Member Profile: Jeanne Flanagan Written by Diane Machado

Through my admittedly limited experiences with hiking and outdoor adventure, I have come to learn that it’s common courtesy to say, “Hello” to fellow hikers as you pass. Sometimes the hello will lead into a conversation about the weather, the scenery, or maybe where we’re from. Generally, I tend to meet people who are from the countryside, far away from Boston. Recently however, while skiing on a cross-country trail in New Hampshire, the “where are you from” question turned into a fifteen minute conversation with a couple who turned out to be Somerville natives as well. For a moment, Somerville appeared to be a small town rather than a densely populated city. In many ways, the conversations and interviews with members from SCAT reminds me that the relationships between people, even is a busy city, comprise a community that can create a small town feel.

Residents like Jeanne Flanagan discovered that same trait in SCAT. Jeanne has lived in Somerville for 17 years, yet it was not until a year and a half ago that she joined SCAT. Though, prior to joining as a member, she had been a devoted viewer of Channel 3 for five years. For Jeanne, it was not only some of the particular programs that drew her in, but her belief that SCAT is “an incredible non-commercial resource with access to equipment for next to nothing, and a forum for fair and equal opportunity to free speech.” Jeanne defines herself as a “natural educator,” a characteristic which facilitates her involvement with ongoing productions and compliments her participation in the Somerville Producers Group. With Jeanne’s background in fitness training and with the help of portable production equipment, she has been able to use SCAT and its format to teach exercise to approximately 19,000 households. According to Jeanne, SCAT’s facilities, like the studio and the editing suites, are invaluable for the members because the space is “an arena to play in” for productions.

The Somerville Producers Group produces Dead Air Live, public access television’s longest running series, going strong after 27 years. The group structure of SPG allows Jeanne, as with every member, to produce a least two programs each year while also rotating the various roles in crew and setup. It was not until Jeanne first volunteered as a camera operator for Dead Air Live that she realized “the technical support of a group and the studio production allowed a freedom in TV as opposed to using portable production equipment.” Producing a program “live” depends on acquiring video footage without the editing. This was a much easier process for Jeanne, who remembers spending a year to edit her certification tape that highlighted the 100th score of a woman hockey player.

The skills she learned and the experience she gained in shooting footage and editing for her cert tape allowed her to create inserts and roll-ins during a Dead Air Live program about neck and back exercises. Jeanne checked out a camera and headed to the zoo to videotape the necks of giraffes and the back of guerillas to incorporate a balance between the taped and live segments of television. In the studio, there was enough space to demonstrate the exercises and to bring in props like a skeleton to help explain muscle anatomy. The entire experience as a producer and a crew member asserts her “daydream to be an exercise Oprah Winfrey.” Oprah fame and notoriety aside, Jeanne enjoyed hosting the program because of its similarity in working one-on-one with individuals as a teacher. Her philosophy and approach, proving “anyone can do this”, encourages confidence among the viewers who might be limited by physical ability.

Through SCAT, members like Jeanne experiment with the equipment, use the studio and production space, and, along with other members, produce not only shows, but a sense of community as well.

Somerville Community Access Television
90 Union Square, Somerville, MA 02143
Phone: 617-628-8826 | Fax: 617-628-1811
Email: info@access-scat.org
(Need Directions?  Click HERE.)