Auburn Community Television is about building community

Community is at the heart of anything dealing with Auburn, and for Auburn Community Television (ACTV), there's no exception. "Our focus is that we live in this marvelous little city here. … When you come to (our) channel, you're going to see things that you don't see on commercial channels or other cable channels," said Philip Jacques, ACTV studio manager. "It's not big, it's not flashy - it's more dedicated to an individual." ACTV is a Public Education Government (PEG) channel that has been broadcasting since 1997. According to Jacques, ACTV began as a confluence between the city of Auburn, Placer High School and the cable operator to provide a community access channel through the local wave cable. Locally produced programming featured on ACTV includes "Meet the Artist," produced by LouCinda Laughlin; "The Yoga Show," produced by Gwen Jones; "Health Matters," produced by Dr. Erich Parks; and "Ah Muse!" And "Olio!" produced by Susan Rushton. Jacques said ACTV also broadcasts programming on cooking, art, music and NASA content from other PEG media throughout the United States, and records Auburn City Council and Placer County Board of Supervisors meetings to broadcast on Mondays. "We're a benefit to the community because we tell the community who they are," Jacques said. Jacques said he would like to be out in the community more and have more local producers. "I'd like to have more local programming, and we certainly have the capability of doing it," he said. Jacques encourages anyone with a passion for cooking, art or winemaking, to name a few, to reach out to him with show ideas. "If you have a passion, we want to know about it," Jacques said. "We can get your passion on air and let a greater audience be aware of it. We're about building this community, making this community better." Jacques said he's proud of many of the films produced by ACTV, including "The Final Days of Auburn Drug Company." Auburn residents can tune into Auburn Community Television on channel 20 on the Wave cable system, on YouTube at youtube.com/actv20 or Facebook at facebook.com/actv20. Individuals interested in producing their own show can contact Jacques at 916-717-0995.