Austintown Community Television
Encyclopedia
Austintown Community Television is a Public, educational, and government access
(PEG) cable tv station in Austintown, Ohio
.
Austintown Community Television was born in 1980 when Paul Pormen (Media Director of Fitch High) and Kenny Zinz (Fitch High School History Teacher and Austintown Trustee) exercised the FCC
Regulation which stated a Television Provider must provide room in their channel lineup for a community station
when they have a monopoly
over that community. Paul Pormen became General Manager of what would be a joint project between the Austintown Trustees, Austintown School Board and Armstrong Cable. Channel 8 was then born on Armstrong Cable to comply with the FCC Regulation. At this time Paul Pormen held the guts of Channel 8 in Media 3 of Fitch High School.
Linda Sarver (Aide of the Media Center) became secretary and Post Production Manager of Channel 8. She served these positions until her retirement in 2004.
THE STUDIO
The then growing studio outgrew its place in Media 3 by 1985 when the school district moved Austintown Community Television to a newly created studio in the Industrial Technology Department of Fitch High School where it is housed today. Come the early 1990s Fitch High was the only school in Mahoning County to host a television studio.
NEW CHANNEL
In 1990 Armstrong Cable moved Channel 8 to a new home on their channel lineup. Channel 19 became the new and current station number of Austintown Community Television. Paul Pormen retired in 1995.
GENERAL MANAGER (1995–2005)
Ken Carano (then Fitch High School English Teacher, Production Manager of ACTV, and Austintown Trustee) became General Manager and served as General Manager until December 2000 when he furthered his political career by becoming a State Representative.
Ralph Grossen (English teacher at Fitch High) became the General Manager. Ralph Grossen served as General Manager until August 2006.
Austintown Community Television was without a General Manager for three months until Carolyn Semivan (then Post Production Manager) was promoted to General Manager in November 2006. Carolyn Semivan has been devoted to improving the services Austintown Community Television provides.
In the summer of 2007 Austintown Community Television adopted a new logo
. This logo was created by Ken and Dennis Hileman.
In November 2008 Austintown Community Television reached a milestone when Dennis Hileman Produced a LIVE Election Results Show, which was the first ever live broadcast from the television studio
. ACT Live Election Night 2008 involved many of the past and current students of the Television Production Class at Fitch High School in which Ralph Grossen instructs. These Students included: Dennis Hileman- Executive Producer and Host, Josh Hixenbaugh- Host, Bill Rusu- Producer, Trevor Mauch- Producer and Technical Director, Robert Johnson- Audio Director, Jimmy Niemczura- Title Maker; Paneslists- Brandon Good, Tony Brooks, Nick Stryffler, and Garett Kimmel, Camera- Nate Choma, and Sami Ray.
broadcast equipment failed. A decision was made to upgrade. The new broadcast equipment has brought a new look to ACTV.
FALCONS HAVE TALENT
2009 marked the return of a telent show to Fitch High School. The show was created by Mrs. Tracy Herrholts (English Teacher at Fitch) Dennis Hileman and Brandon Good (Seniors at Fitch) with the assistance of Austintown Community Television.
ACTV sponsered both the Falcons Have Talent Shows in 2009 and in 2010. In 2011 it was decided to produce Falcons Have Talent every other year and is slated for a return in 2012.
GENERAL MANAGER
In December of 2009 Carolyn Semivan was forced to take a leave of abscense due to Medical Conditions. In January of 2010 Dennis Hileman was named Interim General Manager, in which he held that position until September of 2010. Dennis was able to build upon the foundation that was started by Carolyn Semivan during her time as GM. Lennie Gessler was named General manager in September of 2010.
Many improvements have been made in recent years to ACTV, however there are many more on the way.
LIST OF GENERAL MANAGERS
CURRENT STAFF
Public, educational, and government access
Public, educational, and government access television, refers to three different cable television specialty channels...
(PEG) cable tv station in Austintown, Ohio
Austintown, Ohio
Austintown is a census-designated place in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 31,627 at the 2000 census...
.
Birth to 2005
BIRTHAustintown Community Television was born in 1980 when Paul Pormen (Media Director of Fitch High) and Kenny Zinz (Fitch High School History Teacher and Austintown Trustee) exercised the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
Regulation which stated a Television Provider must provide room in their channel lineup for a community station
Community television
Australia's Community Television is a form of Citizen media much like Public Access Television in the United States and the Community Channel in Canada...
when they have a monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
over that community. Paul Pormen became General Manager of what would be a joint project between the Austintown Trustees, Austintown School Board and Armstrong Cable. Channel 8 was then born on Armstrong Cable to comply with the FCC Regulation. At this time Paul Pormen held the guts of Channel 8 in Media 3 of Fitch High School.
Linda Sarver (Aide of the Media Center) became secretary and Post Production Manager of Channel 8. She served these positions until her retirement in 2004.
THE STUDIO
The then growing studio outgrew its place in Media 3 by 1985 when the school district moved Austintown Community Television to a newly created studio in the Industrial Technology Department of Fitch High School where it is housed today. Come the early 1990s Fitch High was the only school in Mahoning County to host a television studio.
NEW CHANNEL
In 1990 Armstrong Cable moved Channel 8 to a new home on their channel lineup. Channel 19 became the new and current station number of Austintown Community Television. Paul Pormen retired in 1995.
GENERAL MANAGER (1995–2005)
Ken Carano (then Fitch High School English Teacher, Production Manager of ACTV, and Austintown Trustee) became General Manager and served as General Manager until December 2000 when he furthered his political career by becoming a State Representative.
Ralph Grossen (English teacher at Fitch High) became the General Manager. Ralph Grossen served as General Manager until August 2006.
Austintown Community Television was without a General Manager for three months until Carolyn Semivan (then Post Production Manager) was promoted to General Manager in November 2006. Carolyn Semivan has been devoted to improving the services Austintown Community Television provides.
2006 to 2008
In 2006 Armstrong Cable made another addition to their channel lineup by dual broadcasting Austintown Community Television on Channel 19 and Channel 202.In the summer of 2007 Austintown Community Television adopted a new logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
. This logo was created by Ken and Dennis Hileman.
In November 2008 Austintown Community Television reached a milestone when Dennis Hileman Produced a LIVE Election Results Show, which was the first ever live broadcast from the television studio
Television studio
A television studio is an installation in which a video productions take place, either for the recording of live television to video tape, or for the acquisition of raw footage for post-production. The design of a studio is similar to, and derived from, movie studios, with a few amendments for the...
. ACT Live Election Night 2008 involved many of the past and current students of the Television Production Class at Fitch High School in which Ralph Grossen instructs. These Students included: Dennis Hileman- Executive Producer and Host, Josh Hixenbaugh- Host, Bill Rusu- Producer, Trevor Mauch- Producer and Technical Director, Robert Johnson- Audio Director, Jimmy Niemczura- Title Maker; Paneslists- Brandon Good, Tony Brooks, Nick Stryffler, and Garett Kimmel, Camera- Nate Choma, and Sami Ray.
2009 to Present
On April 9, 2009 ACTV faced a challenging problem. The over the airWireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
broadcast equipment failed. A decision was made to upgrade. The new broadcast equipment has brought a new look to ACTV.
FALCONS HAVE TALENT
2009 marked the return of a telent show to Fitch High School. The show was created by Mrs. Tracy Herrholts (English Teacher at Fitch) Dennis Hileman and Brandon Good (Seniors at Fitch) with the assistance of Austintown Community Television.
ACTV sponsered both the Falcons Have Talent Shows in 2009 and in 2010. In 2011 it was decided to produce Falcons Have Talent every other year and is slated for a return in 2012.
GENERAL MANAGER
In December of 2009 Carolyn Semivan was forced to take a leave of abscense due to Medical Conditions. In January of 2010 Dennis Hileman was named Interim General Manager, in which he held that position until September of 2010. Dennis was able to build upon the foundation that was started by Carolyn Semivan during her time as GM. Lennie Gessler was named General manager in September of 2010.
Many improvements have been made in recent years to ACTV, however there are many more on the way.
LIST OF GENERAL MANAGERS
| Name | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Porment | 1980 | 1995 |
| Kenneth Carano | 1995 | December 2000 |
| Ralph Grossen | 2001 | August 2006 |
| Carolyn Semivan | November 2006 | December 2009 |
| Dennis Hileman | January 2010 | September 2010 (Interim) |
| Lennie Gessler | September 2010 | Present |
CURRENT STAFF
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Lennie Gessler | General Manager |
| Gina Cardillo | Teacher |
| Joshua Hixenbaugh | Producer/Sports Announcer |
| Brandon Good | Producer/Sports Announcer |
| Bill Rusu | Technician |
| Nick Miketa | Technician |