Photograph by Robert Scheer
The "Inside Saratoga" production team (clockwise, from left) includes Darlene Tenes, producer; Torsten Heinz, camera; Jeanne Fernardez, reporter; and Scott Brown, camera intern.
By Sarah Lombardo
There's a new show premiering this fall, and it stars a lot of familiar faces. "Inside Saratoga" debuted last Wednesday night on KSAR (Channel 6). The program, sponsored by the city, took a look at various segments of Saratoga, from a local historical point of interest to an artist resident. There was even a restaurant tour and a man-on-the-street report.
"I thought the show was pretty good," said Gary Nigh, one of the progam's directors. "You could tell it was the first show, but I thought some of the stuff was pretty good. Of course, I'm a little biased."
The program is the idea of Darlene Tenes, Saratoga's volunteer-program coordinator.
"Some dummy had the bright idea, and that would be me," she said, worn out by the task of last-minute editing. Tenes said she thought of the idea about three months ago.
"I thought it would be kind of fun to do because people like seeing themselves on television, for one," Tenes said. "But it's also kind of more homey because it's actually a place you know. It's not like 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,' where it's places you're never going to go. It's a real sense of community."
"It's a really good walk through Saratoga," said Brock Nealon, a freelance videographer and one of the show's directors. "Not everyone would know some of the things the show will have."
Nealon, who used to work at KSAR and was asked by Tenes to work on the show, said he thinks the show could actually teach some residents a few things. "Hopefully, the show will break a lot of the myths about Saratoga," Nealon said.
Nealon said that he would like to work on the show for as long as it runs, but the issue of how long or how often the show will run remains to be seen.
According to Jennifer Britton-Hanlon, Saratoga's cable television liaison and assistant to the city manager, that will be decided based on how much time Tenes has had to spend on the show compared with her other projects and on what city officials think of the show. "It should be decided probably in a few weeks," she said.
Tenes said the entire "Inside Saratoga" program is volunteer-based. "It's a volunteer program, really," she said. "We have 26 volunteers work on it, from camera work to writing and reporting and to editing."
All the equipment and facilities are provided through KSAR, a local cable access station. Being a city employee, Tenes is the only one involved in the project who's getting paid.
And that is the extent of any financial support the program receives from the city.
"Everything is volunteer or donated or in-kind," Britton-Hanlon said. "There is no budget for this program."
Britton-Hanlon said the show was a product of brainstorming sessions conducted by city officials and volunteers to come up with ways to improve the volunteer program. "It was certainly a welcome idea, and internally we started working on it," she added.
According to Britton-Hanlon, Tenes was given the green light to begin putting the show together and was asked to keep Britton-Hanlon informed about how the show was progressing to make sure it maintained its original vision.
And that vision, Britton-Hanlon said, was to provide Saratoga residents with an impartial glimpse into not only the lifestyle of Saratoga but also the workings of its government. "I think it's appropriate for a government cable access show to talk about what's going on in their government. It's to be a kind of visual newsletter," she said. "Something that says, 'This is what has gone on.' Not political or anything like that."
Britton-Hanlon said the show could be used to inform as well as entertain. "It could be an information vehicle that gives back something," she said, "An outreach program. Because sometimes you feel like you can never reach out enough."
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, October 16, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved