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A major expansion in CTN's mission was undertaken during 2000-2001 with the "Community Programming Initiative" - an initiative to showcase CTN produced community programming. "CitiTV" (Channel 19) replaced the AALINC service to show the new CTN programming.
The video production capabilities were improved with a move to digital field acquisition and editing equipment. The old S-VHS camcorders were retired and replaced by new Mini-DV camcorders. New Mini-DV source decks were added to the analogue editing suites, and 2 new non-linear Edit Systems were purchased for implementation in 2001.
A simplified "hotline studio" was introduced making cablecasting of live shows with viewer call-ins possible.
The period was marked by the reorganization of CTN from the City Clerk's Office into the City's Information Technology Services Department (ITSD). This move made it easier for CTN to work with the city’s "technology experts" during the continuing transition to digital production and distribution technology.
2002 marked the 75th anniversary of the invention of television by Philo T. Farnsworth, and CTN was honored with nine awards in the Philo T. Farnsworth Video Festival. The festival is a regional competition under the ACM-Central States. The awards were both professional awards to CTN as well as non-professional awards to Ann Arbor residents who produced their programs at CTN.
Training for the hotline studio began in 2002, and the first live and taped shows were completed in early 2003 and training grew steadily through 2003. In addition CTN doubled the amount of edit suites available for public use by installing four new editors.
The fall of 2003 marked the 30th year of Community TV in Ann Arbor. The thirty-year milestone is significant. During CTN's history similar centers have faded away under financial and political pressure. This points out how fortunate CTN has been in having elected and administrative officials who support the vision of community based media. The same goes for the numerous staffers and volunteers who have supported CTN.
The anniversary was celebrated with an hour-long "Open House" as well as with a free Lunch & Lecture arrangement where Emmy-nominated author Paul Schatzkin told the story about television's forgotten inventor, Philo T. Farnsworth.
In March of 2008 CTN moved to new studios on the southside of Ann Arbor. The location on S. Industrial at Eisenhower offers great first floor accessibility and excellent parking. A few months after moving in, CTN celebrated its 35th Anniversary with 300 people attending our Open House and getting a close-up look at our services and facilities. The tours included demo tapes describing the edit suites, cablecasting, studios, and services. Attendees received a commemorative 35th Anniversary T-Shirt with a 35th Anniversary logo designed by UM Art Student Emily Skaer.
Visitors tour CTN's new Cablecasting Room, where the four channels are telecast to your home.
CTN's 35th Anniversary celebration was especially poignant, as the family of Martha Schmidt joined us as we also celebrated her life.. Martha and her husband Widd were two of the driving forces of public access television in the early '70s, and with other community activists helped launch CTN.
Sadly, Martha passed away in the summer of 2008. She had served as the Coordinator of what was then known as Community Access Television from 1980-1990. She was an ardent supporter of the First Amendment, and had also served on the national board of the National Federation of Local Cable Programmers, the precursor to the Alliance for Community Media.