Legislative Committee Chair, JAG
I have been an active member of the Jersey Access Group since 2007. I have served in many capacities as a member and trustee, including President, Vice President and Chairperson of both the Legislative and Leadership Committees.
For over 40 years’, I have been producing and/or directing live single and multi-camera formats of sports, news, talk, magazine, documentaries, and other original programming for cable television.
Since 2001, I have been the Audio-Visual Production Specialist at Perth Amboy High School and oversee the operation of PATV-Perth Amboy Television; I am one of the advisors to a very active video club and provide support and training to the video classes within the high school.
We had told our members back in December to start budgeting, just in case we must need to start captioning. What new information has come out that Municipalities and PEG stations need to be concerned about regarding Closed Captioning? Are PEG Channels still safe not to caption as stated under the FCC rulings, or is this something that is now a must now because of the DOJ's Rulings? How long do we have to comply with these rulings? What can we do if a station just doesn't have the funds to make this happen? What should we concentrate on when it comes to Captioning. (Public Meetings, Sports, Concerts, Etc.) Panelists: Mike Wassenaar, President & CEO, Alliance for Community Media; Jeff Bayne, partner, Spiegel & McDiarmid: Moderator: Dave Garb, Legislative Chair, JAG
What are the main differences between a State Franchise, and the ones negotiated at the municipal level? Which one is a better choice, and can a municipality have a say on which one they prefer? Nationally, what is being added or taken away in negotiated franchise agreements? Franchise monies are going down due to the streaming industry, what can we do during negotiations to curb this? We hear of bills being introduced around the country that are trying to force streamers to pay a per subscriber fee to municipalities. How is this going and if successful, what does that mean for the local access station? Panelists: Mike Wassenaar, President & CEO, Alliance for Community Media; Ken Fellman, Esq., founder and partner, Wilson Williams Fellman Dittman; Jeff Bayne, partner, Spiegel & McDiarmid; Moderator: Dave Garb, Legislative Chair, JAG