting a high temperature of 35 degrees.  Unfortunately, the overnight low on Wednesday is supposed to be 17 and our staff will be arriving at the high school between 8AM and 9AM on the 22nd, well before the temperature has a chance to rise very much.  On the upside, right now it's expected to be mostly sunny.  Also, knowing our executive director, he's probably planning to provide hot chocolate for our staff and volunteers.

Between our staff, crew, and various helpers, we'll probably have about 10 people on and around the field for the big game.  We need to finalize all kinds of details at our staff meeting on Monday but we can reveal that The Dukes of Sports are hopeful that they'll be able to do their traditional pre-game show, even though work commitments have forced the guys' regular program to be on hiatus since the spring.

Make sure to tune in to Cable Channel 15 at 6:30PM on Thursday night to catch all of the action and, for those of you who celebrate it, have a happy Thanksgiving!