The New Digital PCTV

Mr. Patterson comes to Pittsburgh from Santa Cruz, California where he was Executive Director at Community Television of Santa Cruz County (CTSCC). At CTSCC, Mr. Patterson oversaw several key initiatives including the conversion of the organization's website to Web 2.0, the expansion of programming to include web-based video, the establishment of a mini-documentary program for local non-profits, the development of new programs for youth and the brokering of a partnership with a local internet service provider to stream CTSCC's channels on the web. He also participated in efforts to reshape California's statewide video franchise bill and led CTSCC's effort to complete a long-range strategic plan.

Mr. Patterson has a strong background in arts and media management that goes back over 10 years. Prior to his work at CTSCC, Mr. Patterson served as Managing Director of Santa Cruz Actors' Theatre. At Actors' Theatre, Mr. Patterson founded an artists-in-residence program dedicated to the development of new work for the stage, led a fundraising effort that resulted in the complete renovation of an 88-seat performance space, and created a subscription season program featuring the work of local production companies.

Mr. Patterson's experience is not limited to the administrative side of the fence. He began his work in the arts and media at a public access TV station in high school in the Philadelphia area and later went on to earn a degree in Radio-TV-Film at Northwestern University where he produced actively in all three mediums. He's also a produced and published playwright whose works have been performed in California, Texas, and Tennessee.

Mr. Patterson is delighted to be PCTV's new Executive Director. "Pittsburgh is the City of Champions, and it deserves a championship caliber public access station," says Patterson. "What really attracted me to this job was the tremendous diversity of this City and the opportunity to help bring a first-class 21st Century media center to its residents. PCTV has an outstanding record of service to the community and I look forward to building on that."

Patterson's vision for PCTV is rooted in the belief that technological change has created possibilities that would have seemed far-fetched when PCTV was formed in 1986. "We're living in a multi-platform multi-media on-demand world," Patterson says. "PCTV, like all media outlets, is adjusting to that. Television is the anchor, but I see PCTV expanding further into the realm of new media and providing access to tools and ways of accessing programming that reflect the new media landscape.

" Despite the rapid pace of change, Patterson believes that the mission of community media remains the same. "It's really about telling the story of a community and helping make that possible for people. That can take a variety of forms, but at the heart it's about a community telling its own story. I see PCTV at the forefront of that for Pittsburgh."