Happy Birthday, MCTV

Today is the twentieth anniversary of Mid-Coast Television (Chanel 6), the Coastside�s community access cable station.

In 1985 MCTV aired its first program, the Coastside Junior Rodeo. Today, MCTV braodcasts over 1500 hours of community meeting programming each year, including the Cabrillo Unified School District, Coastside County Water District, Granada Sanitary District, Montara Water & Sanitary District, and San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.

Click "read more" to see the press release

June 15, 2005

To: All Print and Broadcast Media

From: Mid-Coast Television Channel 6
Constance Malach, President
[email protected]
650-726-1750

For Immediate Release

Mid-Coast Television Channel 6 Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary

Mid-Coast Television, the Coastside�s community access cable station, is celebrating its 20th anniversary on June 24, 2005.  In 1985 MCTV aired its first program The Coastside Junior Rodeo, and since then has operated with the help of a part-time staff and many volunteers to provide the Coastside communities of Half Moon Bay, El Granada, Princeton, Moss Beach, Montara, Pescadero and La Honda with video programming of interest to a community that is otherwise largely overlooked by Bay Area television media.  Conveniently located on Channel 6 on the Comcast cable system, MCTV has produced over 4500 programs, including hundreds of original programs, videotaped and aired thousands of hours of public meetings, and conducted workshops to train members how to use the station�s video equipment, including camera techniques, video editing, and how to go �on the air� to play MCTV programs to cable viewers.  MCTV also supports over 200 non-profit and government organizations on the Coastside by providing them with free announcements on a 24 hour a day message channel.

The Origins of Mid-Coast Television:
 
In 1982 a committee formed to begin the process of setting up a cable access station on the Coastside, and spent over three years working with the community and the local cable company (then Coastside Cable) to provide a budget, obtain a place for the station and a studio, and set up the non-profit organization that would become MCTV.  The County of San Mateo and the City of Half Moon Bay both approved MCTV as the official community access operator for their respective portions of the local cable system.  With its 20th Anniversary on the air, MCTV is one of the oldest continuously operating community access stations in California.

MCTV is supported by a portion of the cable franchise fees received by San Mateo County and the City of Half Moon Bay, as well as community memberships, and local business sponsorships.  The non-profit organization is overseen by the MCTV Board of Directors, which is comprised of representatives of San Mateo County, the City of Half Moon Bay, the Half Moon Bay Library, the Cabrillo Unified School District, and 7 at large community members who are elected by the MCTV members.

The station is operated by a part-time staff and trained volunteers who tape and playback the programming shown on MCTV.  As a non-profit organization with limited financial resources, MCTV is volunteer-dependent, with community members volunteering thousands of hours over the years to bring documentaries, creative programs, and government meetings to their audience.  Without the MCTV members who have become trained volunteers, MCTV would not be able to provide its extensive level of programming.  Volunteers also provide the popular and wildly diverse selection of background music for the MCTV message channel.

MCTV�s Programming:

MCTV cablecasts over 1500 hours of community meeting programming each year.  These meetings have a large and loyal viewership, including senior citizens who cannot always attend meetings late at night and other Coastsiders who find the programs a convenient way to stay in touch with public affairs on the Coast.  In addition to taping the meetings of the Half Moon Bay City Council and the Mid-Coast Community Council, MCTV regularly covers the public meetings of the following agencies:

* Cabrillo Unified School District
* Coastside County Water District
* Granada Sanitary District
* Montara Water & Sanitary District
* San Mateo County Board of Supervisors

However, MCTV is not all about public meetings.  Since MCTV began video production in 1985, it has compiled an invaluable video library which documents the diverse people, events, and history of the Midcoast.  Here is just a partial list of what can be found on these precious tapes:

* Coastside events that have grown and changed over the years�like the Pumpkin Festival, the 4th of July Parade, and the Holy Ghost Festival�or events like the Junior Rodeo that have passed into history;

* Local productions like the walking tour of Main Street in the �80�s and a documentary on the origins of historic El Granada;

* Coastside performances of school plays, ballets, music nights,  and book readings;

* Documentaries on the sport fishing to be found off of Pillar Point Harbor and epic tapes of early surfing on the Coastside, from Surfer�s Beach to the first big years of surfing at Mavericks;

* Special projects and colorful people spanning 20 years on the Coastside; 

MCTV is part of the Coastside�s high tech resources

MCTV has been a resource and springboard for fledgling communications students from Half Moon Bay High School and local colleges.  After getting experience producing programs and editing with MCTV several volunteer members have gone on to become award-winning professional producers.  MCTV continues to provide opportunities for would-be media moguls because MCTV has technologically adapted and upgraded its equipment over the years.  MCTV produced its first programming on early �portable� video cameras that weighed 15 pounds and recorded on �� videotape.  MCTV then joined the VHS camcorder era which introduced many people to video.  Now, MCTV has substantially upgraded its image and sound quality by switching to digital video cameras the size of a large paperback book, and these high-tech wonders weigh far less than the tripods they rest on.  MCTV now edits its original programming using state-of-the-art, non-linear computer editing programs which permit almost unlimited flexibility in mixing audio and video images and graphics.  MCTV has also created its own website, where you can learn how to become an MCTV member, or find the MCTV playback schedule.  For all this information and more, go to the MCTV website:  www.mctv.com