For Immediate Release

In Response to Support from the Community, GO-TV Is Able to Expand Hours of Operation

Local Access Station Now Open to Public on Tuesdays

Ossining, NY (March 2004) In response to the growing amount of support from members of the community, Greater Ossining Television (GO-TV) is expanding its operating hours. The local public access TV station is now open to the public on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

In January, GO-TV embarked on its first major fundraising campaign and to date, has raised almost $4,000. “While three more hours a week may not seem like much, we want to do our part in some small way, to share with the community,” said Ann LeClair, Treasurer of GO-TV.

With the new hours on Tuesday, GO-TV is still open to the public only 17 hours a week. Because the studio is located at Ossining High School and shared by the students, the public does not have access to it during the day. “We’ve had a lot of requests from the public about Tuesday nights for some time now, and we’re happy to now be able to offer a few additional hours for taping shows, editing, borrowing or returning equipment, or any other needs,” said Kristen Graney, Studio Manager.

GO-TV is still in search of a new home, but needs to access the Cablevision Franchise Fees to make relocation possible. The Franchise Fees are paid to Cablevision by its customers, then passed on to local municipalities. Every other Westchester municipality except Ossining distributes these fees -- either fully or partially --- to their local public access TV station. “While our fundraising efforts have been going quite well to date, fundraising alone will never raise the kind of money we need for a new studio with a full time manager,” added Ms. LeClair. “A public access station should be fully available to the public.”

The Village of Ossining currently receives $200,000 in Franchise Fees, while the Town receives $60,000. GO-TV has been lobbying for a share of these funds for more than a year, providing both municipalities with extensive research on the subject, as well as a slide presentation of other public access TV stations in Westchester.

Having access to the Cablevision Franchise Fees would allow GO-TV to relocate to a more visible location and expand its hours of operation to better serve the public. Currently, GO-TV is located in a tiny classroom at Ossining High School, with zero visibility to the community. The public studio hours are now Tuesdays through Fridays, from 6:00 p. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

For more information, please call (914) 723-7745 or check the GO-TV Website at wwwgreaterossiningtv.org.

GO-TV broadcasts public access on Channel 18, and government access on Channel 78. Now in its 9^th year of operation, GO-TV serves the Village and Town of Ossining, Briarcliff Manor, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, and parts of Chappaqua, Pleasantville, Valhalla and Mount Pleasant. GO-TV televises a growing number of community activities and provides a variety of original programs, in addition to broadcasting regular and special meetings of the Ossining Town and Village Boards.

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