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The Hudson Channel
: January 2006 |
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Entrepreneur has high hopes for
low power TV station
| Posted
by erikon Tuesday, January
24 @ 06:39:46 UTC |
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By RICHARD ROTH
GERMANTOWNęSean Small
knows exactly what
he wants. “My
goal is to be the
key local broadcaster,”
says the 32-year-old
New Yorker, who has
been broadcasting
on Channel 21 out
of a studio in Germantown
for the past several
months.
To achieve his goal,
Mr. Small intends
to augment family-friendly
entertainment from
PAX and shopping shows
with locally-produced
shows covering politics,
real estate and antiques.
The television station,
which is identified
by the call letters
WSSN, has a 1,000-watt
transmitter and operates
24 hours a day. Its
signal is directed
to cover both sides
of the Hudson River
from Poughkeepsie
to Albany, although
those would be the
outer limits of the
signal.
Mr. Small heard through
a business associate
several months ago
that the license for
an over-the-air low
power TV station broadcasting
from Catskill was
for sale as part of
a package deal that
included some real
estate. The station
had been operating
in Catskill for 5
years; as soon as
the sale was completed
he moved the transmitter
across the river and
increased the wattage.
“They did
some shop-at-home
and a regional sports
network,” says
Mr. Small. “It
was a hodgepodge,
with not much local
stuff. Our goal is
to be a dependable
local channel."”
Mr. Small grew up
in New York City,
where he graduated
from a private school
on the Upper East
Side and majored in
international relations
and art history at
college. For the past
several years he has
managed, developed
and invested in Manhattan
real estate, but that
is just one of many
interests. “Real
estate is what I've
been involved with",”
he says, “but
what I am is an entrepreneur."
”
News and community
affairs are of particular
importance to Mr.
Small, who has served
on community boards
in New York City.
He says he intends
to focus on development
and land use issues
in the station's real
estate shows. But
the station will be
run as a business,
and the shows will
pay their own way
with segments selling
ads to highlight the
latest real estate
listings.
As for his politics
show, says Mr. Small,
“There's no
dearth of issues,
and that's what's
fun about it."”
He envisions the show
as “some combination
of Meet the Press
and Charlie Rose—it
gives the opportunity
to match a name with
a face. And also,
he's articulating
an issue, and I can
make a more educated
decision on what's
happening."”
While Mr. Small says
has a pretty good
idea who will be hosting
the community affairs
show, he's not announcing
it just yet for fear
of losing out to a
higher bidder. But
his host for the antiques
show, Rick Lawler,
is ready to go public,
and he's confident
the show will be a
success. The format
is simple: a discussion
with a guest expert
will be followed by
a period when viewers
can call in with their
questions and comments.
“After
two months, at the
outside, the thing
will be a Saturday
morning landmark,”
says Mr. Lawler.
Mr. Lawler has been
in radio for 15 years,
first with Strauss
Broadcasting and now
on WAMC in Albany,
where he co-hosts
a show with Fred Carlsen
of Carlson Gallery
in Freehold. And for
several years he operated
an antiques shop on
Warren Street in Hudson.
Channel 21 will also
show movies, and Mr.
Small's company will
soon begin producing
and distributing documentaries.
A website, www.thehudsonchannel.com,
currently under construction,
will provide supplemental
content.
“The key
is to be viewed as
beneficial to the
community,"”
says Mr. Small.
He and his wife have
a son who will turn
3 on the 4th of March,
and they're expecting
a second child on
or about March 30.
The family lives in
New York City, and
Mr. Small stays at
a place in Hudson
for half a week at
a time. Will they
eventually buy a home
in Columbia County?
“For now, it's
the station,”
Mr. Small says with
a grin."
To contact the station:
contact@thehudsonchannel.com
By Richard Roth/The
Independent
To contact reporter
Richard Roth, e-mail
rroth@indenews.com.
'There's no dearth
of issues, and that's
what's fun about
it.'
Sean Small, owner
Channel 21, WSSN
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