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Thinking Out Loud: Columbia Access Television and Monticello's Peter Hatch

Trevor Harris/KBIA

Many people work behind the scenes to enliven Columbia's public access television channel, CAT-TV. This week KBIA's Trevor Harris talked with a handful of CAT founders, members and staff to find out how they use the medium of television to get their voices heard. Also on this week's program, Trevor talks with Peter Hatch, director of gardens and grounds at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home outside Charlottesville, Virginia. Hatch visited Columbia this week for a series of lectures celebration of the MU Botanic Garden's 15th anniversary.

Columbia Access Television, or CAT-TV, occupies a work-space on North Tenth Street in Columbia, and studios at Stephens College. The operation is ten years old and in that ten years members have produced countless hours of video on everything from prescient local talk shows to yoga instruction and music videos to local non-profit promotional spots.

The budget for the non-profit is mainly from City of Columbia cable franchise fees paid by cable operators for us of existing cable. CAT-TV Executive Director Jennifer Erickson explained how she and her board are working to diversify the organization's funding in anticipation of reduced or eliminated City of Columbia funding.

CAT had a five year contract with the City of Columbia starting in 2008. It was $200,000 a year and that allowed them to work to grow as an organization and they had a solid plan for growth and they stuck to that. Two-and-a-half years into that five year plan they decided to hire an Executive Director. That is acknowledging the fact that it is a full non-profit and they needed leadership like that. We have made sure that we have diversified income. The first two years almost exclusively was money from the City. After that second year CAT was able to increase income through membership fees and Missouri Arts Council funding.

After several years of continuous funding, the City of Columbia's support for the city's public access television channel may end this year. The Columbia City Manager's proposed budget for 2015 does not include continued funding for CAT-TV.

Curious about what's on CAT-TV? You can view programs on many platforms be visiting their website.

Chase_Thompson_on_Das_Karnival.mp3
WEB-EXTRA: Chase Thompson is an Assistant Professor of Digital Film and Media at Stephens College. Ten years ago he was learning the ropes of videography at CAT-TV. He created a program called Das Carnival. Here's an excerpt of Treor Harris' interview with early CAT members Chase Thompson and Chip Gubera.

Credit Chase Thompson
A promotional brochure for former CAT-TV program Das Karnival. The program was produced by Chase Thompson who bears an uncanny resemblance to Das Karnival host Ian Cognito.

Trevor serves as KBIA’s weekday morning host for classical music. He has been involved with local radio since 1990, when he began volunteering as a music and news programmer at KOPN, Columbia's community radio station. Before joining KBIA, Trevor studied social work at Mizzou and earned a masters degree in geography at the University of Alabama. He has worked in community development and in urban and bicycle/pedestrian planning, and recently served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zambia with his wife, Lisa Groshong. An avid bicycle commuter and jazz fan, Trevor has cycled as far as Colorado and pawed through record bins in three continents.
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