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Take a video tour of the new Eagan Television Studio. Video by Erin Johnson.
E-TV brings new channel lineup, emphasizes citizen programming
by Erin Johnson
Thisweek Newspapers
 The city of Eagan is looking to put the “community” in community television with the opening of its new local cable television studio, called E-TV.
E-TV, which opened Feb. 25, is located at Thomson Reuters headquarters on Opperman Drive. It replaces a joint studio formerly shared with Burnsville.
Thomson Reuters built the new, 2,500-square-foot space in the lower level of its main building. The city spent $300,000 to purchase state-of-the-art equipment, including cameras, master control and switching equipment.
The money came from franchise and public access fund reserves, which are non-tax dollars, according to the city.
PHOTO: Eagan’s new television studio, E-TV, features state-of-the-art equipment and a green-screen background. Photo by Erin Johnson
The new studio area features a versatile green-screen background, a
stage with chairs and a large, flat-screen TV, and energy-efficient
fluorescent lighting.
The new lights are not as hot, so it will cost less to cool the studio.
They also last much longer: The city estimates it won’t have to replace
a light tube for at least 10 years.
Eagan joined forces with Thomson after parting ways with Burnsville
last year. Burnsville’s new studio is located in Burnsville High School
(see related story).
“Eagan was in search of a new strategic partner, and we couldn’t have
found a better one in Thomson Reuters, our city’s largest employer,”
said Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire.
Rather than pay rent to Thomson Reuters, the city will provide a
certain number of hours of internal video services to the company.
“Innovation is a cornerstone of our business, and the E-TV studio is a
great reflection of innovation at work,” said Peter Warwick, president
and CEO of Thomson Reuters Legal. “It uniquely meets the needs of the
city, its residents and our business, and reinforces our long-standing
partnership with the community.”
The new studio brings with it a new lineup of local public access
channels for Eagan residents. One of the channels will be entirely
devoted to citizen-generated content.
Budding filmmakers, aspiring TV personalities, and interested citizens
can check out a camera from the studio and produce their own segments
for the new Channel 20, also called E-TV.
No experience is necessary – E-TV staff can match volunteers with
different skills to work together. Staff will also provide training on
how to use the equipment, as well as teach post-production skills.
E-TV will hold a contest to select from the community the “voice” of
E-TV, one male and one female volunteer narrator for public service
announcements and station IDs.
“We’ll also be able to handle live call-in shows and (real-time) e-mailed questions,” said Jeff Ongstad, E-TV studio supervisor.
In addition to encouraging citizen programming, the city would like to see more youth-generated programming.
E-TV is sponsoring a mentoring program with Eagan High School that will
allow a select number of students to gain exposure to the worlds of
broadcasting, corporate communications and city public affairs.
Officials hope to grow similar partnerships over time to include other schools and school districts.
“We have a tradition of community access, and we’re ramping that up to
try and get even more people involved across the community,” said Tom
Garrison, Eagan’s director of communication.
Eagan’s new channel lineup will now feature the following programming:
• Channel 20 – E-TV
• Channel 19 – ISD 196
• Channel 18 – ISD 191
• Channel 16 – Eagan Government
• Channel 15 – Eagan Community Programming
• Channel 14 – Burnsville/ISD 197
For more information on E-TV, call Jeff Ongstad at (651) 848-4698.
Erin Johnson is at
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