The Citizen brings local coverage to another level, launches The Citizen TV and adds 5 new podcasts

Visitors to The Citizen’s website may have noticed a box on the upper right corner of the home page that says “The Citizen TV.”

While the graphic is of an old-fashioned television with rabbit-ears, The Citizen TV is something brand new and very exciting. It is our free, web-based television station and is very likely the wave of the future.

As technology continues to improve by leaps and bounds, more people will go to the Internet for their viewing wants and needs. This is already happening and the proof is in the rise of YouTube, the number of videos that now accompany stories on websites all over the world and the fact that thousands of writers are striking in Hollywood demanding their share of the Internet revenue pie.

The Citizen is breaking ground with local video coverage and 2008 will be an exciting year, not just for the award-winning newspaper, but for our website and The Citizen TV.

Currently, The Citizen TV is home to a number of basketball games featuring local high school teams. There will be more games added each week and there is hope that some playoff action will also find its way on to the site as well.

The games are shot by J&J Video Productions and Citizen staff members Michael Boylan and Kevin Wandra do color commentary alongside the play-by-play announcing of Joey Gaspierik and John Felbinger.

As the year progresses, more programs will be added. Starting this week, the popular “Citizen Sports Blitz” will move to The Citizen TV, and while videos will continue to accompany stories and blogs, they will also find a permanent home here.

This is a completely new venture for us, and we are excited to take on this challenge. We hope you will check it out and let us know how you like it and what types of things you would like to see on The Citizen TV.

As for the podcasts, which are downloadable audio programs, the staff of The Citizen has come up with five new shows, one for each day of the work week.

Mondays: The Ben Show — South Fulton editor Ben Nelms tackles a variety of topics each week. He can go from discussing local government to a historical examination of past presidents and their relationship to the Federal Reserve. Nelms is always thought-provoking and has a great voice for radio. This is definitely a show that will make you go “Hmmm” and one you don’t want to miss.

Tuesdays: Sidelines — The hosts of The Citizen Sports Blitz, Michael Boylan and Kevin Wandra, leave the high school athletic fields behind for a while and talk pro and college sports. Whether it is a heated debate over the Atlanta sports scene or what’s happening all over the country, basically, its the Boston guy and the New Jersey guy taking their discussions and arguments from their office and putting it on air.

Wednesdays: The John and John Show — News editor John Thompson and jack-of-all- trades news reporter John Munford go over the recent meetings they covered and look ahead to what’s coming up in the most hard-hitting, local news podcast in Fayette County.

Thursday: Citizen Face-Off — Citizen staffers debate a topic and the visitors on the website vote to decide the winner. This week’s topic, “District Voting,” with Michael Boylan arguing for it and John Munford arguing against it. Tune in Thursday to listen and vote for the winner.

Friday: The Weekend Show — Weekend editor Emily Baldwin and all-around pop-culture fan Michael Boylan talk about upcoming local events, movies, music and much more.

login to post comments