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OYSTER POINTER is a monthly publication about business in the Oyster Pointer area of Newport News, VA. More About the Oyster Pointer Publication Submit Your Ideas and Thoughts “Oyster Pointer Salutes:” Archives Request
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“Oyster Pointer Salutes:” Archives
The channel is available to all cable subscribers of Cox Communication. It runs programming throughout the day along with having an electronic bulletin board in between programs and overnight. Most programs are 30 minutes and often run four times a day to offer people with varied schedules the chance to see the shows. The program schedule rotates weekly. The channel is run by a mere seven employees and is led by Shirley Wells, general manager. John Corriere, Terry Hartsook and Aaron Pritchett produce the different programs for the channel. All three men enjoy their working environment and feel privileged to work in this facet of the television industry. In describing the staff, Hartsook says, “we’ve got a pretty impressive little group here.” The group is filled with talented people who could do other things but choose to do this type of work. Hartsook believes, “this is what television was about to begin with.” Pritchett and Hartsook both appreciate the freedom to get back to the basics of telling a story. “A lot of the programs are brought to us by other departments that need to get the information out,” explains Corriere. Studio shows are produced on a myriad of topics such as flu shots, leaf collection, VDOT and General Assembly updates. Experts are brought in to discuss their topic in depth. Planning Commission meetings are shown on tape delay. Newport News City Channel is a welcome break from local news which is fast paced and often filled with negative topics. “We are here to cover positive activities going on in the city,” says Pritchett. The city channel’s mission, he explains, “is to put the city’s departments in the limelight to show the citizens what they are doing, but also for citizens to offer useful information.” The newest continuing program is Newport News in Review, a newsmagazine style program. A new episode with as many as twenty stories per half hour show is produced monthly by Pritchett and it airs four times every day on the last week of the month and the first week of the new month. “We cover every aspect of the city and are trying to encourage people to explore Newport News because there is so much the city has to offer. We try to give equal coverage to the entire city,” says Pritchett. The show attends events that the local mainstream media doesn’t usually cover. As Pritchett describes it, “when our camera shows up people are excited.” An episode of Newport News In Review won an “Award of Distinction” at the 2006 Videographer Awards which adds to the station’s history of award winning programming. Corriere, Hartsook and Pritchett are kept busy. There are so many stories to tell—a plethora of topics and information to share with the citizens of Newport News. Hartsook works with the Newport News Parks and Recreation and Tourism departments, the “fun stuff” as he puts it. He will soon be working on a series of programs about Newport News’ involvement with Jamestown 2007. Corriere is very involved with the fire and police departments, including Crime Line every week which helps to apprehend criminals. Other city departments frequently featured are the Health Department, Public Works, Social Services and Waterworks. Pritchett’s upcoming projects include a hurricane evacuation program. Pritchett spent more than 10 years in broadcast news but seems to have found his calling working at the Newport News City Channel. “I got into (news) to be a voice for the voiceless and to tell people stories,” says Pritchett. One of the reasons Pritchett likes his job so much is that he is learning something new everyday and so are Newport News citizens who tune into Newport News City Channel 48. |
Newport News City Channel: Keeps Citizens in the Know