Harry's Gang: Let's roll with a revamped cable access channel

Maybe I’m exaggerating, but the local cable access channel, CAT-7, may become great again. The city council just approved a contract with Pine Knot News to take over the daily operations of CAT-7, and I couldn’t be more excited.

I’ve been advocating for such a plan for years. A decade ago, I suggested to Jeff Korpi, the long-time cable coordinator, that he should hire Jana Peterson part-time to update the community calendar that was displayed on CAT-7 much of the day. At the time, Jana was the editor of a local newspaper. Now, of course, she has her own paper. And Jana and the rest of the staff at the Pine Knot are very engaged in knowing what is going on in our community.

Our plan is to use that information to keep the channel current and relevant. We’ll update the channel scroll regularly. This is probably the best thing that could happen with CAT-7. Our intention is to make sure the scroll is comprehensive and informative. While it won’t contain “news” from the Pine Knot News, it will contain important area events and notices that can be quickly updated. For example, if there is a pipe break that affects traffic within the city, or if the police need to make a public announcement, we can post that information quickly. We’re hoping to have some kind of current weather information too, to make it quick and easy to see what to expect from Mother Nature.

We’ll encourage the public to participate, too. People can email or bring their announcements to the Pine Knot News office, and we’ll get them on the channel. We can even announce upcoming rummage sales, or send well-wishes for birthdays or anniversaries.

It would be fun to see the public using CAT-7 to present their own programming. For example, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College could send us student productions, or parents could record sporting events and school plays, and we’ll put them into the rotation.

We’ll continue to bring you programs such as “Harry’s Gang” and “Dragon Ladies” filmed in a new CAT-7 studio, as well as candidate forums and any other programs community members wish to produce wherever. CAT-7 would not actually produce those programs, but we’ll provide a TV studio and equipment to facilitate a producer’s show. This is a departure from the past operation of the channel. I believe CAT-7 is simply not capable of providing professional productions on its nominal budget. However, CAT-7 will gladly replay such events, and will encourage the public to record them for playback.

But, frankly, I’ve been involved with CAT-7 for more than 20 years; and the public hasn’t been interested in producing their own programs. The best use of CAT-7 is the PowerPoint-style scroll, with taped programs played back on a regular schedule, similar to what regular viewers of CAT-7 have been accustomed to. The advantage to the Pine Knot News operating the channel is that the content will be updated regularly by professional newsgathering personnel, thereby significantly increasing the quality of the station.

And we hope to become the bank clock of the new millennium, with constant time and temperature scrolls.

I don’t expect CAT-7 to become some great, new TV station in town. But I do expect the channel to become much more useful for cable subscribers, and I’m excited to take on the job.

So, if you are involved in your church, or civic organization, sports team, or if you are a government official, consider taping your meetings and events for broadcast on CAT-7. And get your public service announcements to the Pine Knot News.

It’s good to be back.

Pete Radosevich is the publisher of the Pine Knot News and an attorney in Esko who will host the talk show Harry’s Gang on CAT-7. His opinions are his own. Reach him at Pete.Radosevich@PineKnot News.com.