June 13, 2016 at 5:32 p.m.
There’s pride in sharing city’s story
Editorial
No one knew what we were getting into.
That’s just as true for the WIPB-TV Public Broadcasting staff as it is for the local volunteers.
And no one involved could have imagined how well it turned out.
It started back in December when the Muncie Public Broadcasting Station contacted Dean Sanders, executive director of Jay County Chamber of Commerce.
He must have thought they were crazy when he first heard from them.
The idea was to produce a TV show about Portland for WIPB, but instead of having journalists from the station descend on the town looking for stories, the idea was that local storytellers would surface to tell their tales.
Yeah, right, Dean must have thought at that point.
But he developed a list of likely candidates and put together a meeting and let the TV people make their pitch.
Not everyone bought in. And not everyone got a good handle of the concept.
What was the concept? WIPB’s team would come to Portland for — as it turned out — two sessions of interviews with folks who wanted to talk about their town, those storytellers would also bring or steer WIPB to a host of visual material — video, old photos, you name it — that could be used to illustrate the interviews.
It was exactly as simple and as complicated as it sounded.
And when the interviews and transfer of visual images on flash drives and DVDs and hard copy were completed, those involved had to wonder what they had gotten themselves into.
It was a little like handing a chef a dozen grocery bags of ingredients and telling him to make a feast from scratch.
But WIPB’s Sam Clemmons was the chef, and he made a feast indeed.
“Now Entering Portland” made its TV debut last week on WIPB-TV during the station’s pledge week, and it was an instant hit, not only for the community but for the station as well.
Staffers at WIPB said an excellent pledge week call-in total for a night is $1,200. When “Now Entering Portland” aired, pledges hit $9,423. And they are still coming in since the show is available to stream from WIPB’s website.
Is the finished product perfect? Of course not.
There are a few mistakes when storytellers misspoke. And there are some omissions because no storytellers surfaced to tell those stories.
But everyone involved will tell you, it exceeded all expectations.
Ultimately, it was an expression of community pride. And it’s yet another thing to be proud of. — J.R.
That’s just as true for the WIPB-TV Public Broadcasting staff as it is for the local volunteers.
And no one involved could have imagined how well it turned out.
It started back in December when the Muncie Public Broadcasting Station contacted Dean Sanders, executive director of Jay County Chamber of Commerce.
He must have thought they were crazy when he first heard from them.
The idea was to produce a TV show about Portland for WIPB, but instead of having journalists from the station descend on the town looking for stories, the idea was that local storytellers would surface to tell their tales.
Yeah, right, Dean must have thought at that point.
But he developed a list of likely candidates and put together a meeting and let the TV people make their pitch.
Not everyone bought in. And not everyone got a good handle of the concept.
What was the concept? WIPB’s team would come to Portland for — as it turned out — two sessions of interviews with folks who wanted to talk about their town, those storytellers would also bring or steer WIPB to a host of visual material — video, old photos, you name it — that could be used to illustrate the interviews.
It was exactly as simple and as complicated as it sounded.
And when the interviews and transfer of visual images on flash drives and DVDs and hard copy were completed, those involved had to wonder what they had gotten themselves into.
It was a little like handing a chef a dozen grocery bags of ingredients and telling him to make a feast from scratch.
But WIPB’s Sam Clemmons was the chef, and he made a feast indeed.
“Now Entering Portland” made its TV debut last week on WIPB-TV during the station’s pledge week, and it was an instant hit, not only for the community but for the station as well.
Staffers at WIPB said an excellent pledge week call-in total for a night is $1,200. When “Now Entering Portland” aired, pledges hit $9,423. And they are still coming in since the show is available to stream from WIPB’s website.
Is the finished product perfect? Of course not.
There are a few mistakes when storytellers misspoke. And there are some omissions because no storytellers surfaced to tell those stories.
But everyone involved will tell you, it exceeded all expectations.
Ultimately, it was an expression of community pride. And it’s yet another thing to be proud of. — J.R.
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
250 X 250 AD