Brattleboro Community TV (BCTV) has hired current Springfield Area Public Access Television (SAPA-TV) executive director and Brattleboro resident Johnny Gifford as their new leader.
"We could not be more excited to have found Johnny, and for the new perspectives and opportunities he'll bring to the BCTV community. He has the experience, he has the vision, and he has the community media values to bring BCTV to the next level," Board President Alex Beck said in a news release. "While we had an incredible slate of candidates, Johnny has a passion for community media that was hard to match."
Before joining and eventually leading SAPA-TV, Gifford had a long history of experience from places ranging from Harvard University's Media Production Center and Hauser Studio to small-town high school radio and television stations.
When asked what his feelings are about starting in a new role, Gifford said he was "incredibly excited to be joining the active, dynamic team at BCTV." He said he has been "invested in community media for half of my life, and have been living in Brattleboro for the past year and a half and have loved being part of the community. Becoming BCTV's leader feels like the perfect next step for me, and so I encourage everyone to stop in, say hi, and learn more about BCTV."
Along with his history in radio and working in school-based community media stations, Gifford intends to explore more opportunities to partner with community organizations around supporting Brattleboro's music scene and engaging more youth in film and video production.
Gifford said his objective is to use his role at BCTV to "amplify the voices of everyday people through education, art, and digital media, and to encourage civic involvement and transparency of government."
While he will spend the next few weeks transitioning into the position, BCTV staff said in a news release that Gifford has not been shy in diving right into the work. As soon as he joined the BCTV team, he helped outgoing Executive Director Cor Trowbridge in covering one of December's biggest and most important productions, Landmark College's graduation.
Gifford will be the full-time Executive Director starting in mid-January, and by the time BCTV is set up for live coverage of the Harris Hill Ski Jump in February, he'll be running the show.
This The Arts item was submitted to The Commons.