Wilson County TV staff report hires, studio overhaul and rising YouTube reach

Wilson County TV staff updated the Wilson County Commission on personnel, studio renovations and programming growth, saying the channel has added part‑time help and improved production to better serve residents.

A staff member told the commission the channel recently hired Eric, described as a field camera operator who previously worked at a PBS station in Detroit, and Christina, a graduate student assisting with data analytics and on‑screen graphics. "He's very impressive... he is a great field camera person," the staff member said. The staff member also said Christina has helped update department information and election graphics and is included in the current staffing budget.

The staff member said the studio was too small to capture two‑person wide shots and that maintenance moved a wall to create storage and more space. Staff described continuing original programming such as the "Looking Into the Future" panel series (a Mayor Hedo panel on land use that included Beth Bowman and planning staff), coverage of the Fiddler's Grove grand opening and employee‑appreciation segments.

On community service reporting, staff said the Wilson County Health Center receives frequent donations (including pet food) and noted the channel has produced segments to make residents aware of available resources. The channel also highlighted a recent CPR segment with Brian Newberry and said it is exploring turning training and civic‑information segments into reusable content for newcomers.

Staff provided audience metrics: YouTube subscribers have doubled since the current staff member arrived and the channel records roughly 33,100 minutes watched per month. Distribution and technical details remain provider‑dependent: Charter accepts the channel's schedule without a fee, while TDS and DTC typically charge the channel an annual fee estimated between $2,000 and $3,000 to populate program listings.

Looking ahead, staff announced a short‑field takeoff and landing contest planned for October at the Lebanon airport and said scheduling after‑hours interviews (for example with Coach Tatum) is difficult during the busy budget meeting season. The staff member asked the commission for permission to run reruns of evergreen civic information to help new residents access basic services.

The commission took no formal action on the programming report at the meeting; commissioners expressed support for reruns and asked staff to follow up on scheduling and event dates.