PITTSFIELD MA, January 29, 2024 – Pittsfield Community Television has received funding from Berkshire United Way to add closed captions in Spanish to many local programs broadcast on PCTV’s channels. The service will allow Spanish speakers to follow along with government meetings as words will be translated into Spanish, allowing Pittsfield government another level of transparency.
The Pittsfield City Council Meeting from January 23, 2024, featuring Spanish-language captions.
“Our community is stronger when everyone has the opportunity to participate in civic life and to understand what is happening and how the decisions that affect people’s lives are made. That’s why Berkshire United Way is so pleased to sponsor Spanish Closed Captioning on PCTV,” said Berkshire United Way President and CEO Tom Bernard. “Providing a connection to news, government information, sports, and other programming is one more way we engage with our mission and support our commitment to equity.”
Beginning with the broadcast of Mayor Peter Marchetti’s program One Pittsfield on February 12, PCTV will begin to transmit closed captioning in Spanish of all government meetings and live sports on the PCTV Channels, Access Pittsfield Channel 1301, ETV Channel 1302, and CityLink Channel 1303. The Spanish closed captioning will also be available on the PCTV Select app, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, iOS, and Google Play, as well as the PCTV Select live streams on Pittsfieldtv.org.
“We’re excited to begin providing this important service for our community, and we thank the Berkshire United Way for their support,” said Shawn Serre, Executive Director of PCTV. “This is a critical step forward in making the PCTV content more accessible to a wider share of our population, and it is in direct support of our organization’s mission.”
Pittsfield Community Television already carries closed captioning in English for all government meetings, sports, and volunteer-created in-studio programming thanks to support from the Feigenbaum Foundation and the Pittsfield Commission on Disabilities.
Pittsfield Community Television is Pittsfield’s community media organization. A 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization serving the region since its founding in 1986, PCTV’s mission is to empower our community to create media and amplify diverse voices through the best technology and wide-reaching platforms, and its vision is that everyone in our area should have access to shared media experiences which inform, educate, engage, and entertain; foster civic and community engagement; and promote transparency in local government. PCTV also manages and operates WTBR-FM, also known as Pittsfield Community Radio, a full power non-commercial educational radio station broadcasting on 89.7 FM. Information on PCTV and WTBR-FM can be found at PittsfieldTV.org and at WTBRFM.com.
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