CTV Channel 5 is Canby’s public access television station, but exactly how open it is to public access became a subject of some debate last week, when resident Hannah Ray Lambert appeared before the Canby City Council to express concerns about her difficulties using the station and its equipment.
CTV5 has long been known as a place where anyone can go to learn about TV and filmmaking and even produce their own shows or other content, but Lambert said her many efforts to reach station staff and request studio time had gone virtually unanswered for months.
Reached this week, CTV5 Board President Ryan Oliver said that he has been in contact with Lambert, and that the station is working to address her frustrations.
He admitted that there have been some changes to the station’s approach since the departure of its former manager, Tony Gonzalez, last November, including a greater reluctance to loan out expensive equipment without supervision. They also want to encourage residents to produce content that can then be aired on CTV, rather than purely personal projects.
“We need more content,” Oliver said. “Yes, we want you to come and use our stuff, but we’re really hoping that the end result is that we also get content that we can then put out to people through CTV.”
Oliver said the station has also been working through an inventory process that “took a lot longer than we anticipated.” Finally, CTV has a serious need for volunteers. The station has only one paid staff member, and without more volunteers, it is severely limited in how open to the public it can truly be.
Even so, “we are not closed,” Oliver says. “We are looking for volunteers, but CTV5 is open for business.”
