Community

‘A lot of opportunity’: Joshua Nelson, new CCTV director, eyes growth opportunities

By Patrick Adrian
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CLAREMONT — Joshua Nelson, the new executive director of Claremont Community Television (CCTV), says his aspiration is not simply to steer the city’s public access station but to build upon the vehicle and expand its possible routes.

“There’s a lot of opportunity,” Nelson said. “And what I want for us as a city and a nonprofit TV station to take advantage of.”

Nelson, a digital media development professional from Claremont, took over the directorship of CCTV in November, replacing Keith Druhl, who announced his retirement as director earlier this year.

Following Druhl is not easy, Nelson admitted. Druhl served as CCTV’s director for 19 years, nearly the entirety of the station’s 21-year history. There had only been two station directors prior to Druhl.

“Druhl had really shaped this place and been the one most behind it,” Nelson said. “But it has been fun taking over and seeing what we have, what Keith has tried to do with the place and what we can build upon.”

In an era where communication and media continue to evolve rapidly, Nelson appears an ideal candidate to take over the station’s helm. While still orientating himself to the nuances of television broadcasting, Nelson has a wealth of professional experience in project management, media production and computer programming, including six years as the owner and operator of Bee Balm Production, a web development and digital marketing company.

Nelson’s first priority as director has been to upgrade the station’s digital equipment, much of which is outmoded and insufficient for the station’s long-term operation.

“Even though we are a television station, not everyone watches TV anymore,” Nelson said. “We need to integrate with Facebook and Youtube more and stream our station programs so that the cord-cutters out there can actually watch our stations if they want to.”

Modernizing the equipment will also enable the station to broaden the range and quality of its programs, facilitate more community-produced content and provide instructional resources for learning audio-video production.

“Our bread-and-butter is making sure that all the [city and school] meetings are run,” Nelson said. “But those are maybe six shows per week at the most. Even if you run those multiple times, there is still a lot of airspace to fill.”

Some upcoming programming include collaborative projects with the city and local organizations to showcase the city’s attractions and history, said Nelson. On Dec. 31, CCTV will be covering Claremont’s First Night celebration, an annual city tradition on New Year’s Eve. The station is also partnering with the Claremont Historic District Commission to air a series of historical walks in the city.

Nelson also hopes to bring back volunteers once the current pandemic subsides to cover other events such as school sports or local musical or theatrical productions.

“We’re not 100% there yet [with our infrastructure], but I’m hoping we will be in the next six months or so,” Nelson said. “We’ll be purchasing some cameras for public use and doing some training and working with people to figure out their project.”

Nelson, a resident of Claremont for about 27 years, sees CCTV as an opportunity to show the city as it continues to grow and progress in its revitalization.

“Claremont is in a growth-place, even with COVID and everything else,” Nelson said. “Things are definitely in a positive movement, even when there are bumps in the road.”

CCTV, as with other public-access community television stations, are non-profit organizations. They are funded primarily through “franchise fees” paid to municipalities by cable companies, such as Comcast.

Federal law requires laremont and other municipalities collect franchise fees from the cable companies that serve their community. These contracts are negotiated between the municipality and the cable company, which in Claremont is currently Comcast (also known as Xfinity).

Since 1984 municipalities have been allowed to charge franchise fees to cable operators in exchange for commercial access. Municipalities are required to set aside a percentage of the revenue received in franchise fees to fund local community-access stations. The remainder of the revenue helps cover a city’s cost to provide cable installations and fund public services, such as cable subscriptions for public libraries or schools.

Community television stations may also raise funds through sponsorships, donations and grant-writing.

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