If you watched STL-TV this week, you may have seen host Ben Province interview up-and-coming bands on the city’s music scene. You also may have found a show called Ovdje I Sada, featuring the food, business and culture of Bosnians who now call St. Louis home. Or maybe you tuned in to exercise along with the Spin Class that airs at 12:30 p.m. most days.
This is St. Louis’ government-access television in 2017. You can still tune in to see how your alderman voted – the station has broadcast the Board of Alderman meetings since 1991. Now in its 25th year on the air, STL-TV has varied its programming over the years, with a lineup of locally produced shows that reflect the diversity and dynamics of the city.
“STL-TV offers transparency in government and allows citizens to be really engaged in what their local government is doing on their behalf,” said Donna Brooks-Sanders, the city’s communications commissioner. “Over the years, we’ve tried to make the programming reflect the community as a whole, with diverse programming about specific demographics in the city for everybody’s benefit.”
Most St. Louisans remember the station as City 16 and, later, City 10. In 2005, the channel was rebranded and named STL-TV.
The station operates as an arm of St. Louis’ city government – city services and resources, including health fairs, programs for seniors and events planned by various departments, are promoted and broadcast on the channel. STL-TV has nearly eight hours of programming daily, including news and feature shows about organizations and businesses in St. Louis, and stories about parts of the city many people may know little about.
“We want to use the channel to showcase all of St. Louis, because we know that a lot of St. Louis residents don’t cross Delmar,” said Andre Holman, who has managed the station for 10 years. “I always tell my staff that we are focused on telling stories that can have a positive impact on the city of St. Louis.”
FOX 2 News reporter Kim Hudson remembers working on community news projects at the station that really made a difference. “The junior varsity league football games provided a lot of civic pride for families,” said Hudson, who worked as a technician and a reporter for STL-TV from 2005 to 2010.
“We had a media day where we followed these nine- and ten-year-old players around like athletes. We used their names and graphics on the reports, we had a production truck and several cameras in the stands, a sideline reporter and anchors, and it was a big deal for those young athletes.”
Louis Neal, a producer for ESPN, remembers working on STL-TV’s Inside Sports show when the biggest story of his career just “fell in his lap.”
During a black history edition, he told the story of Luke Easter, the first African-American from St. Louis to go into professional sports. Easter’s descendent, a nephew named Reuben Easter, was a city employee, Neal said, and “he brought in original contracts and pictures about his uncle in a box.” The story resonated with viewers; Neal and STL-TV won an EMMY for the report.
And while most people equate government-access broadcasting with ribbon cuttings and meetings, STL-TV has evolved. “We’re not ad-driven,” said Brooks-Sanders. “We’re able to do programming that impacts lives by telling stories that help people and are representative of the community.”
STL-TV’s wish list for the next 25 years is long. Upgrade the station to full HD production capabilities. Add a satellite studio closer to city government downtown. Generate revenue to market the channel more effectively. Extend programming throughout the metropolitan area. Expand the internship program to more high school seniors.
STL-TV’s annual budget averages $750,000. Funding cuts over the years have placed limits on the station; there are only seven full-time video production staff and engineers. A robust team of 45 freelancers record b-roll, write scripts, run teleprompters and create graphics for the various shows.
More budget cuts are always a possibility, but the public service STL-TV provides should not be overlooked, said Tom Villa, president of the St. Louis Board of Alderman from 1987-1995.
“When we had a controversial stadium proposal in the last year-and-a-half, [STL-TV staff] went out on Saturday afternoons in front of big crowds and got testimonials for and against it and televised it,” Villa said. “Their work helps bring government a little bit closer to the people paying for it.”
For information about the internship program, contact Andre Holman at holmana@stlouis-mo.gov or 314-552-2988.
On the Internet, live streaming at www.stltv.net.
On Charter Cable: Channel 992.
On AT@T U-Verse Channel 92.
https://www.facebook.com/STLTV
https://www.youtube.com/SAINTLOUISTV
