Connect. Create. Communicate.
CTN has been providing those three important pillars – and much more – for the Ann Arbor community for 50 years and are celebrating their half century birthday by looking back at an amazing past and looking forward to another 50 years and a promising future.
CTN Manager Greg McDonald has been with CTN for over 30 years and says while many of the names and faces have changed over the years, along with technology, CTN’s mission and goals are very similar to the day the channel first went live back in 1973.
“CTN’s main focus has always been to provide our community the tools and resources to share local information that is important to them,” he said. “That can be anything from coverage of a community event, a sporting event, a government meeting, a music performance, expressing an opinion, or simply saying ‘happy birthday’ to a friend or family member. CTN has and will continue to help share the things that are special and important to our local community.”
Since 1973, CTN has provided free television production workshops to residents and non-profit organizations and created local cable programming about the community. It is one of the oldest access television operations in the country and is funded via cable franchise fees, which are the compensation paid to the local franchising agency (the City of Ann Arbor) for use of rights of way which is used in the deployment of the cable system.
In the City of Ann Arbor, the PEG (Public Education Government) fee paid by cable operators is 2 percent. CTN does not receive City of Ann Arbor general fund revenue.
With four channels, CTN provides multi-media resources and programming to serve the Ann Arbor area and beyond.
Melissa Bondy, assistant manager of community engagement & education, has been in PEG TV for 22 years, including the last 11 with CTN. She says the network has grown and evolved “leaps and bounds” in many ways but especially through the incredible advances in technology.
“Both with equipment and how we deliver digital media everything has changed,” she says. “When I started at CTN, we didn’t have a YouTube Channel and PEG Video on Demand was still new. Today, CTN’s channels are on apps and our channels stream live on the internet.”
Bondy’s many duties include engaging the community and working with nonprofits, clients, viewers and city staff through press releases, programs and creating content and program ideas.
She believes CTN is important to the community because of what they can offer residents regarding bringing their voice and vision to the screen. “Who else can live in a city and just ‘be on tv’,” says Bondy, who also manages CTN social media and YouTube Channel. “Anyone can be on YouTube, but can you be on TV. It’s awesome. I think we bring the best variety of local coverage to viewers, both online and on cable. You can watch CTN anytime, anywhere.”
Tim Nagae, a CTN producer, has been with the network for 24 years and says what they do best is provide the public with facility and equipment to produce their own TV shows – something that is truly unique.
“CTN has been offering the community wonderful services to promote and protect free speech with information particularly for local people, which the mainstream media cannot cover,” says Nagae. “I don’t believe there have been many major changes outside of technology since it was founded. The digital technology and computer-oriented productions have taken over the previous ‘analogue’ equipment, therefore, we had to continuously learn how to use new equipment.”
Another CTN producer, Dana Denha, has been with the network for 15 years. She produces, writes, hosts, edits, directs, and shoots video – as a producer at CTN, you are pretty much a jack of all trades.
“We are the premiere place in Washtenaw County to stay in the know,” she says. “Whether it be through city meetings, event coverage, in-depth interviews with local organizations/non-profits, this home-grown cable network provides entertainment and news for all generations.”
Denha says CTN is constantly changing with the times and has grown right along with Ann Arbor.
“We are adding more meeting coverage as the city expands its boards and commissions,” she says. “We have a bigger variety of local programming from government to arts & entertainment, while also offering a variety of free workshops to the public to share knowledge on the latest technology in audio/video.”
CTN is a true PEG Access Center, meaning it has a Public, an Educational, and a Government channel.
On the public access side, it not only provides a voice for Ann Arbor residents and non-profit organizations to share their thoughts, visions, and creativity, but also provides free access to equipment and training including a three-camera studio.
On the educational side, CTN provides live coverage of AAPS school board meetings, as well as coverage of events including high school graduations and sporting events.
On the government side, it provides live gavel-to-gavel coverage of City Council and other City of Ann Arbor boards and commissions.
“Most or all of these events would not be recorded and telecast if not for the existence of PEG centers like CTN,” said Craig Kuras, who is involved in programming for all the CTN channels and has been with the company for 26 years. “As one of the oldest access centers in the country, CTN has evolved from cable only accessible on the Ann Arbor system, to a multi-media center with the channels live streaming on the internet for anyone to access.”
And Video-on-Demand is also available for all meetings and CTN produced programs for anyone to view at their leisure.
“Since its inception in 1973, CTN has continued to provide all residents & non-profit organizations with free, first-come, first-served nondiscriminatory access to cable television & to provide everyone’s first amendment right to open, uncensored communication,” said Kuras.
And they plan on doing exactly that for the next 50 years!
Check out these 50th anniversary YouTube videos!
• CTN Celebrates 50-year anniversary – Ann Arbor Inclusive over the years HERE
• CTN Celebrates 50-year anniversary – Senior Moments over the years HERE
• CTN Celebrates 50-year anniversary – The Green Room over the years HERE
• CTN Celebrates 50-year anniversary – Ward Talk over the years HERE
• CTN Celebrates 50-year anniversary – Adventures in Parenthood over the years HERE
• CTN Celebrates 50-year anniversary – Soapbox over the years HERE
• CTN Celebrates 50-year anniversary – Access Ann Arbor over the years HERE
• CTN Celebrates 50-year anniversary – Let’s Watch with the Ann Arbor Film Festival over the years HERE
• CTN Celebrates 50-year anniversary – Access Ann Arbor and Soapbox #2 over the years HERE
Join the celebration!
In honor of CTN ‘s 50th anniversary this year, CTN clients (past and present) and all viewers are encouraged to participate in the celebration! CTN is welcoming you to submit a brief (up to 30 seconds) video sending your congratulations or sharing what CTN has meant to you in the community. CTN will compile the videos to share on its cable channels and YouTube channel.
Please submit as soon as possible:
• Send your file via Google Drive or your preferred file-sharing program to CTN@a2gov.org or jchiu@a2gov.org.
• In the recording, state your name and how long you’ve been involved or watching CTN.
• Your short message can be as simple as, “Congratulations CTN on your 50Th Anniversary we love the programs; keep them coming for 50 more!” or the like.
• If it’s not quite 30 seconds or over, that’s acceptable, too.
