Skip to Content
/ Articles / Opinion /

BCTV enhances Berks County’s strong sense of self

Oct 23, 2017 • by Mike Zielinski, Host of The Mike Zielinski Show
Mike Zielinski

Community, a sense of belonging, seems to be part of our DNA.

Granted, there is the solitary man or woman here and there who loves being lonely. But that is an aberration.

Mankind clusters in communities, geographical or otherwise.

While many communities have migrated to mutual interests such as soccer moms or Facebook or whatever, a geographic connection remains paramount. Which is why so many folks across the globe are fiercely nationalistic.

Berks County is blessed to have a strong sense of community. Unlike many of Philadelphia’s sprawling suburbs, we are far away enough not to be smothered by that anonymity.

Our sense of identity is singularly Berks, or if you will, Greater Reading. We are distinct from the Lehigh Valley, Harrisburg and Lancaster. They are them and we are us.

The essence of community is conversation. Which is why Berks Community Television is not only essential, but vital. Heck, community is in its name.

Conversation is like the handle of a whip — every movement ripples back to it.

Nobody in Berks does this better than BCTV, whether it be its programming on cable or On-Demand on bctv.org or on its YouTube channel as well as all the other content on this website.

BCTV galvanizes and fertilizes significant, tangible conversation that vividly reflects myriad aspects of our community.

That creates momentum, which is the prime ingredient needed to sustain initiative.

BCTV provides the connective tissue enveloping our diverse community.

BCTV serves as Berks County’s mirror to the world as it gives a voice to a vast array of organizations and causes with its expansive original programming. There’s a lot of mineral product in this community from which to mine interesting programming.

That is an astonishing scale of television done with only six staffers who continue to lay down their Superman cover while amply supported by dedicated volunteers, producers, hosts and board members.

A clear reminder that good karma sticks like glue.

While BCTV enjoys a bountiful legacy, it does not remain bivouacked with yesterday.

It constantly strives to move forward, whether it’s green screen technology that will be enhancing the viewing experience, its SoLo community media app or its upcoming collaborative, community oral history project with the Berks History Center, #MyBerksHistory.

Of course, money always holds the key to the vault.

BCTV is blessed to have generous benefactors in the private and public sectors but, as a non-profit organization, funding can be a challenge.

If you missed taking advantage of BCTV’s Octoberfest fundraising auction last week, rest assured you can always make a donation to BCTV.

After all, BCTV illuminates Berks and our world would be darker without this community treasure.

We need your support!

Your contribution makes community media possible.

A donation of any size to your nonprofit media organization supports the future of media access in our community - the things you love, and the places you care about, by the people you know.

Live Streaming